Saturday, February 22, 2014

I Reads You Review: SAMURAI JACK #3

SAMURAI JACK #3
IDW PUBLISHING with Cartoon Network – @IDWPublishing and @cartoonnetwork

WRITER: Jim Zub – @jimzub
ARTIST: Andy Suriano – @wolfboy74
COLORS: Josh Burcham
LETTERS: Shawn Lee
COVER: Andy Suriano
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (December 2013)

Samurai Jack created by Genndy Tartakovsky

“Samurai Jack and the Threads of Time” Part 3

The Emmy-winning animated television series, Samurai Jack (2001-2004), focuses on a samurai known as “Jack,” who is trapped in a dystopian, futuristic Earth.  It is ruled by an old enemy of Jack’s, a tyrannical, shape-shifting, demonic wizard named Aku.  Jack wanders this future, trying to find a method by which he can travel back in time to the era in which he belongs, Feudal Japan, and keep Aku from creating this troubled future.

Samurai Jack returns in a new five-issue comic book miniseries from IDW Publishing, written by Jim Zub and drawn by Andy Suriano.  Samurai Jack #3 opens as Jack continues to search for the Threads of Time, which he can wind into the Rope of Eons and therefore, rewind himself home.  He already has three strands.

Jack enters the village of Grantus, a place straight out of Greek antiquity.  The villagers are not very friendly, but the village’s champion, Gloer the Great, can explain why.  Gloer is friendly and welcoming, but there is more to his story than Jack realizes.

Throughout my reviews of this miniseries, I have said that this Samurai Jack comic book is not merely an adaptation of the cartoon.  It IS Samurai Jack, simply because it captures the spirit, tone, and look of the cartoon.  Writer Jim Zub tells the kind of stories that could have been episodes of the cartoon, so much so that you would think he had been a writer on the series.

Artist Andy Suriano did work on the original Samurai Jack, as a character designer.  As a comic book artist, he brings Jack back to life, with graphics that pop off the page.  He makes the reader believe that Jack is animated again, his sword slashing across the comic book page.

I must admit that I am not too crazy about the twist or “shocking reveal” of this issue’s story, but I still enjoyed reading it.  That enjoyment is the reason why I hope this miniseries turns into a regular series.

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Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux

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