Z-View: The Mercenary Sea #2
The Mercenary Sea is an on-going series created by Kel Symons & Matthew Reynolds published by Image.
Writer: Kel Symons
Artist: Matthew Reynolds
When the Venture is damaged in a trap laid by the Chinese admiral after Captain Jack Harper’s head, he’s forced to take the job offered by the mysterious American agent, Mr. Taylor, to rescue a British spy trapped behind enemy lines.
The Pitch: ”Hey, someone in comics should do a pulp action comic, you know a real throwback about a ragtag group of mercenaries led by an Indiana Jones-type who loves adventure and righting wrongs.”
“Let’s do it!”
The Tagline: “Red Sails at Sunset”
The Overview: Jack Harper and his crew are wanted by the Chinese government for crimes against the state. Admiral Shi Tang has sent soldiers to collect them for return to the motherland and execution. If Harper’s team survives they have a job waiting… one that involves rescuing a spy with valuable information from behind enemy lines.
*** Beware – spoilers are found below ***
The Good
- The issue begins with action.
- Symons writing flows.
- Reynolds’ art continues to impress.
The Bad:
- While I like Reynolds‘ art I still think he overuses silhouettes and blurred backgrounds. It’s not that I don’t like those techniques but if used too often they can lose their impact.
- What happens to the Chinese soldiers that Harper’s crew took prisoner? Why were they taken prisoner? The Chinese team was sent in to capture and return Harper’s team to China for execution. Harper’s team and the Chinese soldiers were just involved in a major gunfight. Are we to believe that Harper’s team just set the soldiers who tried to kill them free?
The Ugly:
- The cover didn’t work for me this time. I liked the idea, but felt the figures were too small and the blurred plane looked too small.
I look forward to the next issue of The Mercenary Sea.
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