Pacific Rim: Tales From The Drift

Pacific Rim

by Joshua Fialkov, Marcos Marz (Illustrations), Joshua Hale Fialkov

JAEGERS POWERING UP. KAIJUS RISING. THE EPIC ADVENTURE CONTINUES.

Following the best-selling graphic novel Tales from Year Zero, Legendary takes you back to the frontlines of a larger-than-life battleground with Pacific Tales from the Drift, the official new comic series presented by Guillermo del Toro and Pacific Rim screenwriter Travis Beacham.

Jaeger warriors do battle with all-new Kaiju creatures in this thrilling continuation of the Pacific Rim Universe. The series comes from writer Joshua Fialkov (The Bunker, Doctor Who) and features artwork by Marcos Marz (Batman Confidential, Blackest Night: JSA).

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

112 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2016

Reviews

[Dan Heimsath · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second series in the Pacific Rim comics. While better than previous, the art and overall plot are lacking. There's so much potential in this universe, and so far each comic series hasn't expanded much or focused on a truly interesting new set of Jaeger pilots. This one focuses on another married couple that are drift compatible in a seemingly futile battle with a new Kaiju. The art feels a little incoherent. I'll stick with it strictly due to my loyalty to the film that inspired it.

[soph · Rating 4 out of 5]

excuse me :)))))

[Guts Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I'm definitely glad I waited until I had all the issues before reading this. I believe it's better in movie form than in print. The art was a little messy but I guess that is to be expected for this type of story. The ending was abrupt and, in my opinion, on the cheesy side.

[nami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want all the stories of the Jaegers and their pilots. Please and thanks.

[— sab · Rating 4 out of 5]

"jessup and jessup reporting for duty."

[Aileen Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was sad.

[Kerri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I... guess? The art was cluttered, the colors muddy, and the fight sequences incoherent. The writing, however, was solid.

[Jolson Olson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent penciling and inking, vibrant colors and shading. Good paneling and writing makes the book fly by. It was fun seeing a background Jaeger and pilot team in the spotlight.

[Maciej · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pacific Rim: Tales From The Drift to komiks, który teoretycznie powinien być prostą historią o wielkich robotach walczących z potworami. I owszem - Jaegery znowu miażdżą Kaiju stalowymi pięściami, budynki zamieniają się w pył, a ocean po raz kolejny staje się źródłem koszmaru. Ale tym razem najciekawsza bitwa rozgrywa się gdzie indziej: pomiędzy dwoma połączonymi umysłami.

Joshua Fialkov bierze na warsztat jeden z najbardziej fascynujących elementów uniwersum „Pacific Rim” - Drift ("most" lub jak to ładnie zostało nazwane w filmie "neural handshake"), czyli neuralne połączenie pilotów Jaegera. W filmach był to głównie efektowny koncept. Tutaj staje się osią całej historii. Kaori i Duc Jessup, piloci Tacit Ronina, muszą nauczyć się współdzielić wspomnienia, emocje i traumy, zanim w ogóle będą w stanie walczyć. Komiks sugeruje coś bardzo ciekawego: prawdziwym paliwem Jaegerów nie jest technologia, lecz intymność. Żeby ocalić świat, trzeba najpierw dopuścić drugiego człowieka do własnego wnętrza.

I właśnie wtedy „Tales From The Drift” działa najlepiej, w chwilach ciszy pomiędzy kolejnymi alarmami bojowymi. Retrospekcje, drobne konflikty i rodząca się relacja bohaterów mają więcej emocjonalnego ciężaru niż same walki z Kaiju (które są niestety narysowane mało czytelnie). Problem w tym, że komiks nie zawsze potrafi utrzymać równowagę między emocjonalnymi wątkami, a efektownym starciem gigantów.

Warstwa wizualna bywa nierówna. Marcos Marz momentami tworzy świetne, niemal malarskie plansze, szczególnie podczas scen Dryftu, gdzie granica między wspomnieniem a teraźniejszością zaczyna się rozmywać. Ale sceny akcji często cierpią na chaos kadrowania. Czasem trudno odczytać, gdzie kończy się Jaeger, a zaczyna Kaiju. Finał sprawia natomiast wrażenie zbyt szybkiego, jakby historia urwała się chwilę przed prawdziwym emocjonalnym uderzeniem.

Największym problemem pozostaje jednak to, że komiks niewiele rozwija samo uniwersum. Fani liczący na głębsze spojrzenie na świat żyjący w cieniu Kaiju mogą poczuć niedosyt. To bardziej kameralna opowieść o relacji niż wielkie rozszerzenie mitologii „Pacific Rim”. To tylko jedno (istotne ale dalej jedno) starcie, gdzie w całym uniwersum pojedynków było pewnie kilkadziesiąt.

A jednak jest w tym coś ujmującego. „Tales From The Drift” przypomina, że uniwersum to nie tylko historie o potworach i robotach. Chodziło o ludzi próbujących znaleźć wspólny rytm pośród końca świata.

