Space Pirate Captain Harlock #1

Space Pirate Captain Harlock #1

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written by Leiji Matsumoto & Jérôme Alquié

Illustrated by Jérôme Alquié

Lettered by Dezi Sienty

Set within the timeline of the original series, this brand-new Captain Harlock adventure marks the beginning of a new story arc. Planet Earth is threatened by an upcoming invasion by the Sylvidres and despite being banished as a pirate, Captain Harlock won’t give up trying to save the world. This time, the source of danger comes directly from Earth, not outer space. A team of scientists discovers a Sylvidres mausoleum where they find information about terrifying genetic manipulations and a destructive power capable of either providing the Sylvidres with immortality or putting an end to their civilization. The unprecedented cold spell hitting Earth might only be a taste of what this new enemy has in store... Will Captain Harlock and his crew manage to solve this mystery and save the Earth from yet another menace?

I’ll be the first to admit that I am unfamiliar with the animated series this comes from. It looks familiar but it isn’t what I grew up watching, I watched Gatchaman and Star Blazers both whose influence can certainly be felt here. This drew me into this story with amazing ease and took me to a place I was comfortable and that this is made as new reader friendly as it is is just an added bonus.

I am really rather enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. This is a standard size tissue of thirty two pages but it feels like it much larger because of the way the story is presented and how much information is presented to the reader. It’s kind of like watching a program and learning it’s an hour long not a half hour like ya thought. The character development is bloody brilliant as we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances they encounter. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing the story, the characters and this world it is truly a delight for the senses.

I am enjoying seeing how this is being structured and how the layers within the story emerge, grow and strengthen. This is where the extra bits of characterisation and introductions that merge with the story as well as swirl around it giving it that extra depth and complexity the story has. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is expertly achieved.

The interiors here really are like watching an anime and it’s absolutely stunning to see. The linework is phenomenal and how the varying weights and techniques that we see creating tis level and quality in the detail work is astonishing. That we see backgrounds as prevalent as we do is stupendous as they not only enhance the moments but do a splendid job in bringing out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a remarkably talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is mind numbing. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work show a stupendous eye for colour and how it can work to create the maximum affect in the reader.

This is something that I had my eye on and I’m glad I’ve gotten the chance to read and review this. There is this amazing charm and verve to the story that gives it a certain kind of gravitas that belies the gorgeous animation style of the artwork. This is going to be a must have book for fans of intelligent, interesting and completely unexpected storytelling.