Kaptara is a broad satire in the Flash Gordon, human stranded on an alien world tries to become a hero, vein. Kaptara focuses it satire on old cartoons, with He-Man as its primary target. There are some funny bits, but the campiness of He-Man has been parodied many times, so nothing wildly original here. The main character is a decidedly unheroic gay scientist who drifts dangerously close to stereotype. Worth a quick read for the funny parts.

Do you enjoy Science Fiction? Do you feed off of the completely absurd? Well, I have good news for you. Zaptara is a comic series that you're going to love. I should have known that if Chip Zdarsky was involved, this was going to be a surreal read. Experiencing this is one big WTF moment, with ample amounts of random laughter interspersed. The highest compliment I can offer up is that this reminded me a lot of Venture Bros. and I love that show to the ends of the Earth. I think this comic and I are going to get along just fine.

 

 

Volume 1 kicks things off by introducing us a ragtag group of space explorers. My favorite thing about this opening was how different the characters all were, and how obviously it was laid out. You've got the brilliant and sarcastic Keith Kanga, who ends up being our main character, surrounded by a whole cadre of personalities that conflict with his. Zdarsky set up Keith as a man who, while definitely intelligent, doesn't exactly have the best survival skills. He picks fights, and tends to charge into situations. Which, of course, comes back to haunt him when his ship crash lands on a mysterious planet. A planet that, as you'd expect, wants to murder him.

 

 

Poor Keith, good thing he has someone to protect him. Or does he?

 

What follows is one of the most absurd and rollicking stories I've read in a long time. It's a ton of fun to read! The planet Kaptara is full of ridiculous characters and equally random encounters. While it took me a few panels to settle in to the illustrations, Kagan McLeod's art soon became the focal point of this whole experience. He brought Kaptara to life. This zany world, brimming with all manner of violent possibilities for death, was generated in vivid color. It was perfection.

 

Be warned that this comic is highly irreverent about nearly everything. There is vulgar language, there are violent deaths, and occasionally there are very thinly veiled sexual jokes. This is Science Fiction in the loosest of terms, since I've yet to see any actual science involved. The fiction portion, however, abounds!

 

As it stands, I'm hooked! This will be a series that I'll be eager to keep following.

 

What's not to love about a dirty absurdist take on He Man? And you never knew that you wanted to read one.

If you like Kung Fu, especially old Kung Fu films, you will probably enjoy this book. It is like reading through a kung fu movie, convoluted plot and all. C'mon, you know you really watch these films for the fight scenes, right? And this book has plenty of martial arts action as well. But the plot was actually pretty interesting in itself. Lei Kung deserts from the Ghost Emperor's army in a world that is ruled by martial arts. However, he is Chosen by the Immortals to fight the emperor in order to restore the balance of life in the world. You see, the reincarnation cycle is in danger as there are not enough living for the dead to reincarnate into. So, there are plenty of dead zombies roaming around. Is that enough plot for you? Our hero has to save the world while mastering some very serious Kung Fu techniques along the way. And that is the basics. In addition, as I mentioned, there is plenty of martial arts action, and the art in this book brings it to life very well. The only reason I did not give it that fifth star is because the tale does get a little silly,or maybe just a little Deus ex machina, not sure which towards the end. But I won't spoil the end. Overall, this is an excellent graphic novel that I highly recommend. It has a bit of everything for various readers. It is a fun read. It has great art, and it is very entertaining. It may well be, for me, one of the best books overall I read this year.