'BREED
III sees the return of legendary comic creator Jim Starlin to the
world of Ray Stoner, a half-human/half-demon warrior sent to save
the Earth from ultimate destruction.
Things get off to pretty rocking start as our hero is out to save a
woman and her terminally ill son from his "brothers"- other
half-breeds (hence the title).
The best part of the comic is Starlin's art. He comes from the
pre-Jim Lee era of artists and has a style more akin to George
Perez. The linework is very solid and his larger scenes (such as Of
Elsewhere) are breathtaking. Stoner in his monster form is very
similar in design to Thanos and Lord Papal (from DREADSTAR), two
other characters that Starlin is well known for his work on.
On the other hand, I thought that the pacing of the story was a bit
uneven. Over half the book was exposition and the woman and son
became nothing more than an audience for the backstory to be given
to. While this was a good way to bring new readers up to speed it
slowed down the main action and didn't explain much of what was
going on in the immediate present. With the comic ending with a
flashback cliffhanger I really wasn't feeling a strong desire to
find out what happened next.
One thing that made me wonder if there was an editor involved was
the mis-spelling of the word "Pastor" as "Pasture". Not once, but
twice. I wonder if that was intentional or an overlooked mistake.
A
lack of editing may also explain why the story didn’t feel as tight
as it should have been. Starlin is obviously proud of his main
character and the world he's created but the comic ends up going off
on a tangent, becoming a sort of "matter of fact" handbook. I would
have liked to have seen the focus return back to the threat at hand
before the close of the issue.
'BREED III will mostly appeal to followers of the first two series
and Starlin fans will definitely enjoy seeing his art muscles
flexing again. As for new readers, it does a good job of introducing
Ray Stoner and his personal problems but with the lack of urgency I
don't think it makes a very strong first impression.
