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JASON AND THE ARGOBOTS #1
Recommended (7/10)
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Oni Press
Writer: J. Torres
Pencils: Mike Norton
Letters: Bryan O'Malley
Editor: James Lucas Jones
Price: $2.95 US/$4.50 CAN |
I'll be honest... based on the Sunday comics presented on Oni's website, I was expecting more of an Iron Giant riff in this book, but instead, I found something that reminded me of Viz's Zoids. But the surprise was a pleasant one. This first issue is just something of an origin, getting the story going, but Torres grabs my attention with strong characters and a great sense of fun. And Norton contributes some strong -- and unexpected -- visuals.
In a harsh future in which mankind is plagued by an arid landscape and repeated earthquakes, Jason and his younger sister Juni still enjoy a relatively normal childhood, cared for by their grandfather, a robotics expert. Jason takes off into the desert for some fun, but he stumbles upon something unexpected... and rather large. Meanwhile, news breaks of a prison escape attempt by a throng of criminals with special powers.
Mike Norton's best known in the industry at this point for his work on Sean McKeever's The Waiting Place. His simple style brought the hum-drum world of teens living in a small town to life. But if one didn't see Norton's name on this book, one would never know it shared an artist in common with TWP. His sci-fi designs here are sleek and striking, and he imbues the young, cute Juni with a lot of personality and comic potential. Most impressive, though, is how he conveys the immensity and power of the Argobot as it "awakens."
Remember when you were a kid, and you (and maybe a couple of friends) would jump on your bike and head down to that rockpile or forest or some other undeveloped area of town and just poke your head around and see what you could see? Torres taps into that universal sense of youthful curiosity here, making it easy for the reader to relate to Jason. Already, one can see that this book is full of innocence and boasts a delightful sense of wonder.
This first issue rather thin on plot, as Torres is simply establishing the characters and premise. It's more of a prologue, really, but it's successful in its goal: to pique the reader's interest. Torres seems to combine giant robot/young boy riff that's common in manga more traditional sci-fi as well as with what appears to be to be something of a super-hero genre thing (represented in the metahuman criminal breakout at the issue's end). It makes for a fun, fresh read.
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