A showdown gets underway!
Creative Staff:
Story: Corinna Bechko
Art: Roberto Castro
What They Say:
Tensions rise as Tarzan’s options run out and he finds himself left with nothing but an impossible choice. Meanwhile, Sheena discovers that London is more like a jungle than she could have imagined. Together they face the fight of their lives, with the fate of both their homes hanging in the balance.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Lords of the Jungle has definitely been more Sheena-centric from the start which made the previous issue fun since we get some good time with Tarzan as well as their first interactions with each other. I loved the way there was some natural antagonism on his part considering what he was seeing with the circus element and how that goes against his beliefs, something that’s quick and defining in a good way. That the two took some time to just get away and talk and figure it all out was welcome as well, since it included a dip into some time with Jane and what’s going on with her. The book took a bit more time than I would have liked in bringing them together but when it did it worked quite well.
With this issue, we get a few falling out moments that are being dealt with that helps to nudge things forward and add a little more tension. Sheena’s time at the circus is now more problematic as she’s looking to extract herself from it but making it clear that she’ll repay her debt; she simply doesn’t intend to become a permanent fixture of the place. And that naturally has the ringmaster less than pleased and you can see the wheels turning on how he can dominate the situation to get what he wants. Of course, Sheena comes from a different time and is nowhere near ready to give in on this, something that the ringmaster has never really dealt with before likely from most of the women of that time period. Suffice to say, seeing Sheena making it clear that she’s in a strong position here and has reached the limit on what she’s intending to discuss is good, especially since her end goal is not to stay in this time period.
A lot of this book proves to be catch-up to a point as we get a good sequence with Jane catching Sheena and Tarzan up on things with how it went down with Laine back in the jungle, which brought her to London. It’s fun seeing this group together and the way they kind of mildly accept Sheena’s not being from this time, but staying a bit wary just to be sure. That the group comes together in a solid enough way, working Luck over in the mix, is definitely welcome for going into the second half. Of course, we also get some action elements here with Tarzan and Jane escape from Laine early on and Roberto Castro just nails it. Frankly, Castro simply nails the book month after month here with what he does. He gives us such a great look at Tarzan and Luck with their classic view of men like that from this period but also giving us some really great designs for Jane, Sheena, and Laine that are all different but blended works wonderfully. Combined with some great layouts and hella impressive work in bringing the animals to life – a tough job for any artist – and it’s just masterful.
In Summary:
Having enjoyed the series so far, this issue is the one that feels like things just click better. Bringing the main cast together, having some solidly fun action pieces and great follow-up when dealing with the police afterward, and a bit more fleshing out of events that lead to the situation all helps to make it feel fully connected at this point. The weak link continues to be Laine simply because she’s a seemingly one-note character, but deep and rich villains are hard to do in a miniseries. Bechko keeps things moving along well here with fun dialogue, some solid exposition and gap filling moments, and a sense of forward progress that’s made all the more exciting with Castro’s artwork. Good stuff all around for fans of these characters.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 15th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
