5 out of 5

Reading Kyle Kaare Andrews’ recent ‘Iron Fist’ series – and his impassioned letter in the back of the first issue where he talks about the writer/artist/inker/etc. all-in-one combo being such an awesome thing – I’d gotten a taste for wanting to check out others who’d pursued a similar path.  Andrews mentions Steranko; Simonson came to mind, especially since Walt has some classic runs I’d wanted to eventually read anyway…  So when IDW started reprinting Walt’s classic ‘Star Slammers’ series (well, classic to you, new to me), it seemed like too well-timed of a reading opportunity to pass up.  First impressions were sound: this was definitely a creator-owned world, but it wasn’t riddled with too excessive of a backstory or, like, a made-up language, and the art is serviceable to the story, avoiding flash except where a scene requires it.  But, still, when you tip-toe into sci-fi / fantasy land, it’s super easy for things to topple over into “good idea, poor execution.”  In comics, this generally (from what I’ve read) means too much soap opera.  Comics are soap, for sure, but I like my media – including comics – to come with a sense of balance.

Which the first arc of Slammers (which I guess is a reprint of the original Marvel series, with the following issues assumedly reprinting the Malibu / Dark Horse series) absolutely maintained.  The Slammers are a race of people renowned for their fighting skills, hired – for a steep fee – for missions of protection or destruction.  It doesn’t take many Slammers: issue one opens up with three taking down a whole army.  And it turns out that their ‘fee’ is, in part, to gather whatever weapons are left over to take back to their home planet, all in preparation for some eventual war with Orion, a planet ruled by a man a Slammer pissed off a long time ago.  It’s really awesome impressive how easily Simonson navigates through this narrative, and without too many tricks.  We do get a good chunk of it via “mind bridging” – one Slammer telepathically communicating with another – but elsewhere we see some good evidence of ‘show, don’t tell’ to get the remaining pieces across.  Another key piece of the story that’s executed shockingly simply is the balance of power.  The Slammers are badasses; how is it that they’re worried about this oncoming threat?  The explanation does boil down to ‘they are legion, you are not,’ but we’re convinced of the truth of this via how we’re told and how things unfold.

The re-colorization by Len O’Grady (Walt and Louise did the original colors) is pretty slick, despite some ugly overly-computer blends here and there.  I’m sure it was updated to give it some more depth, but O’Grady sticks to a palette that feels timeless – without knowing the history of the Slammers comic, I could’ve believe it was new.  Now knowing that it’s not, well, it works that way too.

Slammers is a wonderful example of concise story crafting that doesn’t skimp on narrative or quality of art.  I never felt stuck in talking heads, and yet in three issues I get a sense of a full sci-fi world bristling between the pages.  Combined with Walt’s inventive set and character design (and unique layouts), the book works fully for a new reader or, as professionally repackaged by IDW, as a reminder of how good that comic you have somewhere in your longboxes was.  It’s certainly a genre book, but – at least for this first arc – one that should be mentioned a a highlight of that genre.