Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Chuck Dixon
Illustrated by: Steve Epting
Colored by: Frank D’Aramata
Lettered by: Dave Lanphear
Editor: N/A
Publisher: CrossGen
The best thing CrossGen has done!
I try very hard not to read the “propaganda” interviews and press releases on new comics months before their release. I will usually skim the article to get a basic understanding of what’s to come, and hopefully a peek at the artwork. These articles often give too much information away for my tastes, hence the reason why I don’t give them a thorough read. The general idea of a “pirate” comic immediately appealed to me as a new genre to read. Having read nothing about the book, I was absolutely thrilled when I opened the first issue and found this is a somewhat historical tale, that takes place on of all places, Earth!
CrossGen has prided themselves on the separation of each of their books, and the ability to enjoy one, few, or many depending on your reading or spending habits, I thought it silly that every book took place on a different world. A book like Route 666 is a great example, this at first glance appears to take place in the Cold War era of America. In actuality it’s setting is the planet Erebus, which is only an approximation of historical Earth. There is no real need for this technique, and the odd references to somewhat recognizable things always pull me out of the book.
While I see the need for CG to have this great over arcing story, I think it’s a monumental error to make everything, at least to an outsider seem so connected. A regular reader will recognize that you don’t have to read everything else to enjoy these books. A new reader can feel like they’ve missed something, thus being turned off and never giving the book a real chance. There’s no difference in the general storytelling of a book like Route 666 and El Cazador, I think the reason for the early success of the later, is more of a felling of accessibility. Of course, the recent monster hit film Pirates of the Caribbean also increased awareness of pirate adventures as well.
Finally the issue at hand.
My colleague Gary Day did not like the first issue of El Cazador as much as I did. Many of the problems Gary expressed in his review, came to the forefront for me in the second issue. The first issue saw our hero, Lady Sin, gain control of a ship she was aboard which was overtaken by pirates. She becomes the captain of the vessel which she renames El Cazador. Now her hope is to catch up to La Miseracordia, the other ship involved in this attack. The captain Blackjack Tom holds both Lady Sin’s mother and sister for ransom. Yes a lot happened in the first issue, and I didn’t have a big problem with that at the time.
Issue # 2 involves the mutiny of a group of men aboard El Cazador. The group has sobered and deemed a woman unworthy to lead them. This seems somewhat ludicrous, as in my experience drunken men are far more unruly, and willing to “rock-the-boat” so to speak. The setup is agonizingly long for the mutiny, but the actual conflict is the type if you sneeze while reading, you more than likely missed it.
In a day and age when every story is played out over the trade paperback length of 5-6 issues, I’m all for more quick and concise storytelling. Yet, Chuck Dixon introduced a couple of subplots in the first issue, which receive no play this month. All the while the main plotline has seen Lady Sin win, and now need to fight to regain her holdings in just two issues. Focus is definitely lacking, but there is a lot to be hopeful for in future.
The highest high, and the lowest low.
A bright spot so far has been the outstanding artwork by Steve Epting. The backgrounds are beautiful, and the period costumes are captured in wonderful detail. CrossGen has always put forth the best art available in the majority of their books, and so far this has been the big selling point of El Cazador.
To this point, Chuck Dixon’s work with CrossGen has failed to capture my attention. I gave Way of the Rat a six-issue trial, and it failed me on almost every level. While El Cazador has put forth better quality so far, I don’t see my patience lasting as long. Where “Way” got nowhere in a fast fashion, “Caz†seems to get somewhere too fast. Hopefully the next issue will take the time to establish a status quo, and really capture my attention.
