Home MORE COMICS Classic Comic Compendium: CAPTAIN VICTORY AND THE GALACTIC RANGERS

Classic Comic Compendium: CAPTAIN VICTORY AND THE GALACTIC RANGERS

30 January 2023

“The universe is still a strange and dangerous beast!”

In the midst of an interstellar struggle, the Dreadnought Tiger is brutally attacked and their captain is killed. Before his dying, although, their cloning fail-safes, themselves broken within the assault, jettison two of his clones. A determined seek for their captain ensues throughout time and area on this updating of Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers by Joe Casey, Nathan Fox, Brad Simpson, and Simon Bowland with further artwork by Jim Rugg, Ulises Farinas, Michael Fiffe, Jim Mahfood, Farel Dalrymple, Benjamin Marra, Connor Willumsen, Nick Dragotta, Dan McDaid, Tradd Moore, and Grant Morrison.

Jack Kirby‘s Captain Victory is considered by some to be a lost classic. It was published in the early ’80s by Pacific Comics and sadly by no means been totally reprinted (an Image Comics reprint was scheduled however by no means materialized). I haven’t learn the complete run myself both, solely having the reprint version of the primary difficulty from TwoMorrows and some non-consecutive points I discovered in again difficulty bins. What I’ve learn, although, was enjoyable. It’s full on Kirby cosmic motion, that to me actually appears like a industrial toy animated sequence. You don’t must know any of that to take pleasure in this new interpretation.

The sequence is fascinating in the way it performs out and is structured general. It will get segmented over three predominant settings, Captain Victory’s ship, after which two totally different places the place his clones crash; late ’70s Earth and a sort of trash heap world. It then will get segmented even additional by means of flashbacks and thoughts quests and different bizarre issues that create a sort of mosaic by means of which the reader can piece collectively the bigger image of what’s occurring. In a way, it’s an strategy much like what Kirby was doing together with his numerous Fourth World titles and it’s good to see it in microcosm. I really feel like Casey, Fox, and co. actually excel at this type of storytelling. As a fan of Godland, I additionally actually take pleasure in when Casey goes cosmic.

Nathan Fox has a really distinctive model. It’s typically sort of tough and scratchy, with exaggerated character designs and fascinating know-how. He’s not essentially somebody I’d consider to do sci-fi—since to me his model extra matches gritty crime drama or the ’70s exploitation/martial arts movie really feel of the Earth phase—however at any time when he does (each right here and in The Weatherman) it’s actually rattling good. I feel a part of it’s that his sense of motion framing and pacing is phenomenal.

One of the issues I discover most enjoyable about this sequence is the way it incorporates visitor artists. From the jam session of pages within the closing chapter to the flashbacks and facet missions within the previous components, it’s pleasurable to see a plethora of differing types, many influenced by Kirby, contribute to the general story.

Bringing cohesion to the totally different artists is Brad Simpson’s colors. There’s an general color palette that I’d think about Kirby major colors by means of ’80s retro neon glow, and it’s fascinating. There are shifts in the way it seems within the totally different time durations and places, with extra results being utilized to the crew of the Tiger and a larger emphasis on stable colors on the extra distinct Kirby-inspired flashbacks illustrated by say Benjamin Marra.

Likewise, Simon Bowland’s lettering helps convey a consistency to the general circulation of the story, with some fascinating designs for digital voices, laptop readouts, alien languages, and extra. Bowland is a really versatile letterer and he reveals some great ability right here.

Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers from Casey, Fox, Simpson, Bowland, and a number of great visitor artists is a really enjoyable, entertaining journey that captures the spirit of Kirby in an thrilling method. It updates one among his lesser recognized properties and in addition offers a nod to the Fourth World alongside the way in which.