New Beginnings - Tomb Raider #1

by Matt Puddy

Crossovers between various mediums are becoming an every day thing for us. There are the obvious comic book adaptations the become multi-million dollar budget films that are well into their prime at the moment, and vice versa, comic tie-ins to big films such as the impending Godzilla HC.

There are some occasions where video games have been made into films as well (although I grimace at the thought of the big screen debut of Doom), and there have also been some successful game franchises that have been transported into comics. A recent success story has been the well known Mass Effect series, but many of us remember the hugely successful Tomb Raider comics from Top Cow a decade or so ago. Last year brought us the impressive debut of a new, reimagined young Lara Croft which was surely the start if a new series for the franchise, so it's very appropriate that the next stepping stone in her story is a return to comic books.

The Top Cow era

Lara Croft is possibly one of the best known video game characters and is quite likely the most recognisable female character too. So much so that I don’t have to describe her intellect, rugged resourcefulness or the plethora of other talents. This new version has dumped the pneumatic chest in favour of a more believable protaganist ready to reclaim her place from the Uncharted usurper Nathan Drake. As a strong, modern female character, who better to write for her than Gail Simone?

Tomb Raider: Survivors Guilt picks up a short time after the 2013 multi-platform game (now out on PS4 and X-Box One too). Having made her way off of the island, along with a few of her companions, Lara is finding that she is suffering from recurring nightmares linked to her ordeal. She has also fallen into the role of “den mother” to her group of friends, as she holds herself responsible for both what happened on the island and ensuring their safety now that they are back.

Sam, one of Lara’s companions, is also struggling but trying to deal with it herself. It’s only when Jonah calls that things go awry. Thrust into desert conditions deep in the US - territory that is almost alien to Lara - and accompanied only by a leering and sleazy guide (perhaps an avatar of the ageing mysogonisticmale gamer associated with the early Tomb Raider games), things get twisted beyond belief. Between the almost incoherent jabbering from Jonah and the freak tidal wave appearing inland, Lara is once again forced to fight to survive, losing another friend in the process. She is left with a conundrum of what is happening, with talk of missing artifacts and four imposing guardians.

The artwork is also a bit of a mystery. The cover by Dan Dos Santos is a fantastic, well-rendered picture with a smooth, detailed finish. If honest I can’t tell if it’s hand drawn or computer generated, but it looks great and also follows the continuity of the game, right down to the ice pick. Inside though is the polar opposite from Nicolas Daniel Selma. It’s full of simple, open linework making it easy to read. Even with such a basic approach in its style, all of the characters are easily recognisable and so is the island, meaning that fans of the game will immediately connect with the progression from the game and beyond.

Dark Horse is a publisher that I normally think of for teen and slightly more mature comics, but it has really felt that on this occasion the level has been played down to fit a much wider audience. Gail Simone still plays to her strengths though, with the fierceness of Croft on display once again, with much more to come. Hints at a the larger story are dropped in this first issue, meaning that the mystery is the ideal Lara Croft adventure. With the news that this is considered to be an in-canon bridge between the first new Tomb Raider game and the eagerly awaited sequel, this should be another hit title for Dark Horse across a good range of readers. Highly recommended to fans of the franchise.

Matt Puddy is intrigued by the prospect of a new Heroes miniseries.

New Beginnings - Undertow #1

Atlantis is a place which has been written about often. Fictional or not, Atlantis has been a place of interest to many. Image are now revisiting a new vision of how things could have been with Steve Orlando at the helm.

Undertow is set in our past with what could be considered an alien race of water-breathing humanoids. Life is comparable to our standards on some levels, which makes the opening narrative of a young man born and bred into privilege quite relatable, but it is only a short precursor to the story. As a way to strike out and break away from the social norms expected of him, he enlists into military service. A way to see new places and people that hadn’t been vetted by his parents, but also a way that thrust him into harms way. Into the sight of Redum Anshargal, a person who supposedly didn’t exist.

Redum has been built up to be somewhat of an urban myth, an individual who brings fear to the hearts of Atlanteans for being a rebel or to some degree a terrorist. But is this really the case? The story follows how Redum is more of a scientist than a warrior, searching for the next step that allows his species to walk the Earth without the need for a water breathing suit. Along the way, they observe early man first starting to become organised, as they hunt for an amphibian that could potentially unlock the key to the next step in their evolution. 

