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Lone
Wolf 2100
Shadows On Saplings – Vol.1
2002
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Writer: Mike Kennedy
Pencils: Francisco Ruiz Velasco
Inks: Francisco Ruiz Velasco
Colors: Studio F
Letters: Digital Chameleon
Price: $12.95 US/R185.00 SA
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Dark Horse comics has managed to successfully bring
some of the biggest manga titles into English readers homes. From
the legendary Ghost In The Shell and Metropolis
to the soon to be released Trigun. Now we take
a look at a great re-imagining of the classic Lone Wolf
& Cub in the first collection of Lone Wolf
2100.
Set one hundred years in the future, the world has been taken over
by a virus named the War Spore. Killing human and
machine alike the only hope of stopping it rests within a little
girl’s body. Itto, her companion and protector,
an Emcon robot, is her only chance at survival.
The story has been liberally taken from the original Lone Wolf &
Cub with full license from the legendary creator of that work, Kazou
Koike. The story itself is pretty decent but nothing amazing.
A solid mix of sci-fi and Japanese samurai narratives
would probably be the best way to explain it. Some nice ideas are
flexed at times, especially the troubled existence between man and
machine in a futuristic setting, but none really take off just yet.
The environments in which the story plays out are great as the story
is set in a mixed bag, post apocalyptic, ‘Mad Max’
kind of backdrop. Packs of militant madmen who plunder local villages
and protect the once used highways from rogue Emcon machines brings
to mind such movies as the Terminator and once
again the Mad Max series. All of this feels a bit
re-used and somewhat stolen from different areas of other written
works and movies but nevertheless it makes for an entertaining read.
The artwork is the major plus that this book has going for itself.
It’s some of the most delicious [if I can say that about art]
stuff that you’ll see in today’s comics. Dark Horse
have got themselves a true winner here and hand in hand with their
great production values, high quality paper and
cover stock and nice reduced sized format, this is sure to be a
winner for those of us who are artistically drawn to comic books.
Francisco Ruiz Velasco [Battlegods],
remember that name as he’s only going to get bigger, just
makes this book special. Along with some of the best colouring I’ve
seen in ages by Studio F, there is little to fault
on the art side for this book. The colours are just so good, an
amazing painted style is used throughout the book which helps to
take Velasco’s visuals to an almost godly height. Trust me
on this, if you like insanely beautiful comics
then you just have to pick this up and take a look.
A nice enough story, if somewhat clichéd in parts, comes
together with top notch production values and the most awe-inspiring
art I’ve seen in quite a while.
Score 8/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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Comic Reviews
