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Dynamite's Defenders of the Universe #3
The King Collection Omnibus
When Ming the Merciless launched an all-out assault on planet Earth, the colorful band of heroes known as Kings Watch led the resistance, and triumphed! Now, across the cosmos and in the dark corners of our very planet, Earth's defenders continue the mission, separate and yet together in spirit!
Pursued across space, Flash Gordon and his friends Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov must rally the oppressed people of Ming's dominion to the cause. But can one man -- even someone as fearless as Flash -- navigate the shifting allegiances of countless races to unite for the common cause?
Mandrake the Magician, the world famous illusionist, puts on a show you'll never forget, as he faces the all-new, all-deadly Cobra! Can he stop her from amassing Earth's most dangerous mystical artifacts in a bid for global domination?
On the distant planet Arboria, a ragtag team of misfits searches for a legendary figure known as Jungle Jim -- a hard-drinking, somewhat mad explorer with power over the forest itself -- to save a captive revolutionary from Ming's death sentence!
The Phantom is dead! Lothar, the world's strongest man, assumes the mask of The Ghost Who Walks until he can track down the true heir to the heroic legacy... but the sole survivor of the Walker bloodline is already neck-deep in danger!
Prince Valiant, a knight who would dare any adventure, gets his fondest wish... as Mandrake plucks him from the timestream and hurls him headlong into the fight against Ming alongside the strangest incarnation of Kings Watch ever assembled!
Pursued across space, Flash Gordon and his friends Dale Arden and Dr. Zarkov must rally the oppressed people of Ming's dominion to the cause. But can one man -- even someone as fearless as Flash -- navigate the shifting allegiances of countless races to unite for the common cause?
Mandrake the Magician, the world famous illusionist, puts on a show you'll never forget, as he faces the all-new, all-deadly Cobra! Can he stop her from amassing Earth's most dangerous mystical artifacts in a bid for global domination?
On the distant planet Arboria, a ragtag team of misfits searches for a legendary figure known as Jungle Jim -- a hard-drinking, somewhat mad explorer with power over the forest itself -- to save a captive revolutionary from Ming's death sentence!
The Phantom is dead! Lothar, the world's strongest man, assumes the mask of The Ghost Who Walks until he can track down the true heir to the heroic legacy... but the sole survivor of the Walker bloodline is already neck-deep in danger!
Prince Valiant, a knight who would dare any adventure, gets his fondest wish... as Mandrake plucks him from the timestream and hurls him headlong into the fight against Ming alongside the strangest incarnation of Kings Watch ever assembled!
456 pages, Paperback
First published May 18, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 18, 2016
In hindsight I probably should have read the King crossover series that came before this, as it appears that this collection of four mini-series rely on events that took place in the crossover. This collection can be read apart from the crossover, because enough backstory is given so that the reader does not get lost.
Considering the good run Dynamite previously had with Buck Rogers the Lone Ranger and the Phantom I had high expectations for this collection. IN many wys those expectations were not met.
Little bit of spoiler space
The Phantom: some aspects of another attempt at updating the character make sense. Lothar stepping in to give an African an opportunity to replace the white man in the role is a worthwhile idea, as is the quest aspect of the story (tracing down the last remaining Walker relative to take over the role). Guran is updated, and other aspects of the mythos are brought in. Overall about 3.5 stars.
Flash Gordon: Flash is portrayed as a bit of an airhead, Zarkov as a megalomaniac drunk and Dale as the brains. A fast paced adventure, some minor smiles, but a Woman in Refrigerator bit drops the rating a 3 star.
Mandrake: I'm good with the inner conflict for Mandrake here. That using magic has a physical cost, so he uses illusions as much as possible to defeat his foes. But, another Woman in Refrigerator bit drops the rating a 3 star.
Jungle Jim: bad art plus an attempt at updating the character that I think failed. Two stars.
Prince Valiant: You want to tell a story about a young, questing arrogant Val, fine. But, give us some meat to the story, and don't end a four issue series on a cliffhanger. One star.
Considering the good run Dynamite previously had with Buck Rogers the Lone Ranger and the Phantom I had high expectations for this collection. IN many wys those expectations were not met.
Little bit of spoiler space
The Phantom: some aspects of another attempt at updating the character make sense. Lothar stepping in to give an African an opportunity to replace the white man in the role is a worthwhile idea, as is the quest aspect of the story (tracing down the last remaining Walker relative to take over the role). Guran is updated, and other aspects of the mythos are brought in. Overall about 3.5 stars.
Flash Gordon: Flash is portrayed as a bit of an airhead, Zarkov as a megalomaniac drunk and Dale as the brains. A fast paced adventure, some minor smiles, but a Woman in Refrigerator bit drops the rating a 3 star.
Mandrake: I'm good with the inner conflict for Mandrake here. That using magic has a physical cost, so he uses illusions as much as possible to defeat his foes. But, another Woman in Refrigerator bit drops the rating a 3 star.
Jungle Jim: bad art plus an attempt at updating the character that I think failed. Two stars.
Prince Valiant: You want to tell a story about a young, questing arrogant Val, fine. But, give us some meat to the story, and don't end a four issue series on a cliffhanger. One star.
June 4, 2016
I'm going to specifically use this to review the Mandrake and Prince Valiant series contained in this omnibus. The others I'll be reviewing separately.
Mandrake the Magician: FOUR STARS. This was surprisingly good. Honestly the art was a little too cartoony to fit the story for my tastes, but other than that it was a pretty solid story. The art wasn't terrible, just seemed a little out of place. I'm not as familiar with Mandrake as I am some of the other characters in this volume, but I enjoyed this one.
Prince Valiant: TWO STARS.This was by far my least favorite of all the King stories. It involved time travel and was just very confusing. Prince Valiant in space? Didn't work for me. Just a real hodge-podge here and the story was hard to fathom. I think they wanted to put Prince Valiant in the story, and there was no real way to make him fit. It feels like he was just forced into the plot. The art wasn't bad, but it wasn't enough to save this one.
This volume also includes:
Flash Gordon: Four Stars
The Phantom: Three stars
Jungle Jim: 3.5 stars
Overall not a bad collection, but it does have high points and low points.
Mandrake the Magician: FOUR STARS. This was surprisingly good. Honestly the art was a little too cartoony to fit the story for my tastes, but other than that it was a pretty solid story. The art wasn't terrible, just seemed a little out of place. I'm not as familiar with Mandrake as I am some of the other characters in this volume, but I enjoyed this one.
Prince Valiant: TWO STARS.This was by far my least favorite of all the King stories. It involved time travel and was just very confusing. Prince Valiant in space? Didn't work for me. Just a real hodge-podge here and the story was hard to fathom. I think they wanted to put Prince Valiant in the story, and there was no real way to make him fit. It feels like he was just forced into the plot. The art wasn't bad, but it wasn't enough to save this one.
This volume also includes:
Flash Gordon: Four Stars
The Phantom: Three stars
Jungle Jim: 3.5 stars
Overall not a bad collection, but it does have high points and low points.
June 28, 2018
I have a soft spot for the old pulp heroes and even a modern reworking done done right is good in my eyes. The writers manage to keep the characters engaging in their modern retelling along with enabling the titles to intermingle but remain individual at the same time. The artwork is standard but the scale of the stories compensate for that. The whole Kings and Flash gordon series has been a joy to read.
April 23, 2019
I really liked the Flash Gordon and Prince Valiant stories, Mandrake and the Phantom were all right, and I had to struggle to get through Jungle Jim. The artwork was uneven throughout, and in the case of Jungle Jim, just not well done at all.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews