Ok, more #SuckUpSaturday Our #GeekPlanetOnline Overlord @geekplanetmatt wrote a lovely obit for us. Wrote a book too. Ask him about it.
Title: Bluespear
Author: Andi Ewington & Eddie Deighton
Publisher: Com.x
Published: Out now
RRP: £6.99
A guardian watches over Tokyo. No one knows where he came from. Some say he was created by the ghosts of the sea, others say he is a freak of nature. He executes swift justice to those who stand against him. He is Bluespear.
Springing from the pages of the 45 graphic novel comes Com-X’s first proper illustrated comic from that universe. 45 introduced us to a whole load of new characters, some of whom will have the superhero fanboy in you thinking “whoa, that guy sounds awesome!” For example, there’s Fully Armed who lost his arms in a freak accident and had them replaced with energy arms he can form into any shape…and he can fly! Or there’s Dark Matter who can generate mini black holes. Cool huh?
So at first glance, Blue Spear isn’t an obvious choice for the character to use for the 45-verse’s traditional comic format début. It’s easy to think he’s just a guy with water-based powers like Aquaman who’s never been the most interesting of DC’s characters and if you’ve seen Robot Chicken or Family Guy, he can be seen as a bit of a joke. So why go for an underwater character?
Firstly because he’s not just a ‘guy who talks to fish’. By making the character of Japanese origin, it ties into their mythology of sea-spirits and transcends the spandex and becomes something more. Secondly, we have the relationship between Blue Spear and his brother, who feels guilty for causing the accident that brought about Blue Spear's powers and there’s the hint at what the blue spear itself could be and what the sinister XoDOS’s interest in it is. There are a lot of directions to explore.
Due to its text format, 45 could feel like having to read a long instruction manual before going on an amusement park ride, and it’s great to break through that and get to some regular comic action. On that front the title certainly doesn’t disappoint. Not only do we get to see Blue Spear in action but we get to see some of the other characters introduced in 45 that were only hinted at. It’s like pulling back the curtains and taking in the full (and beautifully illustrated ) vista instead of peaking through a tantalising crack.
As the first title in a trilogy that aims to expand on 45’s characters and plot-arcs, Blue Spear gets off to a great start and involves you in its world straight away. It’s more than capable of standing alone on its own merits but if like me, you’re bored of the never-changing status quo served up by the bigger publishers, then it’s worth reading because it’s new, different and you don’t know what’s going to happen to these characters - because anything could.
