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Samurai Jack #1 - 2

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    Ian Jane
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  • Samurai Jack #1 - 2



    Samurai Jack #1 - 2
    Released by: IDW
    Released on: October - November, 2013.
    Purchase From Amazon

    Written by my friend and yours Jim Zub (he of Skullkickers and The Makeshift Miracle) with artwork by the original Samurai Jack character designer Andy Suriano, IDW's resurrection of one of Cartoon Networks favorite fallen sons is off to a very good start. There's a respect for tradition here that's obvious from the first page of the first issue where Aku, the shape shifting master of darkness from the cartoon, fills us in, first person style, on his past with Jack. From there, we catch up with the titular samurai as he wanders through a windy desert to find Soule The Seer. The dialogue exchange between Jack and Soule continues to tradition of humor that the series is known for, establishing Jack as tough enough to have taken care of some scorpions before Soule even alerted him to the fact that, yes, they're going to be a problem.

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    Anyone familiar with the show that the series has spun off from knows that Jack needs to get back to his time to take care of Aku. He's come to Soule for assistance with that. These pages, in which Soule relates Jack's story, helps to get those new to the character up to date without cramming it down the readers' throats. It works in the context of the story that Zub is telling. We then learn that Aku, jerk that he is, shredded the 'ropes of eons' and that Jack is going to need to take care of this to set things right. If he can do this, he should be able to finally go home. Jack is told if he can find one thread, it'll pull him toward the others.

    And so he's off. His quest now laid out for him, Jack takes the knowledge that Soule has given him and heads out to find the first thread. He heads to the location of the first thread, gets yelled at by an angry spider, and falls through a web landing in a pit where another spider named Dreezun guards the thread. Jack is told he must compete in a gladiatorial competition and take down five opponents to emerge the victor…




    In the second issue, Jack finds that the thread he's recovered is, as Soule told him, guiding him towards the others. He arrives in a small town and when he asks for help is told the only ones that can help him are 'The Twins.' It turns out the village is protected by martial artist twins named Dis and Dat but they are in fact running a protection racket, exploiting the villagers and collecting unfair tolls and taxes. As is Jack's way, he tries to avoid a violent confrontation but Dis and Dat aren't having any of it but as these two are able to operate as one, working in tandem, this proves more challenging than Jack anticipates.

    When he's defeated, he breaks to recover and while he does his thread shows him where the next thread is hidden and how it is being used for sinister purposes. Renewed and reinvigorated, Jack sets out to retrieve the next thread…

    Basically picking up where the television series ended, this new series gives us just enough background information on the character and concept to refresh our memories and then hits the ground running. Right away we realize that the writing hits that right balance of stoic, heroic dignity from the titular character and bizarre, humorous quips from pretty much all of the various supporting characters he encounters along the way. And humor is important to the way in which the concept succeeds - yes, it's played fairly straight in how it unfolds but by keeping Jack more or less the straight man here, it allows the various denizens of the world he explores to offer up some genuinely funny background bits.

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    Given Suriano's ties to the original series, it only makes perfect sense that his artwork would reflect the look of that show pretty much perfectly - and it does. He makes great use of thick, bold lines to anchor the artwork with some traditional Japanese style but at the same time, there's a lot of tiki culture and weird martial arts movie influences that work their way into the panels. There's also a lot of fun detail here to enjoy and appreciate, like the amusing facial expressions on different characters and some of the more dramatic poses that Jack will strike when in combat.

    With script and art very much in synch, Samurai Jack returns to pop culture in sequential form in grand style. These guys 'get' the character and what makes him work, what makes his story interesting and most importantly why the original animated show was so fun in the first place. They've effectively translated it to sequential form and these first two issues do what any two introductory comics should do, and that's leave us wanting more.
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