Visually the comic’s cover immediately struck me as having similarities to Scott Snyder and Sean Murphy's “The Wake” with dark, detailed imagery and contrasting colours. Inside this is carried over further, but it also had me thinking of other titles like Jeff Lemire’s Trillium, although that is admittedly due to the face shapes and types that artist Artyom Trakhanov has used for the characters. Having to imagine a reversed world where in water is the natural state can’t be easy but Trakhanov has managed it. His is quite a heavy style, though I did start to find it got quite tough on the eye especially with such a dim palette used for the colouring, but it does give a certain sense of gravity to it all. This isn’t a jovial light-hearted comic and the main characters have differing levels of sombreness, so the dialogue and depictions work together well.

As a story I found this issue a bit slow as it took two thirds of the book to get to the actual main target. This is more about the history of the team and getting them established as a unit in the reader's mind. The amount of time spent on just a couple of the characters did seem a little unbalanced, but they did go on to be the main focus for this issue.

This is quite a brave piece in my mind as there are a lot of similarities and potential nods to other titles. It also is set in a time period which gives quite a free rein to the creative team. As such I think this could be a bit of a Marmite title, which those who love vehemently love and those who don’t, really don’t.

Matt Puddy now understands why people were raving about Cabin In The Woods - great film!

Licensing restrictions ends UK supply of some animated tie-in comics

by Ben Fardon

Some bad news that I've been trying to find a way around before breaking.

Sadly, we're stuck with this, so future issues of the following titles will no longer be available through Proud Lion. 

Licensing Restrictions 

Due to licensing restrictions the following titles will no longer be available via Diamond UK:

• TMNT Animated (IDW)
• Samurai Jack (IDW)
• Powerpuff Girls (IDW)
• Ben 10 (IDW)
• Dexters Laboratory (IDW)
• Regular Show (Boom!)

I'm really sorry folks.

Please drop me a line at shop@proudlion.co.uk if you are affected and would like some guidance on sourcing these direct from the US, though bear in mind that with shipping costs this won't be cheap!

New Beginnings - The Fuse #1

by Matt Puddy

Digging deep into a large selection of styles he loves, Antony Johnston brings us The Fuse this week, bringing science fiction and police procedurals together 22,000 miles above the surface of the Earth. The Fuse is a five-miles long space station, inhabited by roughly half a million people - all of which needed to be watched over. Much like a normal city the citizens have separated into various social statuses and roles. There are the obvious staff and services on the station, but equally poverty has crept in as well and “cablers” – the equivalent of homeless people – have propped up the human hierarchy.

On his way to the station is Ralph Dietrich, a young detective who has volunteered to get his position on the station, and upon his arrival he is thrust straight into the thick of it with a murder almost falling into his lap. To make matters worse he also meets his new partner, a veteran of the force, and they both make a less than impressive first impression. Putting this aside the two push forward to start solving the crime. With little practical knowledge or understanding of how the station works, Dietrich is a little left behind on the processes, and owing to Klem’s cold demeanour, the partnership doesn’t really start working, creating a growing animosity. With dead ends and odd clues, including the arrival of another body – the vagrant we are introduced to in the first page, who is appearing to be a scapegoat – it all just complicates matters further. So what happens next? The hunt for the metaphorical needle within a huge floating pressurised haystack begins.

To me Image is known for being more of a non-typical publisher, and by typical I mean capes and powers. This is a good example of taking a straightforward style of story and giving it an extra twist. If you wanted to be flippant about it you could drill Johnston’s story down to a simple detective story, with the location and settings being merely incidental, but it’s the added layer of uncertainty in his surroundings that is given to Dietrich that turns things on its head. Johnston is also used to writing in a non-realistic realistic style after being on Oni Press for a very long time and his sci-fi credentials are easily verified by his work on the Dead Space computer game series to name just one.

Justin Greenwood is the artist for the issue and has a quite particular style. In some frames there is an almost cartoon like quality. Faces are smooth and - with the exception of the Cablers - fairly blemish free. It’s almost like social status has once again had an influence on a person’s visible standings. My one gripe is that the style leads to Klem having a certain androgynous appearance, that even after Klem's gender is confirmed I still wasn’t convinced as a reader .

There is certainly a lot of mystery in this issue, which was the desired outcome that Johnston was aiming for, and there is plenty room for manoeuvring in future issues. I would hope that Image keep this title for a long time, as this is just what happens on the “Russia Shift” meaning there are so many other places to go and things to do or see. One for fans of 2000AD or the wealth of comparable science fiction stories coming from European band dessinée, and definitely worth a look for anyone who loves Arthur C. Clarke.

Matt Puddy was impressed by the trailer for The Crew on the next-gen consoles.