It had been my understanding that Rocket Comics was going to be a new all-ages line, but if the Free Comic Book Day offering Ignite is any indication, it's really aimed at a teenage manga crowd more than a younger crowd. That doesn't mean it's not interesting, though, because the concepts of all three of these books is strong, and the execution of two of them were equally strong. Three familiar writers and five unfamiliar artists provide an intriguing prologue to Dark Horse's new Rocket Comics line, and while it doesn't have the younger age spin I was expecting, it does tackle some adventure genres that aren't commonly seen in comics.
By far the strongest feature in Ignite, at least to my mind, is "Lone," a post-apocalyptic western by Stuart Moore and Jerome Opena. The post-apocalyptic western is one we've seen before, in older books like Hex or newer ones like Just A Pilgrim, and I've got a fondness for this rarely-seen genre. Moore has got all the ingredients of a successful story, including creepy and misunderstood technology, mutants and a shady, tough protagonist who has humanity that many of the survivors lack. The artwork on this one is probably the least manga-inspired, looking something like a mix between the work of Humberto Ramos and Travis Charest, and it looks great, especially when you take into account Michelle Madsen's subtle and effective colors.
I'm more surprised how much I enjoyed "Go Boy 7," an Astro Boy meets government agency story by Tom Peyer, Jon Sommariva and Pierre-Andre Dery. The artwork on this one is more similar to what I've come to expect from Amerimanga, a cartoony and exaggerated look that works well for the adventurous nature of the strip, and it's clear that Peyer is having a great deal of fun. A mad scientist with more good ideas than common sense, a young boy with immense power, a cynical and sexy guardian and a living bomb are but a few of the neat ideas introduced in this short tale, and those who enjoyed Kamandi, The Cadmus Project or other super-secret super-technology stories from Kirby and others should definitely check it out.
"Syn," the opening story of the book is the one with the most original concept and, unfortunately, the most unclear execution. Giffen's robot-speak for his characters makes them hard to understand and hard to relate to, a shame given that the central concept of a robot society trying to recapture its humanity is such a fascinating concept. Titus and Washburn provide the story with some fairly simple and straightforward artwork, but they don't capture the complexity that I think would make a robot world more interesting, often leaving the backgrounds plain so that the action comes to the forefront. There's definite potential in this concept, but best case scenario, the creators need more room to work, and worst case, they're not giving this inhuman concept enough of a human hook to draw readers in. I guess we'll see for sure when the first issue comes out.
After reading Ignite, I'm considerably more excited about Rocket Comics than I was. I'm a little wary of the Amerimanga style, but it looks like it is being used fairly well in these stories, and it's clear that the writers have taken the notion of adventure comics to heart, which should appeal to kids who might not be as interested in the strong characterization and dialogue that often defines modern super-hero comics and just want to watch cool fights and stuff blowing up. There are a lot of cool free comics available for Free Comic Book Day this year, but Ignite is definitely worth considering when you're making your selections this Saturday.
