Voltron: A Legend Forged #3 – Review

By Josh Blaylock (story), Julia Bax (pencils), Wes Dzioba (colorist)

The Story: Trapped in the distant past, the team of the Voltron Lion Force are rescued from their primitive capturers by a knight bearing an uncanny resemblance to Voltron, itself. Eventually, Keith and his crew meet with King Altarus, founder of the Voltron Project. Altarus, along with his council, question their newly found guests and eventually grapple with a decision on whether to reveal the secrets of Project Voltron or not.

What’s Good: I’m digging this time traveling storyline. I’ve always wanted to read the real Voltron origin and this is probably as close as I’m going to get. I think this concept could have stood on its own without the Lion Force having to go in the past, but I understand the need to not alienate the audience from the core characters. I also love the Altarus Knights.They’re well designed and a surprisingly good story element – especially when Altarus’ son first shows up on the scene to rescue the Lion Force.

What’s Not So Good: Where is the Vehicle Voltron team?! We got two lousy panels with them last issue and they’re no where to be found this issue. What gives?

Sadly, the art continues to be problematic and amateurish at best. The low production values really diminish the story’s charm and the absence of any inking rob the art of much needed polish. Sorry, but there’s only so much a colorist can do to save a botchy art job. Also, why can’t the interior look as good as the cover(s)? Devil’s Due needs to stop spending tons of dollars on variant artists (there’s four different covers to this issue) and hire an inker and a better penciler for this book. It’s a disservice to the fans.

Lastly, there’s a lot of unneeded dialogue riddled throughout the book. I literally skipped through paragraphs of dialogue because it was either too cliche or too predictable.

Conclusion: Admittedly, this is one of those books where the concept is better than the execution. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was entertained by the story. What’s important is that the spirit of Voltron is perfectly captured in this series and there’s a strong sense that Josh Blaylock genuinely cares about the material. I just think he needs a story editor who will throw down the hammer and make him clean things up a bit.

Grade: C+

– J. Montes

Voltron: A Legend Forged #1 – Review

By Josh Blaylock (writer), Mike Bear (art)

I’m a fan of Voltron. As a kid it was one of my favorite shows and when Image Comics/Devil’s Due resurrected the franchise in 2003 I was all aboard for some fun nostalgia. The funny thing is the comic series was maybe just a little bit too true to the Voltron spirit. Like the show, the characters were paper thin, the plots silly, and the dialogue awful. Needless to say, I stopped buying the book after the third issue. Fast forward four years and we’ve got Devil’s Due ready to take another crack at the franchise.

Cautiously optimistic was my attitude going into this and much to my surprise, the story actually delivers. I’m probably one of the few Voltron fans out there who prefers the Vehicle Force to the Lion Force, and in this issue we get both squadrons. I’m actually really impressed with how writer Josh Blaylock manages to get both teams in the same book without making it feel forced. Granted, the story is nothing that will garner awards, but its straying from the typical Voltron formula is something most fans will appreciate. The dialogue, on the other hand, is quite spotty. At times, the conversations flow naturally, and other times it left me scratching my head or rolling my eyes. “How did they know we were here? Damn security leaks,” is probably the worst bit of dialogue I’ve read in a comic all year. Mr. Blaylock needs a better editor (or one that’ll speak his or her mind).

Even worse is the art by Mike Bear. His art does nothing but hurt the book while also proving once again that Devil’s Due needs to spend some money and hire some inking talent. Save for the opening pages, every panel that follows feels amateurish in composition. I’m sorry, but there’s only so much a colorist can do to cover up for an awful penciling job and it’s very apparent here. Also, the battles out in space are truly atrocious. This is the kind of space battle art I would draw on lined binder paper in elementary school. The ships have no sense of depth or dimension, the scenes lack drama, and the ship designs are utterly generic.

Despite the enormous amount of grievances, I remain a supporter of this book. Why? Because it’s a more grown up Voltron story, and one that I’m actually interested in seeing finished. The art may not have any semblance of Japanese anime, but that’s okay. The characters, for the most part, are easily identifiable and the story actually dares to push the Voltron mythos into new territory. If Blaylock can tighten up his dialogue and maybe hire a new artist, this book could thrive as a strong offering. Until then, it remains strictly average and I remain cautiously optimistic. (Grade: C)

– J. Montes