The Bionic Man #1
Quite the delicacy of first issues this week, and I am beginning to wonder if Dark Horse will retain its mastery of the licensed titles. Both Dynamite and IDW continue to challenge them with impressive offerings, as we see this week with the release of The Bionic Man #1 from Dynamite, and the return of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by Kevin Eastman from IDW.
It makes a nice change to not be talking about the DCnU, but on that note – Aaaaaand another thing! I’ve been re-reading Countdown, which at the time was panned and seen as a poor successor to Fifty Two, but compared to the Flashpoint? It’s a thoroughly enjoyable read and considering the reception it received, if this is a good example of the nostalgic ‘good old days’……
Well, I can leave the rest unsaid.
Dynamite in comparison, continues to thrill. Now I never really saw the Six-Million Dollar Man the first time around, I was just a little too young. In fact, I probably know more about the Bionic Woman than the man, and I never really caught the bug.
Scripted by Kevin Smith with Phil Hester, the dialogue in The Bionic Man #1 is what struck me the most. It is fun, realistic and quite witty. I may not know the characters well yet, but I already like test pilot Steve Austin and his lover, the beautiful Jamie. As a teacher, I imagine she is quite the force to be reckoned with.
By the end of the issue, we are not quite at the crash that will turn Austin to such an expensive action figure, but we are only seconds away. Yet after such a well-paced and written issue, I can say that I will feel his pain. This is an excellent relaunch, with interior art to match. Everything that the cover promises is delivered.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles however returns to the hands of their creator, and considering they began as a comic strip, I’m not sure you can call them a licence in the same manner. This I also missed the very beginnings of, so I am not sure if this is a relaunch, or continuing the story from Mirage Comics. However, I found myself soon drawn into the plot as a rival gang attacks Splinter and his boys, while one turtle is AWOL. The issue has the feel of what I believe the very original Turtle work was supposed to be like, (no more Hero Turtles, thank goodness), and even if there was a little too much fight in the story, there was ample exposition, and I shall return for a second dose.