Review: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES/USAGI YOJIMBO

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES/USAGI YOJIMBO (ONE-SHOT)
IDW PUBLISHING – @IDWPublishing

[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]

CARTOONIST: Stan Sakai
COLORS: Tom Luth
LETTERS: Stan Sakai
EDITORS: Bobby Curnow, Philip R. Simon, and Megan Walker
COVER: Stan Sakai with Tom Luth
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: Stan Sakai; Stan Sakai with Tom Luth; Sergio Aragones with Tom Luth; David Petersen; Kevin Eastman with Stan Sakai and Tomi Varga; Kevin Eastman
48pp, Color, $7.99 U.S. (July 2017)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird; Usagi Yojimbo created by Stan Sakai

“Namazu of The Big Fish Story”

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (also known as TMNT and Ninja Turtles or sometimes as “the Turtles”) are a media empire that began with four fictional characters created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird.  The comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1 (cover dated: May 1984), introduced four teenage anthropomorphic turtles (meaning they walk and talk like humans).

Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael were adopted by an anthropomorphic rat, Master Splinter, who was their sensei and who trained them in the art of ninjutsu.  The Turtles live in the sewers of New York City and battle every bad guy, from petty criminals and overlord-mastermind types to alien invaders and mutated creatures.

Usagi Yojimbo, which means “rabbit bodyguard,” is an anthropomorphic rabbit ronin who is sometimes hired as a bodyguard.  His adventures take place in Edo-era Japan (specifically the 17th century).  Created by Stan Sakai, Usagi first appeared in the small press comic book, Albedo Anthropomorphics #2.  He is the star of a long-running comic book series, Usagi Yojimbo, which is currently published by Dark Horse Comics, but was previously published by Fantagraphics Books (1987) and Mirage Publishing (1993).

TMNT and Usagi Yojimbo team up (not for the first time) in the new full-color comic book, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo.  This recently published one-shot is written, drawn and lettered by Stan Sakai and is colored by Tom Luth.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo (“Namazu of The Big Fish Story”) opens with Usagi dispatching a group of bandits that have been infesting a section of a road used by pilgrims.  A group of people on a pilgrimage thank Usagi for getting rid of the bandits, but they also inform Usagi that “the Old One” is expecting a visit from him.

The old one is Kakera-sensei, who wants Usagi to be his bodyguard as he travels to Tashima Shrine to deliver a special object.  One bodyguard will not be enough, so Kakera summons Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael – the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!  However, these turtles are not quite like the ones Usagi remembers, and their opponent, the evil Jei, is the obstacle in their big fish adventure called Namazu.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo is one of the best comic books I have read this year.  I have even put it on my my short list of best comic books of 2017.  Why?  First, it is really a good comic book.  The fact is that Stan Sakai is a master cartoonist and superior comic book creator.  I don't read Usagi Yojimbo that often (which is a shame on my part), but every time I have read it I have marveled at Sakai's imagination and inventive storytelling and, of course, his beautiful artwork.

I think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo's format plays a big part as to why I like it so much.  This comic book is a one-shot.  It is like a magical item that shows up once, delivers some magical storytelling, and then is magically spirited away.  It is also a comic book that is appropriate and accessible to anyone who can read comic books, regardless of age.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Usagi Yojimbo is an example of a perfect (or near-perfect) comic book.  It features venerable, beloved comic book characters, and it is the creation of two master comic book creators, Stan Sakai and Tom Luth.

9.5 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

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Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #3

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #3 (#11 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (July 2013)

Adapts the novel by Robert E. Howard
The Hour of the Dragon Part 3 of 6: “Zenobia”

Originally serialized in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales, from 1935 to 1936, The Hour of the Dragon (also known as Conan the Conqueror), is the only novel Robert E. Howard wrote starring his signature character, Conan the Cimmerian.

Dark Horse Comics is adapting The Hour of the Dragon into comics as two six-issue miniseries.  The first is King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, and the second will be entitled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced together over the last several years.  They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

In The Hour of the Dragon, an aged King Conan recounts to the young scribe, Pramis, the tale of how he met his wife, the late Queen Zenobia.  At that time, Conan was King of Aquilonia, but a small band of conspirators against him revive Xaltotun, an ancient sorcerer.  The wizard uses his magic to help the army of Nemedia nearly destroy the army of Aquilonia.  But the king is not dead.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #3 opens in the bowels of the dungeons of King Tarascus’ castle.  There, Conan faces a man-eating gray ape; once again Zenobia, who freed him from his cell, comes to the rescue.  Meanwhile, Tarascus plots against the very creature that brought him victory over Conan – the wizard Xaltotun.  Little does he know that a free Conan is probably as dangerous as Zaltotun’s sorcery.

