Still on the Shelf #53 - I Thought You Were Dead!

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Still on the Shelf #53 - I Thought You Were Dead!

I really do love being surprised when I read a comic, and it happens so rarely these days. Sure I get surprised, but usually, I am surprised at how horrible a comic is. Not so this week, as I read through the first four issue mini series, Snake Plissken Chronicles.

I was a huge fan of Escape From New York, I remember watching that movie as a kid with my dad. I rather enjoyed the sequel, Escape From LA, but as it should be seen, as nothing more than a tribute to the original. When I heard news that a comic was coming out based on the character, I cringed. The character of Snake is a good one, but if they couldn’t even come out with an original story for the sequel, just what will a comic have to offer in the way of a good read? As I said, I was surprised, and this series delivered in ways I could not possibly imagine.

Cast of Characters

There really is only one character you need know about before reading this, and that is Snake Plissken himself. His real name is a mystery outside of the initials “S.D.,” but he will tell you himself to just call him “Snake.” Snake was a war hero serving in a United States Special Forces unit during World War III who was awarded two purple hearts and was the youngest man ever decorated by the president. Something happened to him along the way to turn him against his government, and he has stood against all authority ever since in his post-apocalyptic world. Twice (under strangely similar circumstances) he has received a full pardon for all of his past crimes when forced to aid the US government- those crimes including everything from homicide to illegal possession and use of tobacco.

One of the most telling things about Snake Plissken is that everyone thinks he is dead. He is so often in situations where he simply has to be dead, like a bad villain from the Adam West Batman series, few bother to verify that he has indeed met his end. For that reason, almost anyone he encounters is surprised to see him alive.

Thoughts

This series accomplished something no new Snake Plissken movie could possibly do – tell an original Plissken story. We finally get a glimpse of the world Snake lives in outside of the two “penal islands” from the movies, and it is very much like you might imagine it. The roads have fallen into disrepair, and outside of cities, you see Road Warrior-type gangs collecting tolls and harrying travelers. Inside the cities there is some security, but local government is corrupt and life can be tough for the average citizen.

I really don’t know where to start in telling you what I liked about this title. Snake is presented in a deliciously cliché manner – he is perfectly portrayed as a man who either kind of likes you, or wants to kill you. He has a strong sense of honor, but is not above killing anyone if it will help his cause. He makes enemies with great ease, and he is always about to die, yet he just keeps coming back to take revenge upon those that wronged him.

I have heard this series describes as a serial, and that is not far off the mark. At the end of each issue Snake is placed in an impossible situation, and at the beginning of the next he somehow manages to find his way out of it. Much like the movies, he picks up tag-a-longs as the story progresses, but at the end of the mini he is all alone, once again – just another day in the life of Snake Plissken. This series was bloody brilliant.

There is lots of action, and the art has no trouble keeping pace with this fast and gritty story. Tone Rodriguez does an amazing job of drawing distinct and expressive characters, and handles the action scenes with the greatest of ease. This book would have been killed by poor art, but thankfully he was more than up to the task. Chris Blythe deserves his share of the credit – the color work is outstanding and really contributes to the great feel of this series.

Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the outstanding job that William O’Neill did with this story. I honestly thought an original and interesting Snake Plissken story would be impossible to write, but he did a more than adequate job. Not only is the story fantastic, but you could plop his Snake Plissken character right into either of the movies, and you would not notice the difference. That alone shows how much he succeeded in my eyes.

Bottom Line

This title had a rocky run, mostly due to its initial time with CrossGen. The first two issues were printed under the CGE imprint before Hurricane split off and struck out on their own. Hurricane recently released the final issue of this series, and at this time there are no immediate plans for another run.

Now if you ask me, this title got a bad shake because of the CrossGen turbulence, and deserves a second chance from all of you. If there is enough interest, I am sure the fine folks at Hurricane would consider another Snake Plissken Chronicles run, and that can only mean good things. This first mini was action packed and an overall light fun read, something I think all of us could enjoy. Each of the first four issues are available now – you could either check your local comic shop or order online from Hurricane’s website.

As I said before, pleasant surprises are something of a rarity in comics today, and this sure was one for me.

Credit Where Credit is Due –
Snake Plissken Chronicles is
Written by William O’Neill,
Drawn by Tone Rodriguez,
Inked by Kim Werestiuk,
with Colors by Chris Blythe and
Letters by Dreamer Design and Rubin Spehar.

Still on the Shelf Extra

Another fun little comic I came across at this year’s Wizard World West convention was B.A.B.E. Force: Back to School. B.A.B.E. Force began over at Comics Conspiracy through its first three issues, but the creators eventually decided to publish it on their own.

Contrary to what its title conveys, B.A.B.E. Force goes to great lengths to keep itself from being your average T&A drool-fest. The book is about a team of attractive “babes” who hail from a secret island fortress with no practical knowledge about how the ral world works. They are placed in situations where they must infiltrate regular society to protect it from the machinations of the evil ChaosCo, who seeks to conquer the world using capitalism. Well, some of them do. The original founder of ChaosCo was an infamous World War II criminal mastermind who created an ultimate doomsday device. His son, Dr. Chaos, took over his father’s legacy and converted it into a means of cheaply producing goods, abandoning his father’s evil ideology. His sister, Helga, works behind the scenes to sabotage her brother and trying to use ChaosCo’s products to her own evil ends. She is disappointed in her brother for abandoning their father’s plans for global domination, and seeks to get him out of the way so she can conquer the world on her own. Of course, every time, B.A.B.E. Force is there to stop them And hilarity ensues.

B.A.B.E. Force is another light, comedic read, and it gets in its share of jabs at comics that rest their laurels on how good their half naked female protagonists look. I spoke to the producers of this comic at the convention, and they explained that they go to great lengths to make certain that their heroines are attractive, but never too slutty, and never in “too sexy” situations. They have even gone so far as to send art back to be redone if it was not “PG-13” enough. A rare thing in comics to be sure!

B.A.B.E. Force: Back to School #1 and the first three B.A.B.E. Force issues are available online now, and issue #2 is due any day now. Also on the B.A.B.E. Force site you can see a preview for upcoming live-action B.A.B.E. Force web-isodes, which should be great for a good laugh!

All characters, titles, and etc. are owned and © their respective publishers and creators- the author and StillontheShelf.com makes no claim towards them. This column is intended as a review only. Please, report any broken links!

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