I knew that when Dynamite Comics got their mitts on the classic Gold Key characters it would not turn out well. See the blurb below.
"Turok, Dinosaur Hunter. Magnus, Robot Fighter. Solar, Man of the Atom. The Mighty Samson. The legendary heroes whose adventures have thrilled comic book readers for over half a century are back, only this time they all share the same time and the same world – ours! In this breakneck first issue, each warrior wrestles with the perils of the twenty-first century, but a greater evil is approaching, one that will unify the legendary champions in a struggle that will change each forever. Join Eisner-nominated writer Phil Hester (Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, The Bionic Man) and rising star artist Brent Peeples (Last of the Greats, Legenderry: Green Hornet) for the latest and greatest chapter in the Gold Key saga."
Aarrgghhh!
Let me count the ways this is one of the dumbest reboots I've ever encountered. Let's take four heroes, each of them particular to a specific time (Turok - prehistory / Magnus - tech future / Samson - apocalyptic future / Solar - modern atomic age) and mash them up to deal with the rigors and threats of today's hip modern world (Pumpkin-spice lattes and ISIS and Donald Trump I suppose). Oh and by the way make one of them a girl. Ughh! (And I guess that's Doctor Spektor in the second cover image, though no mention is made of him in the advertising I've seen.) Now we have Magnus as secret agent, Samson as a raving bum, Solar as an aspiring doctor helping the poor in Africa, while Turok gets to be both a reality TV star and a park ranger. (Quoting Dr. Smith from Lost in Space -- "The Pain! The Pain!")
Now I know I sound cranky, but I so would like to read some decent Turok stories that I'm really sore that whichever company gets hold of him seems to want to ignore his whole high concept. Let's buy the rights to a period Native American warrior who gets lost in a prehistoric valley filled with dinosaurs and cavemen and all sorts of things, and then ignore ALL of that. Sheesh!
Now I like Phil Hester generally speaking and the art by Brent Peeples seems okay (by modern standards), but I won't be buying this!
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Agreed. What a waste of a comic legacy.
ReplyDeleteDynamite paid good money for them, I wish they do something good.
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what??? YUCK!!
ReplyDeleteWhat you said.
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Of dear! I won't be buying it either. Why do they do such silly reboots?
ReplyDeleteSo they can give us such a handsome array of alternate covers. That must be what their business model is based on.
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You know, Rip, if you're all subtle like this, we won't know how you feel about this.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to be more direct next time. Wink.
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I don't know why Dynamite keeps doing this. It's not like their re-imagining of the King characters did well. They should be sticking to what worked for the characters, like what they're doing with The Shadow and Doc Savage.
ReplyDeleteThe King event started out well but fell apart with a ridiculous ending ruined by the inability to get the books to the newsstand. Stupid. And I'm not that big a fan of their Doc Savage either. Glad you're liking it.
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