Shinku #1

Shinku #1
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Lee Moder, Matthew Waite, and Michael Attyeh
Lettering by Troy Peteri
Published by Image Comics
Review by Lan Pitts

Vampires.

They've been a staple of folklore for centuries, and in pop culture for almost a hundred years. They've been perceived anywhere from noble monsters, to inhuman abominations, to even teen heartthrobs. Ron Marz, Lee Moder and company strive to bring vampires out of their sparkling image and back into the consensus that vampires are demonic creatures that will maim and kill you with Shinku.

The story follows young Davis Quinn as he wanders into the world of an ancient blood feud between the last of a Samurai clan, the titular Shinku, and the vampire warlord Asano. Shinku saved Davis' life when a local vamp takes a certain, shall we say, liking to Davis and took her head before she could get to third base. Davis is a witness to the existence of the vampires and the ongoing struggle Shinku's ancestors have had with them. His purpose is still unknown, but here's hoping he can survive because the glimpse we get of Lord Asano is disturbing enough.

Marz has been hyping this book for a while now. I have one of the ashcan sketchbooks when he was first promoting it, and that was at least a year ago. It is good to see this finally come into fruition. While Marz handles more mature themes in Witchblade, it's interesting to see him able to really cut loose and let the blood flow. He's also no stranger to the supernatural and Samurai stories, so this almost like a "duh" for him to write.

I haven't been too familiar with Lee Moder's work outside Wonder Woman and Dragon Prince (another creator-owned book which he teamed with Marz), but boy, this stuff is just excellent. The layouts are key here, as they feel natural and not cramped at all. Even when you have a lot thrown at you, it is still cohesive. Great use of colors here, too, by Michael Attyeh. His pallet meshes well with Moder's style, especially with Shinku's origin story. It just comes across very well put together.

If there was one complaint is I feel that Marz showed his hand too soon. I would have been more intrigued had I known less about Shinku, and more about Davis, besides him being a fish out of water guy in Japan looking to get laid. Marz can build a mystery, he's done it for decades, but I don't really feel anything for Davis, but I'm still interested in why he's so important to Shinku's quest, so Marz succeeded on that front.

Summer is here and with the big two flexing their event muscles, this was a nice break from that. I just wanted a bit more, so I'll be sticking around to see if I get my fill.

Dragon Prince #1 Review

Dragon Prince #1
Written by Ron Marz
Art by Lee Moder
Cover by Jeff Johnson and Stjepan Sejic
Published by Top Cow

Ron Marz (Green Lantern, Witchblade) and First Born: Aftermath artist Lee Moder have teamed up for Dragon Prince, which debuted on September 10th. Prince is a four-part miniseries that is a mix of modern day fantasy with martial arts action and mystic mayhem, and anybody a fan of the Jade Empire video game series or younger audiences that obsess over Ben 10 will surely get a kick out of the title.

Going through "the change" is never easy for teenagers, though Aaron Chang is going through something quite out of the ordinary. Aaron has always felt sort of ostracized by his peers because of his mixed heritage (his mother being Caucasian and his father being Asian) and often called things like "white rice". His mother is a fantasy writer, much to the chagrin of her son, who feels like he is too old for her "stories". One day at school however, he learns that he is very much indeed different from his school mates as he chars the school bully with his breath of fire. He returns home where his mother tells him of his true heritage. He is the Dragon Prince, last of his kind and heir to the bloodline of all dragons. Hunted to the brink of extinction by a secret society of magi, dragonkind's survival is now in Aaron's hands.

First off, let me just say I am a huge Ron Marz fan. He created my favorite Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner), and his narratives for Witchblade have been the best since she burst onto the scene in the late '90s. He's made it more reader-friendly, which is always a plus in my eyes. While I'm not too familiar with Moder's art, I like his style. It's not too rendered and his panels are competent enough that anybody from the age of 8 to 80 can understand. The ink and coloring mesh well. Nothing is lost or overdone. This is a book I really want to pick up to see where it leads. I don't think there are enough "fantasy" books out in the market now. True, you could debate that all superhero books are fantasy, they are, but I'm talking about more in the style of the Wheel of Time, Harry Potter, The 10th Kingdom, etc. While I enjoyed Battle Chasers back in the day, the book almost never came out on time and I just lost interest.

Dragon Prince is a PG-rated book that could be picked up for ages 8 and up. I plan on picking up a few for my friends' kids. The fact that the protagonist is thirteen years-old should only make the book more related to the younger readers who loved the Eragon series (Aaron is actually seen reading that). I've been an advocate for comics being for kids again- the market has gotten almost too gritty and downright depressing with its focus on the "everything changes forever" storytelling. Dragon Prince isn't that. Yes, it's a big story which will leave our young protagonist changed, but its great storytelling, easily accessible, and...fun. While this was just the first issue, I'm expecting great things out of this story. More, please.