Early Samurai #5 Review

[JamesSchee]

http://herorealm.com/hrboards/index.php?topic=6071.0

You have to scroll down a ways for it, but it seems like the book maintains its quality from the first issue to the last.

Edited to add one more review:

http://thecomicasylum.blogspot.com/2005/12/comic-review-samurai-heaven-and-earth.html

James

[Matt Algren]

So...did anyone pick it up yet? I won't be able to get to town until tomorrow or Friday. I'm dying here.

[Lester C.]

So...did anyone pick it up yet? I won't be able to get to town until tomorrow or Friday. I'm dying here.

Its too soon to talk about the issue but after a period of time where everyone has had a chance to read it I want to have a very lengthy talk on it. The entire issue had me on edge and... and it's too soon to talk about it. Damn.

[Ron Marz]

Come on, Lester! Inquiring minds want to know!

[ForEverAncien]

RON!! I want to strangle you!

HOW DARE YOU LEAVE SUCH A CLIFFHANGER!!!

A CLIFFHANGER!!!!

All good though.... :p :)

Come on, Lester! Inquiring minds want to know!

[heystacy]

Damn! I really can't wait to visit the bookstore to see if they have a copy.

[Lester C.]

I want to be general in my praise because I know a lot of people are waiting for the trade. First let discuss the art.

http://images.darkhorse.com/common/salestools/previews/samhe3/samhe3p1.jpg

The image above comes from Gail Simone's forum and as shocking as it sounds it was just an ordinary page of the book and not a cover. Simply put each page of the mini was like looking at gloriously detailed painted posters. I literary lost count the number of times I just stared and marveled at the art. Major credit has to go to Dark Horse for printing Luke's art on glossy pricy paper.

Now let us get to the writing. I’m not a writer so this explanation going to be awkwardly phrased but here goes. Ron this is your best work but your greatest strength in this work does not come from the amazing dialogue, the incredibly well researched detail you put into this story recreating the era this story takes place in, the winding plot twists and turns that left us gasping for more even after the story concluded. As a fan of your work all that was par for the course and was to be expected.

What made this book your best work ever was the way each fully developed three dimensional character pulled me in emotionally evoking powerful moods which were sustained throughout the whole story making all of themes resonate with the reader which made for a powerful reading experience. An example would be the love interest of this book. Without spoiling much this character is central to the story and vanishes from the book before the end of the first issue and doesn’t appear until much later. Ron had to have this character make such a strong impression in such a short period of time because this mini falls apart if you don’t think she is worth all the trouble it would take to undergo on this epic quest to bring her back.

This is how strongly I feel about the book. When the trade does come out I’m going to buy this book and give it out as gifts to people who never read comics. Like Watchman this book transcends the medium and can enjoyed by anyone.

[Vesper]

So...did anyone pick it up yet? I won't be able to get to town until tomorrow or Friday. I'm dying here.

Hey, uh, this is totally off-topic, but what's up with the Joe Grendel quote in your sig?

[mvranas]

I just got issue 5 today and I couldn't wait to tear into it. I really should have gone back and reread the other issues because of the time that's elapsed (I still plan to do this a little later), but I was very much looking forward to seeing how the story would end.

<slight spoilers>

















So, you can imagine my disappointment, then, when this story doesn't actually end, but leads right into the next mini.

I knew there were other tales in the works - Ron, you had mentioned that you, Luke and Jason wanted to continue on with Samurai as a series of spaced out miniseries - but I didn't expect it to so literally continue on from Heaven and Earth. Was this the original ending you had in place at the onset?

Now, I don't want to come across as being excessively negative. I did actually enjoy this issue's art and writing, as I have with the past four. And, in my opinion, Samurai: Heaven and Earth still ranks as the best combination of story and artwork that I have come across. However, it just feels that this ending has set up the next mini to have the exact same hook as this one: "A samurai, out of his element, travelling great distances to rescue his one true love."

That being said, I will be back to see how things play out. I'm sure there will be more than a few interesting twists to differentiate the two. And, as with Lester, I fully intend to pick up the TPB to pass along to a few friends who I believe will enjoy it immensely.

So, 2006, eh. Care to get a little more specific? :)

Regards,

-Mike

[Matt Algren]

Hey, uh, this is totally off-topic, but what's up with the Joe Grendel quote in your sig?
Found it on the Wayback (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php).

[Vesper]

Found it on the Wayback (http://www.archive.org/web/web.php).

Ah, thanks. A friend directed me to the post where you guys waybacked Jonah's. Now it makes more sense. Was just a little freaky reading it since Grendel's a good friend, sorry!

(Sorry for the thread interruption.)

[Ron Marz]

Thanks, all.

For someone who claims not to be a writer, Lester ... very nicely written. You touch on a lot of things that we really put effort into, like fleshing out Yoshiko. And many thanks for what you intend do to with the trade. Having just finished approving all the design pages, etc., I can say I think it's going to be a nice package, including a new cover. Trade should be out in April.

Mike, yes, the entire story was originally conceived as at least three mini-series. Prior to writing the last couple of issues of this first mini, I knew that we were approved for a sequel, so I could carry on with the ending I had planned. And we do have some twists and turns -- unexpected allies, some very cool locations. Thanks to you as well, for your "pass the trade around" plans.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts after you re-read the whole mini, Mike.

We don't have a specific release date for the sequel mini yet, but I would expect the first issue to hit in the second half of 2006, to give us as much time as possible to get our deadlines in order. There should also be some Samurai merchadise around the same time. More on that as I can...

[ratzo]

What made this book your best work ever was the way each fully developed three dimensional character pulled me in emotionally evoking powerful moods which were sustained throughout the whole story making all of themes resonate with the reader which made for a powerful reading experience. An example would be the love interest of this book. Without spoiling much this character is central to the story and vanishes from the book before the end of the first issue and doesn’t appear until much later. Ron had to have this character make such a strong impression in such a short period of time because this mini falls apart if you don’t think she is worth all the trouble it would take to undergo on this epic quest to bring her back.

Was Yoshiko that three-dimensional? She wasn't a bad character, but we didn't really spend that much time with her to explore her further, I thought. Compare Yoshiko with someone like Aya from The Path. Similar damsel-in-distress type, but I thought Ron gave Aya more depth - and she was a peripheral character. All we really know about Yoshiko is that she loves Shiro and she thinks French women wear too many clothes. :)

Ron, don't take this the wrong way; I enjoyed Samurai a great deal and I'm looking forward to the next mini-series. I think Lester's point about character development overall remains a pertinent one; peripheral characters like the old blind man, the father who tries to sell his daughter into slavery, the old prisoner, even that Spanish guy's right-hand man all had a distinctiveness and personality to them that made them stand out in memory a lot more than if they were merely background players.