Created by Frank Frazetta
Written by Robert Place Napton
Illustrated by Cliff Richards
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Colours by Esther Sanz
Backup written by Gardner Fox
Illustrated by Frank Frazetta
Re-mastering and colours by Mike Kelleher
Cover by Jae Lee
Published by Dynamite

the three cents.

The adventurous fare continues as Roger Drum saves a large number of females kidnapped by the simian Druthga peoples. Unfortunately, there are repercussions coming that he couldn’t possibly have foreseen. Drum is a great character, with nothing but brief flashes of memory to help define the man he is now in this truly savage land.

Napton is becoming the king of bringing the real spirit of the pulps to modern audiences, capturing the heart of darkness buried in jungle warfare in a richly textured saga of escapism unhinged. Drum and the lady Pha slowly getting close is fun to watch as well, being quite literally from two different worlds. But the air of this issue, like the rest of the series thus far, is drenched with looming threat, where a man is stripped of everything he was and must now fight tooth and nail just for his survival. Napton especially does some curious things with the dialogue of this book, as language being already simplified by the region’s low-tech development, Drum must drop to pure semantics of linguistics to understand and to be understood. It’s assuredly not some campy “me Jungle Lord. you is woman”. Nothing camp about this series or its execution whatsoever actually. Very mature storytelling, very strong characters, and nonstop, legitimate surprises.

Richards is shining on this issue particularly, to the point that I think he’s been glancing at the Frazetta stories of old that run as backups. His environs become increasingly lush. This issue had him illustrating a dinosaur or thirty quite naturally, with no exaggerated stylization warranted. He’s great at keeping the mood dramatic though. And Sanz contributes a very painterly aspect to the artwork, bringing a gorgeous depth to the scenes and casting a calming, muted shade over the action, creating a rather realistic air for the story. Dillon is always a powerhouse, and his pace for the violent scenes really carry through smartly. The mentioned backup this time also deals with the beating of war drums, though of a different variety entirely, with Fox and Frazetta giving more high drama in mere pages than most full length comics are capable of today. Kelleher’s fine-tuning of the art is clearly respectful, while breathing a colorful mystique over Frazetta’s perfect line workings.

I heard a rumor that issue five might be the last. If that proves to be the case I will kick and scream like a four-armed ape-man.

Tags: Cliff Richards, Esther Sanz, exegesis, Frank Frazetta, Gardner Fox, Jae Lee, Marshall Dillon, Mike Kelleher, Robert Place Napton

Created by Frank Frazetta
Written by Robert Place Napton
Illustrated by Cliff Richards
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Colours by Esther Sanz
Backup written by Gardner Fox
Illustrated by Frank Frazetta
Re-mastering and colours by Mike Kelleher
Cover by Jae Lee
Published by Dynamite

the three cents.

This series just gets better and better, and now with the gracious reprints of the original Frazetta nuggets of gold, we see how much the new rendition is being inspired, and how it is homaging what has passed before. This chapter has Roger Drum finally meet Pha, the yummy lady of the Shareen, who seem to be the most civilized of the many strange peoples of the dawn land. Drum in turn, ascertains a direction for himself here, as well as learning quite a lot more about his surroundings.

Napton is killing it, with his plots getting smoother with each new issue. The lore of the place is interesting, as well as the innuendo of long ago alien involvement. His Pha, in addition, is less the hapless victim of her original incarnation, which is always nice to see. Dramatic action, with Drum’s choppy memory still haunting him into finding ways to embrace these complete changes to his life.

The artwork is the best yet as well, with Richards giving these fantastical elements a thoughtfully real interpretation. His attention to actual anatomy is fine, and not completely blown out of the water by the short Frazetta story appearing as backup. But god, how Frazetta was ace of surroundings and settings, of lush atmosphere given stylized fluidity. The lettering and coloring are all some of this publisher’s very best.

I really enjoy this series, and hope it maintains this pace for ages to come. The covers though, have not been my cup of bourbon. Sandy Plunkett would be a better choice for it. Maybe not as flashy or superstar in status, but his skillset is virtually unmatchable by artists past or present. Seriously Dynamite, I can give introductions and everything.

Tags: Cliff Richards, Esther Sanz, exegesis, Frank Frazetta, Gardner Fox, Jae Lee, Marshall Dillon, Mike Kelleher, Robert Place Napton

Created by Frank Frazetta
Written by Robert Place Napton
Illustrated by Cliff Richards
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Colours by Esther Sanz
Backup written by Gardner Fox
Illustrated by Frank Frazetta
Re-mastering and colours by Mike Kelleher
Cover by Jae Lee
Published by Dynamite

the three cents.

This second issue has Drum, still gaining his wits from the massive memory loss in spite of frightening flashbacks to past sins committed for the shock and awe of his government’s perceived enemy combatants, having to come to terms with the direness of his present circumstances and the full stakes survival will require. And he gets a furry sidekick.

Definitely Napton’s most refined and mature work to date, Thun’da begins to etch out a means to get by in this new land, with possible weeks having passed (as the lil Sabre tends to grow quite a bit over the course of a few panels). He encounters the barbaric hillfolk, slug-swinging cavemen who are so mesmerized by his weapons they see fit to take him prisoner. Napton having Thun’da begin to assert himself more and more is an unfolding thread, with the conclusion of this chapter resulting in finally taking a stand in a pretty ballsy way.

Richards exhibits a realistic enough style for the story, capturing the jungles and near-nakedness of the peoples just as well as the dinosaurs and sabre-toothed kitties. He’s really great for this kind of adventure yarn. Dillon does well with the broken language of the recovering from major trauma Thun’da, as well as the grunts from the cavemen tribe, keeping it all in a savage tone. Sanz is going for a darker color scheme in this issue, which suits the story much better. The backup is a primordial reprint of an original Thun’da tale, written by comics legend Fox and drawn lushly by artistic great Frazetta. Thun’da here is shown somewhat later on in his jungle swinging days, having slowly won the esteem of the assorted tribes enough to unite them all against a huge threat to their well being. Kelleher’s coloring really helps bring the work back to life.

This series is off to a fun start, though I’m still surprised the publisher isn’t taking advantage of the fact of this being Thun’da’s 60th anniversary. It would make a nice PR tagline. The character may not be as well known as Tarzan or even Turok, but that, in my mind, is another reason to appreciate this- along with being a crime against nature.

Tags: Cliff Richards, Esther Sanz, exegesis, Frank Frazetta, Gardner Fox, Jae Lee, Marshall Dillon, Mike Kelleher, Robert Place Napton