Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 31, 2017
Price: $24.99
Creator: Mike Grell (writer and artist)
Format: 224 pgs., Full-Color, Trade Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-5067-0279-7
Age Rating: 16 and up
ICv2 Rating: 3.5 Stars out of 5
This is the third edition of this series, all by different publishers. The original ran in comics during the early 1980s under the First Comics imprint, and it was later collected as an expanded edition by Valiant. This collection is a reprint of that second version.
Mike Grell has long been one of my favorite comic artists, but this reprint shows two problems with archival reprints of this type, both of which may hurt this book's appeal. The first is that the color from the original run of this early 1980s comic did not reproduce well. In some cases, it becomes muddy or unnatural in tone. The black-and-white sections are much cleaner, and if the color had been reproduced as cleanly, the book would have received a higher rating.
The second problem is that Mike Grell was an amazing artist when this was created, but not a great writer. By simply reproducing the original in this fashion, the book also faithfully reproduces a few glaring plot holes that at least some readers will notice.
The story itself is great swashbuckling fun, and readers who don't actually think too hard about the resolution will enjoy the story greatly. Swords and ray guns, sailing ships in space, costumes that have no other purpose than to display both male and female forms in delightful fashion… there's a lot to appreciate here, and anyone wanting to study Grell's early works will find hours of enjoyment in this collection.
For teens and up, mostly due to lots of violence and limited clothing.
--Nick Smith: Library Technician, Community Services, for the Pasadena Public Library in California.
