Advance Review: Defenders of the Earth #1 (of 8)

What is it with all the cartoon based comic books at the moment. Has creativity truly been so lost that we have to look at previous media? So far this year we have had Transformers, G.I. Joe, Space Ghost, Gatchaman, AKA Battle of the Planets and the hugely popular Thundercats! What’s next? Challenge of the Gobots? Maybe it is the success of Thundercats that is the reason for these books with publishers trying to catch lightning in a bottle a second time. Whatever the reason next up to hit the racks is comic based on a show that many feel is underrated, yet has a fantastic theme song that explains the whole premise, Defenders of the Earth!

Four years after the war with Mongo, ended by the beheading of Ming by Flash Gordon and the wounds of the world are still being healed. Yet further trials and troubles await the now dysfunctional four that became eight defending the Earth as if the world is not at war, what need is there for Defenders?

The new status quo is chronicled by the writing of ex DC co-publisher Dan DiDio, who as a writer tends to eschew the more popular characters, which is where in the pantheon of Saturday cartoons Defenders proudly sits. DiDio spends a lot of time setting out the new world order, which affect the team in differing ways, all the while Flash seems uncharacteristically cut off from his friends and family. I think somewhere along the lines the idea of this book and its construction were confused or mis-communicated. For the book to succeed it has to appeal to fans of the show, all of which are by now adults. Why then does Didio write in such a long, convoluted exposition heavy fashion. It is like he is trying to explain the premise of the show and how this new world order is different, which makes it feel like he is writing for a much young audience, most of which will never heard of “Flash, Flash, I love you but we only have 14 hours to save the Earth” never mind Defenders! I hope the story has a focus point that is more subtle than I think. Considering the orginal show, I have a feeling I know where this is heading. I guess time will tell.

The art is supplied by Jim Calafiore who tries really hard to match the vibe of cartoon. Bearing in mind that the animation style of the show was always a tad wonky, you could class the art a success! Ming looks great, or at least his head does, yet Flash, Phantom all look odd and inconsistent. You can even tell that one of the heroes is going to be a bad guy as they are wearing thigh high boots! The colors from Juancho! are bold, which is just as well is they compete with heavy inks giving the characters a blurred feel at times, making features indistinguishable. Thank god the dialogue includes names! Letterer Carlos M. Mangual earns his pay for the sheer amount of words he has to deal with. Finally, there are a few covers to choose from; buyers choice prevails!

When I heard about this book I was genuinely excited. For all its not quite as good as others animation style and the horrible treatment of Dale Arden (no tone talks about her fridging!), the show was a way for me learn about the King Features Syndicate characters. After reading this, I think I will stick to the cartoon and its killer them tune.

“Out of the sky, his rockets ignite, jets in battle flying faster than light……”

Writing – 2 Stars
Art – 2.5
Colors – 3 Stars

Overall – 2.5 Stars

Written by; Dan DiDio
Art by; Jim Calafiore
Colors by – Juancho!
Letters by; Carlos M.Mangual
Published by; Mad Cave Studios

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network