Finally saw Pirates of the Caribbean last weekend. It's easy to see why audiences are so taken with it. It boasts a delightful sense of humor, a classic presence, well choreographed action sequences and one of Johnny Depp's most memorable, if over-the-top, performances. Most of all, though, I think people connected with it because as far as the 21st century is concerned, the pirate flick is a new genre. It's a standard in classic film, but aside from Mupett Treasure Island and that much-maligned Geena Davis flick, there really hasn't been much else to be found in the genre in recent memory.
Of course, pirates are experiencing a bit of a comeback in comics as well. Scurvy Dogs is a hilarious parody of the genre, delightfully in stereotypes and absurdist humor. And now we've got El Cazador as well. Pirates was an entertaining action story, and Dogs is a deliciously crude humor book. El Cazador explores the genre from a darker, more dramatic perspective, though, and it successfully captures a sense of the epic.
It's 1687, and a galleon sporting a Spanish flag is set upon by pirates led by Blackjack Tom, captain of the pirate ship The Devil's Due. The ferocity of the villains is overwhelming, but one man, named Hidalgo, rises up to inspire his fellow Spanish naval men to resist. Ultimately, though, his brave words are for nought, and he and the crew are laid low, and the ship becomes the latest in a series of spoils for Blackjack Tom, Mister Nate and their men. Little do the pirates known that Hidalgo's wife knows of her husband's fate and the identity of those responsible, and she thirsts for revenge.
Epting seems to be clearly influence by the style of fellow CrossGen artist Butch (Ruse) Guice. There's a stunning level of realism at play here. He captures a sense of the historic with seeming ease; the backgrounds and garb of the characters are meticulously detailed. I love the sexy but tortured tone he brings to the book's heroine. D'Armata's colors are also a crucial visual element here. He drowns the book in dark tones, capturing the frigid and merciless deeps and the climactic rising of the protagonist in the middle of a seemingly pitch-black night.
I'm pleased to find that there's more than just the main conflict -- sexy good pirate hunting down the pirate repsonsible for her lover's death -- at play in this book. We see Blackjack Tom trying to maintain control over men characterized by their moral shortcomings. Even among criminals, ambition and status mean something, and it makesw Blackjack Tom's world a violently political one.
