Time for another new Image series: The Saviors, from James Robinson, who you may know from his work on Starman and Earth 2. What does he have in store for us today? Is it good?
The Saviors #1 (Image Comics)
Tomas Ramirez’s life may not be exactly the greatest, but he’s perfectly happy and content. He has a job at a garage that pays for his bills, is friends with most of the locals, gets to smoke as much marijuana as wants… however, his life is about to take a strange turn. One day while smoking weed by a bridge, he sees something that is just… out of this world. (Joke of the year.)
Just chillin’ out with his new buddy, Mr. Lizard.
The Saviors #1 starts off a bit slow, but is enjoyable despite the fact. It’s slow in the sense that the time it takes to introduce the main character and setup of his normal life is around eight pages — which is nice for getting a good idea of Tomas’ normal routine, but is a big chunk for the debut issue of a monthly comic book. Once Tomas sees that certain something on the bridge however (I won’t say exactly what), the comic begins to pick up the pacing and even gets exciting towards the end. While the main story hasn’t yet gotten underway, Robin provides us with a well-paced and well-written start overall.
Tomas is a likeable character, a classic everyman. He has reactions and a demeanor similar to what we or our friends might have, but he is also quick on his feet when need be. There’s nothing too deep with him seen here and most of his backstory is delivered through some odd exposition with him talking to a lizard, but there’s always room to grow and evolve in future issues. There’s promise with him and hopefully, we’ll start getting a cast of characters going as well.
The artwork is by J. Bone, whose style reminds me quite a bit of Darwyn Cooke of Catwoman, DC: The New Frontier, and The Spirit fame (amusing, upon research, Bone here has worked with Cooke in the past, so I guess that makes sense). His characters are all unique looking, his layouts are decent if a bit bland, backgrounds and locations are lively enough, and some of his designs on certain… things are pretty decent looking overall. If you are a fan of Cooke’s style of art, this will definitely be up your alley.
8.5
- Strong writing overall by Robinson
- Likeable and relateable main character
- Nice artwork by J. Bone
- Slow going for the first half
- Main plotline hasn’t yet been established
Is It Good?
The Saviors #1 is a nice start to a new series. It was mostly about establishing the main character and the world he lived in, but it quickly ramped up the excitement a lot in the second half of the story. There is plenty of potential to be seen with the comic and the character as the story moves forward, and I plan on being there to see it.
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