Doc Savage Ring of Fire #1

by Jason Laframboise on March 30, 2017

Written by David Avallone
Art by Dave Acosta
Colour by Morgan Hickman
Published by Dynamite Entertainment


From where I am seated, on my bed, I have a bookshelf that contains 28 Doc Savage novels, reprints of the original pulp novels that were are mostly published by Bantam books in the 1960's. Beside me on my nightstand is a book I'm currently reading Doc Savage, His Apocalyptic Life, by Philip Jose Farmer. My point is, is that Doc Savage is one of my favourite characters of all time. So when I saw that another Doc Savage comic coming out from Dynamite I had to jump on it. This opening chapter featured all the typical Doc adventure traits, a mystery that needs Doc and his fabulous five travel to a far off land, bad guys who try to stop them from arriving at their destination. The story has Doc and the gang heading off to an island in the south pacific where a mysterious volcano has just happened to form out of nowhere right near an American Naval Base. 

As a fan this book hits all the right notes as far as characterization is concerned, the portrayal of Doc and the gang is spot on. Many of the Doc Savage comics that have been released in recent years have tried to change the formula. Trying to update Savage, bringing him into the modern day or trying to make him a darker character. This book doesn't seem to be trying any of that stuff, which is great and made it a much better read. Doc Savage really needs to be a period comic. The idealism of Doc Savage is sadly missing in modern comics. I am glad we got this book. 

The art was pretty good. It has a look like you can see the stroke of a pencil at work here. Almost like it is just lightly inked. The colours add to that 1930s vibe, sort of like how you would use the lighting in movies to show that you are in the depression days. The art really plays well with the writing and helps create just the right atmosphere that strikes the perfect tone for a story featuring this characters. I also wanted to mention the cover. The main cover is patterned after the old Bantam books I mentioned above, and I really like this it looks great and would have definitely caught my eye on the shelf.

All and all it was a fun read. It captured the spirit of it's source material and was well crafted. It might not be everyone's cup of tea, and I am biased because of my love of the character, but honestly you couldn't go wrong picking this one up. Keep in mind it is just the first issue, and it might read better as a trade, but I liked it enough to suggest it. A good book from the folks at Dynamite. 

Our Score:

8/10

A Look Inside

Comments

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