Writer: Jeff Lemire / Artist: Andrea Sorrentino / Image

There is something utterly fascinating about watching a creative team evolve in real time. After the success of Gideon Falls, the first issue of Primordial showed that Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, and Dave Stewart were still in perfect sync and capable of creating a riveting piece of speculative fiction. However, Primordial #2 shows an even deeper level of trust as Lemire allows Sorrentino and Steward to take center stage for the majority of the issue.

In 1957, we see Laika the dog in the vast expanse of space and then the vast expanse of the cubic cosmic horror that resides in Sorrentino’s head. This is after being seeded with Lemire’s word and with a retrofuturist palette from Stewart that manages to make the kindest pastels more sinister than the red I used to laud back with Gideon Falls. It is weird, disconcerting, and mostly exists without text for the majority of the issue, and the text that is there is sparse and still. We know exactly what’s going on at a moment to moment basis.

We’re still mostly in the dark when it comes to the larger myth arc, but the atmosphere that the creative team has created is captivating enough and the pacing is quick and deliberate. We get glimpses of the forces behind the curtain, and the multi-perspective narrative from two different years serves as a way to tantalize the reader in the best way possible. This falls very closely in line with Lemire’s usual slow burn narrative antics, but the tension is palpable. The story always feels like it’s approaching the unapproachable an lets us grasp at the unfathomable in a way that only comics can provide.

Like I said at the start of the review from Primordial #2, getting to watch a creative team hit a home run with an earlier series and then proceed to reunite and hit another home run is nothing but awe-inspiring. The words and narrative of Lemire have given Sorrentino and Stewart an incredible scaffolding to showcase an endless thrilling world that has me itching for the next issue.

9.9 “Communications” out of 10

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When what you’re adapting isn’t just popular but regarded as an absolute classic work of art, as is the case with Cowboy Bebop and Netflix’s attempt at a live-action version, there’s vanishingly little room for error. The concern about Netflix’s remake isn’t necessarily that it’ll be bad, but that it’s been set up for failure if it’s anything but perfect.

Live-action anime adaptations are perhaps the only onscreen endeavors that rival video game adaptations in sheer odds against success—and in the incredibly thin tightrope they must walk. Stray too far from the source material in an effort to set it apart, and you alienate people who just want to see their favorite thing in the “real” world. Stay too faithful, and you’re all but guaranteed to wind up a pale imitation of the original.

Cowboy Bebop’s highly regarded status alone is enough to have anyone worried about how an adaptation would fare, and Netflix certainly seems to be erring on the “stick too close to the source material” side—right down to near-complete mimicry of the the title sequence, reuse of music, and bringing original series composer Yoko Kanno back for the score.

For some, that’s been reassuring and fun to see, and I truly do hope that feeling carries through the final product for them when we finally see it. For me—and, I stress, so far, as I’d love to be proven wrong—it’s felt like an object lesson in the fact that animation is a very different art than live-action and people ignore that at their own peril. (Not to mention that a lack of respect for animation as a medium, despite the incredible artistry that goes into the best of it, often feels like the direct root of live-action adaptations, but that’s its whole own subject.)

All that said, when first reactions about the new series hit social media, despite the wide range of opinion from positive to negative, they didn’t exactly do anything to ease my nerves.

A sampling of Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop Reactions:

3, 2, 1, let’s jam (lol sorry) .. so hey, #CowboyBebop is good. John Cho is a perfect Spike Spiegel. without him, this would not work. It does take awhile for the show to hit its stride, and still slips in some places even after that. my biggest issue with it is how they pic.twitter.com/dY5yaIgySt

— katey stoetzel, haunted 🎃💀👻 (@kateypretzel) November 12, 2021

Nearly finished with S1 of Netflix’s #CowboyBebop. It’s fun. Only so many have proven to know how to do live-action anime, and this is no Wachowski movie. That said, the core trio is great casting, some remixed ideas work more than others, and the music rules. Review Monday. pic.twitter.com/nbvvoeB2If

— Aaron Neuwirth (@AaronsPS4) November 12, 2021

I’ve seen about half of the live-action COWBOY BEBOP. Cast is superb and it’s stylish as hell, but it struggles with tone and much of the action is underwhelming, with haphazard editing and choreography. More thoughts in my review next week. #CowboyBebop

— Brent Hankins (@mistermainevent) November 12, 2021

The social embargo for Netflix’s #CowboyBebop is up, and I can finally say that I really dug the first season. I’ll have more to say on Nov 15 when my full review goes up, but fans of the anime should rest easy. It’s solid!

