Samurais in space makes no sense until you make the blade strong enough to cut through “nearly anything.” Wait, didn’t George Lucas think of this idea years ago? Hmm…is it good?
The 7th Sword #2 (IDW Publishing)
This issue opens with Daniel Cray in jail. He’s the protagonist and the trained fighter with a sword no less. He’s on a planet where robots attack humans, but he’s got a trusty sword to cut through these metal bastards. Unfortunately, due to prejudice the people fear and hate him. Unfortunately for them, an army of aliens and a cyborg leader is coming to level their city. The leader of the place was even killed last issue. That’s a lot to overcome.
I wonder if she’ll regret being such a dick to him later?
Those looking for an action-packed story should turn elsewhere, as this issue spends all of its time setting up the new dynamic between Cray and his captors. They don’t know anything about war, so his skills are greatly needed if they want to stand and fight the army that’s coming. They fortunately have a ton of weapons, including some swords he’s familiar with. Their edge is apparently so sharp it’s only a single molecule wide. In a sense it’s a lightsaber, only it’s made of metal and probably needs more force behind it to actually cut.
The writing by John Raffo is okay. It’s not particularly gripping nor that interesting, largely because we’ve seen this kind of story play out as it does here. There’s nothing that jumps out at you or screams originality. The hero is your standard gruff quiet type who’s a loner that still has a heart underneath. The story seems to think we’ll actually buy the fact that he’ll leave when he finishes training the people, but we all know how this story plays out. The dynamic between Cray and the now dead leader’s daughter is also pretty stale, mostly because Cray is incredibly flat. This hero type, the wartorn loner, is a tough sell because he’s so damn cold which doesn’t help the story.
The art by Nelson Blake II is good, but it’s rather boring and simple. There isn’t much to draw beyond characters chatting so he can’t really show off and there’s no action either. The final page has a nice montage of Cray’s history learning how to fight, but the rest serves the story as it should and that’s as a play. The characters move around and express themselves, but there’s no wild camera work even needed since things are slow and standard.
What’s under the tarp!?
Is It Good?
The first issue had a bit of flair but had many slow moments which, unfortunately, this issue is also mostly made of. It might be cool to see where it goes, but this issue doesn’t give me much faith things will get any more exciting than watching a woman do her nails.
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