Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Marie Croall
Penciled by: Alitha Martinez w/ Clint Hilinski
Colored by: David Messina, Ben Hunzeker
Lettered by: Dreamer Design
Editor: Mark Powers
Publisher: Devil’s Due Publishing
Story Title: Midman 77723
Written by: Mark Waid
Art by: Kalman Andrasofszky
Colored by: David Messina, Ben Hunzeker
Lettered by: Dreamer Design
Just a few years ago the ’80s nostalgia wave was sweeping the comic industry. Titles like Battle of the Planets, Masters of the Universe, G.I. Joe, The Transformers, and Thundercats were landing at or near the top spot on Diamond’s monthly Top 300. Nearly every publisher was looking to land the next can’t-miss toy property, and all was good. Then, rather abruptly, sales began to wane. These books that were, supposedly, bringing older fans back to the industry after years away were dropping like rocks from B-17. Everything from lateness, meddling toy manufacturers, poor quality books, ridiculous royalty fees, and the deluge of competing titles had an effect. Some of the books were good, some were even very good, in the end very few are still around, and there will be still fewer in the near future.
It has been leaked, although I don’t believe anything is official, that Dreamwave Productions, former licensee of The Transformers formally closed up shop this past Tuesday. Add to that the bankruptcy of MV Creations, makers of Masters of the Universe and the situation is bleak. G.I. Joe still seems to be a sales force in the industry, and Battle of the Planets and Thundercats are still published, albeit in miniseries form. These books created a short-lived boom for the comic industry, but the fallout of the increasing number of failures is having a detrimental effect on an already depleted industry.
Like many 20-30 year olds, I tried almost all of the ’80s nostalgia titles over the last few years. Unfortunately, none ever resonated with me. I read Battle of the Planets the longest, but I gave up on it after only four issues. That string of disappointments broke in November when I had the opportunity to interview Dan Jolley. While the interview centered on Firestorm and Bloodhound, we eventually began talking about Voltron. Dan’s words about the origins of the series, and what they were doing got me interested. I picked up the first manga-sized trade collection (which included issue #0 and the five-issue mini). The way Jolley integrated all the cool elements from the television series, but updated it and created a fun sci-fi/action story really impressed me. Voltron was cool, and I quickly caught up and got the second trade collection and the remaining issues through #10 of the ongoing series. So, the first issue I got to pluck from the new release section was, typically, the last.
It was announced a few months ago that Voltron would be placed on bi-monthly status due to low sales. Unfortunately, just prior to Christmas, Voltron was placed on indefinite hiatus. In other words it’s cancelled. As things tend to go in the industry, the title was cancelled mid-story. Even worse, it was cancelled in the middle of Mark Waid’s four-part Voltron origin back-up story, which had only reached the second part. A real shame.
As individual stories go this issue is good, but as final issues go, this one is terrible. In issue #10 the former Voltron-Team member, Sven, and current traitor, seemingly died in an explosion when he turned against Lotor and saved his former friends. A lone escape pod made it clear of Sven’s exploding ship, but it was unclear whether Sven and (or) Lotor was onboard. This month, the Voltron-Team finds a derelict craft that the escape pod made it to. There’s some quick character development, and the exploration of the craft. A few other character-tidbits are included, and we’re left with the team finding the ship wired with explosives. End of comic, and unfortunately, end of series…
Creatively this issue is a nice installment, but we don’t even get a Dan Jolley penned story, as this issue is written solo by his frequent collaborator Marie Croall. Croall does good work with the characters and setting up a nice cliffhanger”¦ albeit one that probably will never be completed.
Artistically the series has never looked as good as it did when Mark Brooks was the penciler on the original miniseries, but as a whole, Alitha Martinez does a nice job bringing us the world of Voltron.
The back-up story is a decent little tale, but is really nothing more than a major disappointment. Supposedly charting the origin of Voltron, this is really the history of Zarkon and his rise to power. I’m sure the story would have improved as it moved forward, but I’m not losing any sleep over never seeing the final outcome here. I was thrilled to see Kalman Andrasofszky’s beautiful art again for the first time since the abrupt cancellation of the interesting, but totally missed, i-Candy.
The abrupt cancellation of Voltron is another example of how badly off the comic industry is right now. DC and Marvel will make you think that the industry is doing really well, but don’t be fooled. Comics are in trouble, and it’s not just smaller publishers like Devil’s Due. Something’s going to have to come along and save the industry, because far too many books just seem to have no chance to survive, and it’s a damn shame! Sorry for the negativity here, but I’m really annoyed that a good book like Voltron got cancelled mid-story.
