Kaptara #1

Kaptara #1

by Chip Zdarsky, Kagan McLeod (Artist)

A space expedition goes horribly wrong because if it didn't there would be no story! Reluctant explorer Keith Kanga and his crew crash land on KAPTARA, a world filled with danger and weird danger and dangerous weirdos! And if he can't survive, then Earth, the place where YOU live, is doomed! Join CHIP ZDARSKY (Sex Criminals the Duck) and KAGAN McLEOD (Infinite Kung Fu) as they put the "fi" back into "sci-fi" and pretty much disregard the "sci" part in this epic story of punching and love!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Science Fiction, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Fantasy

40 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2015

About the author

Chip Zdarsky is a Canadian comic book artist and journalist. He was born Steve Murray but is known by his fan base as Chip Zdarsky, and occasionally Todd Diamond. He writes and illustrates an advice column called Extremely Bad Advice for the Canadian national newspaper National Post's The Ampersand, their pop culture section's online edition. He is also the creator of Prison Funnies and Monster Cops.

Source: Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Nicolo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This reader has had the chance to get the first two issues of Zdarsky and McLeod's Image series Kaptara and found two different comic books; for the first two issues at least.

The first issue is the set-up for the rest of the series but I actually like the spacecraft setting of an intrepid group of explorers seeking their fortune in Mars. At this point, this reader is inclined to give Zdarsky a chance to tell his story. McLeod's art is pretty good too and excels in alien environments and creatures with twisted anatomies.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I expected nothing less from Chip.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The comic starts off quickly and I'm quite interested to see where it goes-- I'm very interested in the rest of the series. I'm also digging the art!

[alana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chip Zdarsky's been on my radar since reading Sex Criminals, Vol. 1: One Weird Trick for my local GN group earlier this year. I recently found out he'll be at our local comic-con this fall, so I wanted to check out more. I still have memories of childhood nightmare's about Howard the Duck #1, so that's off the table. So enter "Kaptara" which I'd heard was an awesome new comic about a gay guy in space, but it's not focused on his sexuality. Interesting. Kaptara is space weird but maybe also time travel weird? There's some gladiator fashion happening and creepy creatures and space ships and pods and a scientist guy who is not exactly rugged. While the space oddity echoes Saga #1, the story so far seems very light and comedic in comparison. The colours are vivid and fun, and the art is clear and engaging. I'll definitely see where this is heading. But most of all, I'll be coming back for the cat tank.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought I'd give this a chance, because I was wary of my ability to read a series written completely by Chip Zdarsky, didn't pick up Howard Duck when it came out, read Howard Duck and thought, "Huh, entertaining."

I had very much the same feeling while reading issue one of "Kaptara" as when I read issue one of "Howard Duck": not the best, but entertaining. Zdarsky gives us a mash-up of sci-fi and He-Man with a gay protagonist of color that's attempting to be funny. Considering what a disaster that could've been, I have to say, give credit and say, "Not bad, not bad at all." The art is fine, and I find the coloring entertaining, although for those people who don't like psychedelic colors, this might not be the series for you. Although the color palettes aren't as crazy, or the art-coloring combinations as busy, as Zdarsky's Sex Crim's buddy Matt Fraction's ODY-C, they're still pretty flamboyant. It seems characteristic of Chip Zdarsky humor to have a gay main character and a purple, fuschia, teal, baby blue color palette. Dude, even the monster was called a "Fuschiabeast."

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I dunno, man. I think Kagan McLeod's art was okay, and the story was not. I picked this up because I love Zdarsky's writing on Sex Criminals and it totally failed to deliver. It's been only one week since I read it and I have already forgotten pretty much everything that happened. Compare and contrast with Sex Criminals 01 where the only thing I could think when I finished was, "Okay now I gotta read issue 02 immediately."

Maybe I'll give this another chance eventually, once I finish everything else in my to-read stack, or I can check out the collected book of the first 5 or 10 issues from the library next year.

[Mel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still up in the air on this one. There's potential with all the weird creatures and characters, but the main character so far really annoys me. I'm hoping this ends up being a lot of personal growth cause I'm not sure how long I'll stick around if he stays the same.

[Vince Home · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny, characters are very "human" in their reactions and foibles

[Neil · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know if I actually like this comic, but it made me laugh, so I'll give it a shot. Chip Zdarsky seems to have written himself into a post-modern fairy tale as a gay black man. I get the feeling he's as full of himself as Keith is, and was looking for a character to simply voice whatever jumps into his head at the moment.

Can it last as any kind of legitimate work? I'l give it a few issues.

[Adia · Rating 3 out of 5]

An okay start to a series. The premise seemed intriguing, but the writing left something to be desired. Or more the lack of sophistication and accurate terminology that you would expect from professional astronauts. The artwork also wasn't the best. Perhaps the series improves with time but to be perfectly honest, I'm not rushing to find out.

I will say points for diversity. Multiple PoC and the main protagonist is gay.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So we start off with 5 characters: 2 white men, 2 black women, and a gay Indian (No I do not mean Native American!) man. And the 2 white men die leaving us with 3 people of color. Add in some space, weird ass shit, a queen and really cool art and you get this: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I AM HERE FOR THIS!

[Brittany Makufka · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not really sure what to think of this one yet. The artwork was beautiful, but I'm not sure where the story is going?

[Jason Schneider · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quirky dialogue coupled with fantastic illustration means I will probably be a monthly reader rather than a digest monger.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything Chip Zdarsky touches is gold.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kaptara is an exciting page turner and also quite funny. The pacing feels really on point and I'm immediately invested in our protagonist.

[Mr. Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

Star Trek w/cuss words. Plus gory deaths and a super annoying main character. I might need the art to grow on me... it honestly looks like the kind of art you'd see in an issue of Mad Magazine.

[Žarko]

zdarski kreten <3