A Good Read!
I think we’re all aware that I’m a little bit behind on current trends. I enjoy things when I enjoy them. Be it books, movies, games, or TV, when I watch them doesn’t do anything to detract from their quality.
Right now I’ve (finally) just gotten around to finishing up volume 1 of the comic book series “Drafted”. By “volume 1” I mean what is clearly intended to be the first of multiple series and not just the first Graphic Novel collection which really only holds 6 issues. This first story spans over 12 issues and doesn’t let up all the way through. It has to be said that Mark Powers has really knocked this one out of the park with some spectacular writing. This is one series that has a lot going for it. The writing is great and the artwork really conveys what it needs to. It looked to me a little bit like the artwork was still developing when the team was changed up for the last few issues. I personally feel that it was a good change even though it’s a style that I’m not usually that fond of. In any case the artwork change did nothing to detract from the presentation of the story.
The story goes that Earth is threatened by an interstellar war and the entire planet gets drafted by an alien race in preparation for the coming battle. Not unlike John Ringo’s “Aldenata” series of science fiction novels we see both the combat and the effects that combat has on the world around it. The “draft” in this story is a sudden teleportation up to a ship circling the Earth followed by an equally sudden training period. There’s a fair amount of depth to both the story and the characters and I found it very hard to put down. If you’re a fan of Lost or Battlestar Galactica then this is precisely the sort of story you’re likely to want to pick up. If I hadn’t already read it, I would be very excited to see it as a TV series.
Devils Due Press has released a number of good comic runs over the last few years and this one ranks right up there. They clearly know their audience and they definitely deliver. If you’re looking for something to pass a few hours with, the whole series is out in trade paperback now and I feel that it’s very much worth the price of taking it home.
