I know some of you might be wondering why I'm not looking at the Moorcock adaptations. I MIGHT eventually track down the P. Craig Russell adaptations, but otherwise I'll pass. I don't care for the material from what I've heard described, and I've watched Razorfist's videos. I'll not bash the material, but it's not something I'll pursue either.
That aside, the massive great bulk of Appendix N material that's been transformed to graphic format has been Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs adaptations. So much other stuff that's ignored, and it makes me sad. Anyway, on to what we do have, by Valka!
Most obvious is the art, so let's start there. There's some really good linework in here. In some spots, there's too much, it just overwhelms the panel. The action is well displayed, and otherwise my biggest critique would be the coloring, but that's not unusual for a comic of this age, most of the coloring is REALLY bright. So, it's not quite reflective of Kull's moodiness or philosophical core.
For the most part, the book is a collection of stories that don't interact with each other. There's a few common bits, like plotting nobles and a minstrel, but they are largely set pieces. Thulsa Doom, on the other hand, is a welcome figure, though he only shows in two stories. There's a really nice adaptation of a poem called "The King and the Oak", which approaches the poem really well. Only issue? The coloring.
So what else do we have in these stories? Sea monsters, a werewolf, wax duplicates, snakemen, ancient forbidden cities, necromantic wars, and a whole lotta fighting. Betrayal and plots abound, and Kull must depend on his traditional enemy, the Picts, a great number of times.
This is a great collection overall, and unlike Conan, there's only five volumes in this run. If you're interested, I'd check it out via TFAW, there's an ad on the sidebar you can use.
When you play Social Justice, the world loses.
No comments:
Post a Comment