Storm Shadow #1 (Devil’s Due)
- Writer: Larry Hama
- Artist: Mark Robinson
- Letterer: Brian J. Crowley
- Colorist: Renato Faccini
- Cover Artist: Sean Murphy
Breakdown
Friend and enemy.
Hero and villain.
Criminal and victim.
Over the years, the life of Thomas Arashikage – AKA Storm Shadow – has been one of extremes… torn between tragedy and triumph, and inexorably trapped in the middle of the war between G.I. Joe and Cobra.
Now, however, the scales are balanced. The man is free of all ties and is on his own, able to finally search for his own path.
For this soldier turned ninja, it seems his path is ever destined to lead to trouble…
Story
This is plan and simple this is a classic action-adventure film put to panels instead of the big screen. Just from this first issue it brings memory back to movies like Enter the Dragon, Game of Death, Kill Bill, and the Matrix so action is not in short supply in this comic. It drops you into a confrontation on the first page and it is nonstop action until the last page. Honestly I had no expectations when I picked this one up outside I thought Snake Eyes and him where the to bad ass mo-fo on the planet when I used to watch G.I. Joe as a kid so this was a guilty pleasure that actually paid off.
Writing
Larry Hama as most knows is the writer of the original G.I. Joe series for Marvel Comics in the 80’s and he does a great job with bring this character up to speed in a contemporary setting. This world we get a glimpse of has a definite real world feel to it which adds to the flavor and the action of the book. The story needs to be fleshed out of course since it is wall to wall action, but Hama has me hook enough that I will at least be on board for this first story-arc.
Art
Mark Robinson’s art has a heavy anime influence; I racked my brain trying to put my finger on what his artwork reminded me of. If you remember or have ever watched the Eon Flux cartoon that is the style of artwork on this book, so saying that the artwork might not be for everyone. Honestly it is not knocking me off my feet, but I will say it works for this type of book.
Cover
The cover artwork was drawn by Sean Murphy and it is classic action cover hands down.
Ratings (Out of 10)
Story – 7
Writing – 6.5
Art – 6
Cover – 8
Overall Score – 6.87
Bottom Line
A Total guilty pleasure read, but it has me interested enough to pick up the first story arc.