Ocena: 3,33/5 (goodreads 3/5 | lubimyczytać 6/10 | nakanapie 6/10 | thestorygraph 3,25/5)

[Entre.paginas.y.libros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esta novela gráfica/cómic (no sé muy bien que es 😅) me gustó mucho pero no tanto como el anterior. Eso sí, al ser corto se lee muy rápido, además de que es muy es entretenido.

La historia me pareció entretenida porque aborda un poco más el tema del enlace neuronal entre ambos pilotos de un Jaeger. Tienes que tener una buena conexión con tu otro piloto, de lo contrario, puede haber fallas al momento de manejar el Jaeger y eso sería grave.

Las ilustraciones cambiaron un poco al formato anterior, pero no me gustaron tanto. Yo quería ver más ilustraciones de los Jaegers y los Kaijus, no había tantas escenas detalladas de estos.

Lo que no me gustó mucho, fue que en algunas partes la letra era muy pequeña y me dificultaba la lectura, pero fuera de eso se lee bien.

El final lo sentí muy apresurado y muy equis, creo que le faltó más desarrollo y acción a la historia, sólo se quedó en una pareja que arriesga su vida para derrotar a un Kaiju y salvar gente, no hay un trasfondo mejor y más interesante.

Les recomiendo esta novela gráfica/cómic si son muy fans de la película o simplemente les interesa la ciencia ficción y esta lectura les llamó la atención.

[Taylor Napolsky · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's kind of nice reading this shortly after Guillermo del Toro won Best Picture at the Oscars. I'm glad he received that kind of acknowledgment. I love this "Pacific Rim" world and have not lost my desire to keep delving into it. "Tales From The Drift" is fun, and there are definitely some clutch moments. I think "Tales From Year Zero" did a better job at expanding on what we already know though. I really like that Pentecost is in this, and the stuff with Mako.

[Chloe Heins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Admittedly, I had read this for a class and was never a fan of Pacific Rim (monsters vs. giant robots just isn't my thing). Putting that aside, it was simply a difficult story to navigate. The images and colors seemed to blur together, making it difficult to decipher the action taking place in a particular frame. The story line can also be challenging to follow if you do not catch on to the subtle indicators of flashback/time change. That being said, I do not recommend this for novice comic/graphic novel readers, as it takes an experienced skill set in analyzing frames and gutters. If you are someone unfamiliar with comics, this one may leave you confused about not only the story itself, but the Pacific Rim universe as a whole. Combining messy images and a blurry plot, Tales From The Drift left much to be desired.

[Leonni · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story was good, and I like learning more about the Pacific Rim universe and other characters. I just found it a little difficult to follow at times with the switching between the drift and the present. I still enjoyed reading it though.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Read for class]

I mean, it was very fine. Probably more like a 2.5, but I'm too much of a sucker for the trope that the main relationship falls into. The art was a little messy, and the plot was by no means original, but it was very quick to get through, and I thought the coloring was strong.

[Don · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had so much potential. When you have an action story you need the visuals to be clear so you can tell what’s happening. This didn’t happen here. The artwork was blurry and messy, which really detracts from the experience. Was good but could have been better.

[Rika · Rating 3 out of 5]

- Trama: 2
- Dibujo: 3'5
- Color: 5

Una excusa para poner escenas de sci-fi con un dibujo casi logrado y una combinación de color que hace que lo anterior se perdone. La trama no es más que otra americanada patriótica versión alien, pero sabíamos a lo que veníamos. En general, regular.

[Derrick Lewis · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good book. A nice trip into the way the drift works. The art is better in this book than the other PR graphic novel and the story has a little more substance.

[Dani Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Charmaigne · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the film which told us about a few Drifters, but this was nice as it showed a few more and how the teams worked.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun graphic novel prequel to the film Pacific Rim.

Some awkward layouts made it a bit harder to follow, but the story was engaging and the finished art quite lovely.

[Jonathan Maas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Larger than life, with a feel in some ways even larger than the movie, this one brings it on multiple levels. Enter the drift!

[M. Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were a few pages or panels where the art could have been a bit more clear, but the story was fine. I would have liked to have seen it continue to other pilots.

[Mkittysamom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful Story!

[Valéria. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story about drift compatible married couple. Artwork is nice, though some panels looked faintly tacky.

[H. Givens · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like the couple at first, although the story was moving by the end. I wish the combat art had been easier to parse.

[Sheldon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that the art was a perfect choice for the material just that story itself was pretty average run of the mill stuff. Good but nothing groundbreaking, nothing wrong with that.

[Brannigan · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s hard making a book about giant robots fighting kaiju boring but they succeeded.

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was a nice story set in the pacific rim universe. Really made me get emotional by the end.

[Sean Goh · Rating 3 out of 5]

short backstory on one of the jaegers than made a cameo in the first movie. cliched but still hits hard. Art's a bit of a mess though.

[SYD!!!!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

short and bittersweet story. elucidates on the drift in a way i really enjoyed.