‘Kraken’ GN (review)

Written by Shannon Eric Denton 
Art by David Hartman
Published by Titan Comics

I love comic books that take us to a specific time and place and put a little spin on things. It shows us the real world but through a completely different lens.

That is what the creators of this book do with this comic here. They use the 1930s for a backdrop of the proceedings, yet they are able to give us something from that time period that is wholly unique.

I really enjoyed the adventure that popped forth as a result.

This book also reminded me of why I like Titan Comics so much. They really do publish some of the more unique science fiction entries currently in comics.

Their creators certainly are allowed to express their creativity very well.

The character of Kraken really is well developed. We see that he is an adventurer in the purest sense of the word. His adventures are really something else.

They take him to places far and wide that are all over time and space. He gets involved in things that normal people can’t even imagine. And that is exactly where we find Kraken at the very start of this book.

Now, what is interesting about the Kraken character here is that he has tentacled arms. That does get explained a bit in the book so do not worry there. He had just come back from a three year journey.

Where was he during those three years?

Why has he come back as such a changed man?

A lot of those questions are answered in some interesting ways and not always where you’d expect. The creative team plays it perfectly though with giving the reader information and putting together the bigger picture.

Kraken is in need of something pretty unique, though.

He needs allies, more than he ever has before. There is an evil sorceress intent on unleashing a horde of monsters upon the free world! Kraken knows that he can’t possibly take them on himself, so he has to find skilled warriors that he can trust to join him on his quest. But all of this may prove to be harder than he bargained for!

He eventually gathers a patchwork team. They all have varied degrees of personality. We get to see a lot of the dynamics between all of them. But they all have their own agendas for joining up that we get to see as the book develops. The interplay between all of them is a real joy to witness.

There is a lot of action in this as well.

In one sense, it reminded me a bit of characters from Mike Mignola’s universe. On the other hand, there is a lot more action than what generally happens in those books. The action is well handled and there is a nice enough balance to the proceedings. I never was bored and I always was rooting for Kraken and his gang of misfits.

They go on quite an adventure with each other as well. It is almost like an odyssey as they fight their way toward their ultimate goal. We get to learn about them on the journey as well. We also get to dig deeper and find out how they ended up where they are. We also get to find out more about Kraken’s past and how he ended up where he is today.

Eventually they go up against the evil sorceress. It is a hell of a confrontation, definitely not what I was expecting. Kraken has to make the ultimate decision at the end. The sorceress is not what he thought she was. Can Kraken and the gang defeat her? Or is it the end for him and the rest of the world? This comic goes to some interesting territory by the end and I applaud the work that the creators have done on this.

The writing is very interesting. I like writers who take some pretty big swings and writer Shannon Eric Denton does just that. The artwork by David Hartman is the same for me. I love the way he tells a story for sure. But I also love his character designs here.

It is a well done book. I hope we get to see more of this world in future installments.

RATING: B+