Space Pirate Captain Harlock #2

Space Pirate Captain Harlock #2

Ablaze Publishing 2021

Written by Leiji Matsumoto & Jérômé Alquié

Illustrated by Jérôme Alquié

Lettered by Dezi Sienty

The Earth government isn’t up to the task of protecting the planet from an impending invasion, so Harlock and his crew have to take it on themselves. The space pirates rush to investigate a looming threat already implanted on Earth that will make a Mazon takeover that much more likely. Will they be able to meet this threat head on and eliminate it from the board before humankind is under siege from all sides?

There really is something about this that reminds me of my childhood growing up on Anime that we got locally then seeking it out on my won as I got older. That familiarity that this brings along with the freshness of something new with the excitement of something different as it promises to thrill the reader is what this is all about to me. I also find it extremely amusing how we see the Government officials compared to the res of the folks and while it makes sense that we see him as a joke it’s a shame that it has to be that way though it’s probably a very accurate description.

I am loving 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 th reader learns information is presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how they act and react to the situations and circumstances that they encounter is magnificently rendered in how it gives the personalities of these characters. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages revealing more and more of the story it really draws the reader in and fascinates them.

I like how we are seeing this being structured and how the layers within the story continue to grow, evolve, strengthen and new ones emerge. The avenues we see explored and those that aren’t working towards the main arc add some great depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably rendered. The transitions we see from segment to segment are smooth as silk too which is something I appreciate greatly.

For me this is a very real representation of the anime style in the cartoons and I love that about this. The interiors evoke so much feeling and emotion to what we see and it’s phenomenal. The linework is strong, clean and crisp and how the varying weights and techniques are being utilised to create the detail work is astonishingly well rendered. The backgrounds we see are fantastic, from the snowy arctic to the cold capital to the jungles what we see really enhances the moments. Also how they work within the composition of the panels to create the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is extremely well done. 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 brilliantly rendered. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work shows a very talented eye for how colour works. The way we see it being utilised throughout is rather exceptional.

​

If you’ve never seen the Japanese cartoons like Battle of the Planets or Star Blazers, well your missing out on those cause they are awesome, then you’ll want to after reading this because that’s the style of artwork we see and the way that characters act and behave throughout the story. With some sensational writing and incredibly fabulous interiors this is going to change the way you think about comics.