There is nothing new to say about King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon.  It was damn good to begin with, and this third issue is also... damn good

Writer Timothy Truman and artist Tomás Giorello are telling a story in bold masculine strokes with relentlessly muscular scenes, delivered in an unapologetically bloody visual language.  Yet with José Villarrubia’s colors, it all looks like a fantastic jeweled tapestry.  King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is the best Conan comic book from the best Conan comic book publisher.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #2

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #2 (#10 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (June 2013)

Adapts the novel by Robert E. Howard

The Hour of the Dragon Part 2 of 6: “The Haunts of Hell”

The Hour of the Dragon is the only Conan novel written by the character’s creator, author Robert E. Howard. The Hour of the Dragon (also known as Conan the Conqueror) is currently being adapted into comic book form by Dark Horse Comics. The novel will yield two six-issue miniseries. The first is King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, and the second will be entitled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced together over the last several years. They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #2 opens in Tarantia, capital city of the kingdom of Aquilonia. King Conan continues to recount to the young scribe, Pramis, the tale of how he met his wife, the late Queen Zenobia.

The story once again returns to the long-ago, this time the aftermath of the battle at Valkia. With the help of the resurrected sorcerer, Xaltotun, a conspiracy against King Conan was successful in nearly destroying the army of Aquilonia. Now, the victorious army of Nemedia, however, is about to find out that the king is not dead. And Xaltotun does not want him dead.

Weakened by Xaltotun’s spells and imprisoned in a foreign land, Conan has lost his kingdom, and he could lose so much more. Now, his only hope may rest in the hands of a mysterious, harem girl named Zenobia.

I was ecstatic upon hearing that Dark Horse Comics was going to adapt into comics, Robert E. Howard’s sword-and-sorcery novel, The Hour of the Dragon, one of my all-time favorite books. After reading King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #2, my initial excitement about the series is truly justified. This is a great comic book. I wonder if writer Timothy Truman and artist Tomás Giorello can maintain this high level of quality through the remaining four issues.

The word to describe Truman’s adaptation of Howard’s novel is “meaty.” This is masculine, sword-wielding fantasy. No one’s contemplating an epic war in which elves, little people, and squabbling human try to retrieve some magical items from the really, really bad guy. This is get-your-hands-dirty fiction.

Yet Tomás Giorello brings the pomp and circumstance of epic fantasy to this story. He makes it as spacious and epic, as it is closed-in, sword to sword. With José Villarrubia’s colors, there is an elegant, bejeweled quality to the art that does not take away from the frenzied, masculine sensations in King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

Review: KING CONAN: The Hour of the Dragon #1

KING CONAN: THE HOUR OF THE DRAGON #1 (#9 in the series)
DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics

WRITER: Timothy Truman
ART: Tomás Giorello
COLORS: José Villarrubia
LETTERS: Richard Starkings & Comicraft
COVER: Gerald Parel
VARIANT COVER: Sanjulián
EDITOR: Philip R. Simon
28pp, Colors, $3.50 U.S. (May 2013)

The Hour of the Dragon is the only novel featuring Conan the Cimmerian (or Barbarian) written by author Robert E. Howard, Conan’s creator. The novel originally ran as a serial in the pulp magazine, Weird Tales, from 1935 through 1936. The novel was first published in book from as Conan the Conqueror (1950, Gnome Press).

Dark Horse Comics is producing a comic book adaptation of the novel as two six-issue miniseries. The first series, King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon, will be released to comic book stores this week (as of this writing). The second miniseries will be titled King Conan: The Conqueror.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon is written by Timothy Truman and drawn by Tomás Giorello, already acclaimed for the Conan comics they have produced over the last several years. They are joined by their stellar collaborators, José Villarrubia on colors and Richard Starkings & Comicraft on letters.

King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon #1 opens in Tarantia, capital city of the kingdom of Aquilonia. King Conan is visiting the burial chambers of his late Queen, Zenobia. It is there that a young scribe, Pramis, meets the king and begins recording the tale King Conan tells him – the story of how he met Zenobia.

The story begins in remote Nemedia, on the eve of the Year of the Dragon. In another crypt, a group of malcontents and conspirators, seeking help to capture the thrones of kingdoms they covet, summon a wizard dead for three thousand. Now, King Conan must face a traitorous alliance backed by the resurrected sorcerer, Xaltotun.

I was ecstatic upon hearing that Dark Horse Comics was going to adapt into comics, Robert E. Howard’s sword-and-sorcery novel, The Hour of the Dragon, one of my all-time favorite books. I think that the novel has only been turned into comics once before, in the early to mid-1970s by Marvel Comics.

I am happy with the resulting first issue of King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon. Tim Truman seems to have absorbed the essence of the novel, while relocating the best of Howard’s prose into comics. The novel does have some rough patches, in which the story meanders, so I wonder if this will show over the course of a 12-issue adaptation.

Personally, I’m ready to put Tomás Giorello’s name next to the great Conan comic book artists, Barry Windsor-Smith and John Buscema. Giorello’s art has the pen and ink texture of book illustration and a graphic style that captures the bizarre sensibilities of pulp fantasy tales. José Villarrubia’s colors complete the illusion that the art belongs to a bygone pre-World War II era of fantastic fiction. However, there is no mistaking King Conan: The Hour of the Dragon for a pastiche. This is real-deal Conan.

A

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux