Christopher Mills recently mentioned on his blog that he and Eduardo Barreto have a Sinbad comic they want to do. That’s the fourth one that I’ve heard about lately, but you know what? The more the merrier. Swashbucklers are cool and Sinbad is one of the best. As long as the comics are good - and I’m confident that Mills and Barreto’s will be - there’s room for all.
And isn’t it a ripe time for an Islamic hero? I’d love to read a Sinbad comic created by someone with an Islamic faith, but until that happens I’m happy to check out what’s available. Unfortunately, of the four Sinbad comics I know about, I’ll likely only check out two of them.
One that I won’t be reading is BlueWater’s Sinbad: Rogue of Mars. As cool as it is to have a line of comics inspired by Ray Harryhausen stories, BlueWater’s Ray Harryhausen Presents comics are a case of too-good-to-be-true. The stories I’ve read aren’t very exciting and the color palettes they use are offensively dull and ugly. It’s a shame, because I was really looking forward to that line.
One that I could be persuaded to pick up is Christophe Arleston and Pierre Alary’s Sinbad. The only drawback is that I don’t read French and I’m not the kind of comics reader who can just appreciate the art without caring about the dialog. Still, damned pretty.
I will be reading Mills and Barreto’s when it finds a publisher. I’m also going to be checking out Zenescope’s 1001 Arabian Nights: The Adventures of Sinbad. My usual hesitation about Zenescope books has been overcome by my curiosity to read a Sinbad adventure by Dan Wickline. Dan’s a buddy of mine, so that’s part of it, but I’m also interested in watching him transition from what’s mostly been horror output to swashbuckling adventure. Dan’s always had a lot of cool ideas and 1001 Arabian Nights should be exactly the kind of book where he can just set them all free.
I checked out the #0 issue when it came out and so far, so good. The short, introductory tale is everything I expect from a Sinbad story. There’s an oppressive merchant, a shipboard sword fight; a diverse crew of mysterious, fantastic beings. It’s only eleven pages, but it’s a lot of fun and made me eager to read more.
My only concern is that Sinbad’s a bit uncouth even for him. I got nervous when he talked about bringing out the whip in a speech on how to treat women. I like my swashbucklers to be chivalrous and there is that about this Sinbad - especially at the end of the story - but that one speech bothered me, even if he was kidding. I’m hoping that part of the series will be about him growing out of that. I want to find that out badly enough - and I enjoyed the rest of the intro well enough - that I’m in for more.
Now, someone just get me another Sinbad series by some Muslim creators and I’ll be good to go.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
I agree that Wickline’s Sinbad was quite fun, and buckles were certainly swashed.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:15 pm
Funny thing, Sinbad wasn’t all that swashbuckling and adventurous in the original stories. It’s true that he’d travel around and get into all sorts of predicaments with monsters and magic, but he spent a lot of time whining about how he shouldn’t have set off for adventure and should have just stayed home. Then again, it was quite common in earlier times for adventure stories to be written with the adventurer regretting having ever started it (such is the case with Jim Hawkins from Treasure Island and Allan Quatermain from King Solomon’s Mines). The basic logic being that adventures led to danger to life and limb, loss of comrades’ lives, and all around stress.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:13 am
I’ve been reading BlueWater’s Sinbad: Rogue of Mars and quite enjoying it. I could give 2 shakes about Sinbad himself, but I do love me a good tale of Mars and this series has been delivering in spades!