Written by: Frédéric Zumbiehl, Frédéric Marniquet
Illustrations: Jean-Michel Arroyo
Coloring: Ketty Formaggio
Publisher: Dupuis
Buck Danny Classic #3 De Spoken van de Rijzende Zon – Comic Book Review
After the atom bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in august 1945, it didn’t take long before Japan capitulated. With that, the war finally came to an end, officially anyway. Nonetheless, Buck Danny and his mates soon find out that not all Japanese share the same opinion. Time for them to once again deal with a potentially world-threatening danger.
Buck Danny and his friends are on their way to Japan, after the end of the Second World War, to get a decoration for their services in the war, handed to them by General Douglas MacArthur. Captain Miller welcomes them on Japanese soil, and shows them around the base where they will be staying. While Miller gives the group more information about the airplanes that are currently at the base, Sonny notices someone eavesdropping, and goes after him. He gets knocked over though, and before his friends can reach him, the intruder is gone.
Captain Miller decides to confide in Buck Danny, stating that this hasn’t been the first incident. Things have gone missing, here and on other bases. He did some investigating, and now fears that there are still some Japanese who don’t want to recognize that the war is over, and secretly have a ‘spook army’ ready to strike. Danny doesn’t believe a word of what he is saying, but since Miller promises to give him proof the following day, he agrees to Miller that he will mention it the next day when they go to meet General MacArthur, but only if the proof is substantial. When Miller is found dead later that night, and Buck Danny hears that Miss Lee has escaped from prison, he starts to believe that Miller might have been right. Soon, things get even more out of hand, and Buck Danny and his friends will have to secure the future of the United States.
Frédéric Marniquet and Frédéric Zumbiehl used two different storylines for this comic book. On one hand, there are Buck Danny and his friends who originally are headed to Japan to be decorated by General MacArthur. On the other hand, you get a glimpse of what the Japanese group are up to. You see how Miss Lee is freed, as well as part of the group’s meetings, making it clear that this is serious. This approach implies that you always know more than the good guys, which in turn adds to the excitement. The pace is quick enough to keep things interesting at all times, and is sometimes changed up by the occasional joke or clumsiness of Sonny, which adds a funny note to the whole. Even though the pace is quite fast, you will have to wait until the next issue to find out whether Buck Danny & co managed to seize the Japanese group of conspirators.
The illustrations by Jean-Michel Arroyo look very realistic and detailed, which is a very nice thing to see, given the series contains so many airplanes and aircraft carriers and so on. This sense of detail elevates the series to a very appealing, classy looking comic book. The colors are very bright, making the whole look a bit more dated, as nowadays colorists tend to work with a broader range of colors, often more muted as well. Nonetheless, since this issue is a new album, but deliberately made in an older, ‘classic’ setting, the coloring feels exactly right.
Conclusion
Buck Danny Classic #3 De Spoken van de Rijzende Zon is an exciting new story about Buck Danny and his friends, yet situated in the ‘Classic’ series, which is a sort of spin off from the original Buck Danny series. The crew managed well to make it all look quite authentic, and on top of that, the story is a very interesting one that won’t bore. Unfortunately, we will have to wait until the next issue to find out whether or not they succeed in their mission.
No Comments