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Post by berkley on Aug 4, 2021 16:38:33 GMT -5
Seven Swords #2 : Still in the 'team building' phase. I really like Cyrano's depiction, and the fight in the theatre is quite good. Really enjoying this so far.
Who are the seven swords? I quick look only gave me four of them - D'Artagnan, Cyrano de Bergerac, Captain Blood, and Don Juan. I didn't know the last named was a legendary swordsman, BTW - never have read any of the earlier versions of the Don Juan legend, just Byron's satiric poem.
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Post by wildfire2099 on Aug 4, 2021 20:43:12 GMT -5
Seven Swords #2 : Still in the 'team building' phase. I really like Cyrano's depiction, and the fight in the theatre is quite good. Really enjoying this so far.
Who are the seven swords? I quick look only gave me four of them - D'Artagnan, Cyrano de Bergerac, Captain Blood, and Don Juan. I didn't know the last named was a legendary swordsman, BTW - never have read any of the earlier versions of the Don Juan legend, just Byron's satiric poem.
There are two women.... one's a nun and the other seems to have just joined the cast and is an actress... not sure if they are also 'real' or if they are made up for the comic. I think the first issue listed them in the back, but it's not in front of me at the moment. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Aug 6, 2021 1:54:32 GMT -5
Seven Swords #2 : Still in the 'team building' phase. I really like Cyrano's depiction, and the fight in the theatre is quite good. Really enjoying this so far.
Who are the seven swords? I quick look only gave me four of them - D'Artagnan, Cyrano de Bergerac, Captain Blood, and Don Juan. I didn't know the last named was a legendary swordsman, BTW - never have read any of the earlier versions of the Don Juan legend, just Byron's satiric poem.
I think it depends a lot on what source they are using, but Errol Flynn's version in the Adventures of Don Juan was a fencing instructor and famous duelist. Though I guess that was less of a legend of Don Juan thing and more a "We cast Errol Flynn in a costume adventure drama, so we might as well get some swashbuckling action in there" |
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Post by Dizzy D on Aug 6, 2021 1:57:33 GMT -5
Who are the seven swords? I quick look only gave me four of them - D'Artagnan, Cyrano de Bergerac, Captain Blood, and Don Juan. I didn't know the last named was a legendary swordsman, BTW - never have read any of the earlier versions of the Don Juan legend, just Byron's satiric poem.
There are two women.... one's a nun and the other seems to have just joined the cast and is an actress... not sure if they are also 'real' or if they are made up for the comic. I think the first issue listed them in the back, but it's not in front of me at the moment. |
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Post by berkley on Aug 8, 2021 18:31:42 GMT -5
There are two women.... one's a nun and the other seems to have just joined the cast and is an actress... not sure if they are also 'real' or if they are made up for the comic. I think the first issue listed them in the back, but it's not in front of me at the moment. Ah yes, an excellent choice. I've read the Théophile Gautier novel based on her, which is good, but not in the Dumas-style of swashbuckling adventure that I wish someone had thought to write. Curious to find out who the other woman is and whoever the 7th member will be, though I'm not sure if I'll actually read the comic as the online images I've seen don't really grab me. I like the idea behind it, though. |
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Post by Dizzy D on Aug 9, 2021 7:09:13 GMT -5
Grendel: Devil's Odyssey 8 of 8
Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Matt and Brennan Wagner
What Happened Before: Grendel-Prime is sent into outer space to find a suitable new home-world for the human race. Accompanied only by the drone Sigma-Seven, Grendel-Prime has visited several planets, but all were unsuitable for one reason or another.
Plot: On their way to another planet, the spaceship of Grendel and Sigma is taken over by another force. It turns out to be the Consortium, a powerful group of various alien species. The Consortium are there to judge humanity's expansion into space. Grendel tries to resist them, but his weapons are useless against their superior technology. His actions convince the Consortium that Earth's expansion will not be peaceful, so he is sent back to Earth and humanity is denied any further expansion. The Consortium does offer Sigma-Seven citizenship; drones are full citizens to them and they see his servitude to Grendel-Prime and humanity as slavery. Sigma accepts, but assures Grendel that he still is working for humanity's survival; he just believes that cooperating with the Consortium is the best way forward.
Grendel arrives on Earth, nearly 500 years after he has left. A planet which has changed in his absence.
The Good: As said before, the first couple of issues in this mini, were kinda disappointing, but the series ended for me on a high point. The Consortium is a very clear homage to Iain Banks' The Culture (Banks is one of my top 3 favourite writers, so I'm happy to see his creations live on in the works of others). We've seen Grendel-Prime threatened before and on rare occassions even defeated, but never has he been completely powerless as he is here. It would have been interesting to see what would have happened if his fling with pacifism in the previous issues had been permanenet, the Consortium would have probably been more inclined to cooperate then, but this is Grendel; it's never going to be about hope and positive change.
Back on Earth, the next series is set-up: the time of the Grendel Khan is over, Grendel's are once again the enemy of the new rulers and the Wagners seem to have revitalized their own interest in this series, as we immediately get the next 3 mini-series anounced: Devil's Crucible - Defiance, Sedition and Necrotic will be the 3 series (4 issues each) that will continues the story of Grendel-Prime.
With the ending of Mage and the way this series was going in the beginning, I thought Wagner was wrapping up his characters after so many years, but the last 3 issues of this series have really clicked with me and I get the feeling that something inspired the Wagners to continue ahead.
The Bad: Not a lot to say, you can probably say that the whole Odyssey was useless as Grendel returns without completing his mission, but this is the kind of story where the journey is more important than the destination.
9/10: Happy to see the series end on a strong note, a nice nod to one of my favourite writers and as usual I love Matt Wagner's artwork. Also a nice bonus: the letter page contains some (fan-)art, but in some cases the fans are artists themselves.
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