47 Ronin
Written by Mike Richardson
Art by Stan Saki
Color by Lovern Kindzierski
Letters by Tom Orzechowski and Lois Buhalis
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: March 5, 2014
Cover Price: $19.99

I’m sure that many of you are already aware of this, but the comic I am writing about today is based upon true events from the eighteenth century. 47 Ronin is more than just a great story, it’s a tale of honor, loyalty, and revenge. As I was not there for the actual events, I cannot attest to the accuracy. But this story has been called a national legend and it’s my pleasure to be able to introduce this comic adaptation to you.

I’ll be honest here, I am going to avoid the use of too many Japanese words as I am likely to inadvertently misspell a few of them. There are many different versions to this story but the main theme remains clear in all of them. And thanks to writer Mike Richardson, we all get to read it! Stan Sakai‘s artwork is distinctive and feels just right for this comic, simple yet refined. Between them, they have given us a wonderful graphic novel filled with action and intrigue.

Spawn #228
Writer/Plot Todd McFarlane
Art by Szymon Kudranski
Color by FCO Plascencia
Lettering by Tom Orzechowski
Plot Jon Goff
Cover by Todd McFarlane
Editor: Todd McFarlane
Image Comics
Release Date: February 13, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Spawn #228 is the first Spawn comic I’ve read since 1997. After giving this issue a read, I’m thinking the next time I pick up an issue will be in 2097.

Writer Todd McFarlane starts off right by giving me a nice character breakdown and summary on what I’ve missed, and actually, these couple of paragraphs REALLY fill me in on what I’ve missed in the past sixteen years. Unfortunately, it seems like I didn’t miss a whole lot. There’s a new Spawn. He has a girlfriend. Or ex-girlfriend. And honestly, that’s about it. This issue tries really, really hard to make itself an enticing mystery, but the thing about mysteries is, on some level, they have to make sense to the reader. He tries to do his own version of a David Lynch type super hero book, but falls way off the mark. Everything he tries to set up, just kind of leaves the reader wondering “why?” and “What’s going on here?” The villain of this issue is the Clown, who shows up and talks to a sleeping woman. That’s about the only forward motion in the book.