When I’m reviewing a book I’m usually thinking of different scenes, visuals and dialogue that stood out for me; when I think about The Mercenary Sea I just want to take a nap!
This is one of the most boring comics Image have ever released, certainly in the last few years. Set in the late 1930s, our Han Solo-wannabe main character, Captain Jack (does every nautical character have to be named Captain Jack!?), is floating around the Pacific in his sub with his crew. They’re looking for treasure or something cliched and, this being the lead up to WW2, they get involved in the Chinese/Japanese… zzz...
Jack is a total flatliner as a main character. He doesn’t sleep with his crew and he likes King Kong, and that’s about it for his personality. He’s action man most of the time, as is his crew who’re all otherwise completely empty shells. The book is packed with gunfights, night raids, ship and sub fights, but because everything about the comic has been seen before and is trotted out with no imagination or variation, it’s utterly boring to… zzz...
Then one of the characters mentioned there was a British spy that needed rescuing or something and I went into a coma. The villain has a moustache and a Van Dyke and… zzz…
The art makes all the characters look the same. I honestly thought Jack got knifed in the throat in one panel but it turned out to be a Japanese guard and Jack was elsewhere in the scene - terrible character designs! The colours are very bright though so there’s that to keep you… zzz…
Maybe if you’re 10 and into generic boy’s own adventure type crap (think Hardy Boys-bland), you’ll like… zzz…
If you pick up The Mercenary Sea, crack the spine, throw the book away and settle in for a snooze because doing that or reading this straight through comes to the same… zzz....
… zzzthat cheesecake’s mine, Sean Connery… zzz...
The Mercenary Sea, Volume 1
No comments:
Post a Comment