In my last review we talked about the new Gatchaman series from Mad Cave Studios, and spoiler alert I really enjoyed it. Alongside the beginning of that series is this one-shot about the titular character of Gatchaman, also known as Ken.
Cover Gallery
In this comic we get a fun quick adventure away from the Science Ninja Team and Ken goes solo to take down a death fighting ring. He soon learns that there is more to the ring than just simple entertaining fighting for people to gamble on. That’s about as far into the story as I will go but I will say that I enjoyed the simplicity of the story and how it ties into what they seem to be doing with the Gatchaman IP. Even though the plot itself is fairly simple what made this issue shine for me is the character development we get in it. We learn more about who Ken is and how he goes about his heroic adventures. We also get to see some more of his gadgets at play, as well as some scenes where he seems to act more like a ninja than he did in the first issue of Gatchman. All around a fun time.
The art team of Mindy Lee and Giada Marchisio team up for a very good looking comic. While their style differs from the main series it works for the story being told here, and still keeps the cartoony look. The art manages to keep the bright astetic of Gatchaman while being set in a darker enviroment, this is hard to tell in the preview pages but in the second half of the issue it is very apparent. I also loved the attention to detail in the background of the panels. All around I found the art to be a delight, and would like to see more work from these two.
Preview Pages
To put a nice little bow on it I enjoyed my time with Gatchaman: Ken-Deathmatch. The story added more depth to a character from the main Gatchaman series, was a fun action comic with great pacing, and looked great. I would definitely recommend people wait till after reading Gatchaman #1 to read this as I found it to be a good addition to that comic. To put it simple I’d recommend this to anyone that enjoyed Gatchaman #1, wants more, and doesn’t want to wait a full month. For everyone else it is best if you enjoy spy comics, or superhero comics, basically those that miss Ed Brubaker’s later Captain America run where Steve is working to SHIELD.
Gatchaman: Ken-Deathmatch is available, alongside Gatchaman #1, at your local comic shop and digitally June 26th 2024. All preview pages, cover art, and the review copy of this comic were provided by Mad Cave Studios.
Share this post
Comic Review!: Gatchaman: Ken-Deathmatch #1
Share this post
Writer-Tommy Lee Edwards
Artist-Mindy Lee
Colorist-Giada Marchisio
Letterer-John Workman
Editor-Chas! Pangburn
In my last review we talked about the new Gatchaman series from Mad Cave Studios, and spoiler alert I really enjoyed it. Alongside the beginning of that series is this one-shot about the titular character of Gatchaman, also known as Ken.
In this comic we get a fun quick adventure away from the Science Ninja Team and Ken goes solo to take down a death fighting ring. He soon learns that there is more to the ring than just simple entertaining fighting for people to gamble on. That’s about as far into the story as I will go but I will say that I enjoyed the simplicity of the story and how it ties into what they seem to be doing with the Gatchaman IP. Even though the plot itself is fairly simple what made this issue shine for me is the character development we get in it. We learn more about who Ken is and how he goes about his heroic adventures. We also get to see some more of his gadgets at play, as well as some scenes where he seems to act more like a ninja than he did in the first issue of Gatchman. All around a fun time.
The art team of Mindy Lee and Giada Marchisio team up for a very good looking comic. While their style differs from the main series it works for the story being told here, and still keeps the cartoony look. The art manages to keep the bright astetic of Gatchaman while being set in a darker enviroment, this is hard to tell in the preview pages but in the second half of the issue it is very apparent. I also loved the attention to detail in the background of the panels. All around I found the art to be a delight, and would like to see more work from these two.
To put a nice little bow on it I enjoyed my time with Gatchaman: Ken-Deathmatch. The story added more depth to a character from the main Gatchaman series, was a fun action comic with great pacing, and looked great. I would definitely recommend people wait till after reading Gatchaman #1 to read this as I found it to be a good addition to that comic. To put it simple I’d recommend this to anyone that enjoyed Gatchaman #1, wants more, and doesn’t want to wait a full month. For everyone else it is best if you enjoy spy comics, or superhero comics, basically those that miss Ed Brubaker’s later Captain America run where Steve is working to SHIELD.
Gatchaman: Ken-Deathmatch is available, alongside Gatchaman #1, at your local comic shop and digitally June 26th 2024. All preview pages, cover art, and the review copy of this comic were provided by Mad Cave Studios.
Share
Leave a comment
Follow Me!