— alessandro fillari (@afillari) November 12, 2021

After screening @netflix‘s Cowboy Bebop, I just have to say it’s the ‘Rebirth of the cool!” @bebopnetflix is a true homage to fans, giving a faithful depiction of everyone’s favorite big shots. Premiering Nov 19th: See ya soon space cowboys! #CowboyBebop pic.twitter.com/zwq9vGna8T

— Amanda Taylor (@geeklyamanda) November 11, 2021

Ok NOW I can actually day that I did not enjoy #CowboyBebop. It makes the mistake of being a mostly verbatim adaptation, which obviously pales in comparison to the anime, but worse yet, it simply looks so cheap. The editing, the visuals, most of the acting is just off.

— Rafael Motamayor (@RafaelMotamayor) November 12, 2021

To clarify, we’ve seen all episodes of the new live action #CowboyBebop, full review coming on @GogglerMY on Monday. It gets a lot right, but some additions just didn’t work for me AT ALL. https://t.co/2gTUUX3FqY

— Iain McNally (@McNastyPrime) November 12, 2021

A mix of opinions, to be sure, so your mileage will absolutely vary, but for me, specific opinions expressed in those tweets aside, it sounds very much like Netflix’s version hews extremely close to the source material. Pair that with the fact that it’s mixed reviews rather than overwhelming praise for somehow capturing what made the original great in the way it seems to be trying to do, and I don’t think my initial impression is likely to be changed by the final product.

(featured image: Netflix)

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—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Writer: Pornsak Pichetshote / Artist: Alexandre Tefenkgi / Image

We are back in the thick of it and so is Edison Hark. There was a bit of a reprieve (and I do mean “a bit”, considering the tragedy inherent in Hark’s backstory) in the last issue, but we are back in 1936 where Edison is standing over the body of his adoptive brother Frankie Carroway, and there’s a racist detective on the scene.

I certainly love reading Pichetshote’s words and looking at Tefenkgi’s panels, but it is incredible how much stressed out I managed to get. The Good Asian #6 opens with a film noir fight scene at its finest. Gunfire is exchanged, guns are discarded in favor of the sweet science of fisticuffs, and the protagonist barely manages to win the fight but not without a few wounds, both physical and mental.

The rest of issue deals with Hark on the lam. Given the terrible optics of the situation, he stumbles back in the orbit of his former lover Victoria Carroway, and their reunion is fraught with lots of painful memories and lots of questions of mixed-race relationships in the late 1930’s. It is riveting. Pichetshote expertly goes from period appropriate dialog before shifting gears into more exposition and then into the internal monlogue of Hark. And all of this is happening as Tefenkgi and Loughridge are adeptly crafting brilliant layouts that employ a wide variety of visual cues that make each page an individual joy to parse.

The fight scenes are frenetic and brutal. The romance scenes have a particular air of bittersweet kindness. And the flashbacks that continue to punctuate the main narrative continue to provide salient ethos that accentuates the gravity of everything at hand. Every issue of The Good Asian continues to be elegantly crafted and compelling.

The Good Asian #6 is an excellent start to the back half of the series. All of the cogs are in motion and everything is moving impeccable. This is some of the finest storytelling you can find on the shelves, and the more embroiled in conflict that Edison Hark manages to find himself in, the more invested I become in this phenomenal story.

9.3 “Phone Calls” out of 10

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Writer: Vita Ayala / Artists: ChrisCross and Nikolas Draper-Ivey / DC Comics

Static #4 is where it’s at! In this issue, Virgil devises a plan to rescue some of the Bang Babies that have been kidnapped by mysterious governmental agencies.

Last issue, we saw Virgil accepting his new role after gaining his powers. In Static #4, he sets out into the world for the first time as Static, as unapologetic as one could ever imagine. He’s got the confidence, the suit, and the gadgets provided by Curtis Metcalf. This may not be your older brother’s Static, but it’s Static through and through. 

My favorite scene from this issue followed Virgil’s parents protecting him from A.T.F. agents who showed up on their doorstep to “help” Virgil. Knowing their full rights, the Hawkins parents turned them away, sparing Virgil…at least for the time being. 

The part that spoke to me the most was that even after he was spared, Virgil still feels the call to action. He knows there are others who didn’t have someone there to stand in front of them and protect them the way his parents were able to do for him. So using his privilege, this was the last step he needed to truly embrace his identity as Static. He’s a hero for the underrepresented, the forgotten, and the lost. Because of his background, not in spite of it. It’s incredible storytelling. 

I love how we’re really getting immersed in this world and how the characters are put first over everything else. It makes for a read full of substance. When this book started, I didn’t think we’d be four issues in before we saw Static in his suit. But here we are, and I think it’s all the better for it. This is an origin story, and while we know a lot about the character already, Ayala and Co. are reimagining him for a new generation. In order to do that right, the work has to be respected. You can’t cut corners. And I appreciate them so much for taking it as seriously as they do.

This is one of the most consistent books on the shelves, and it’s all because of the frontloaded work. 

10 Fire Jackets out of 10

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