I feel like the art and colors in this comic can do no wrong. Just when I mention almost every review that I love the use of passionate colors by Josh Burcham, he throws white at me in the cover. But guess what? It is brilliant. Jack has reached his breaking point so instead of throwing us a craziness of color, Burcham takes the serene route leaving us with such a cute little cover for #15. Of course, I can’t forget about Andy Suriano’s art either. Jack looks strong with Aku shown in the reflection of Jack’s sword. It totally gets us pumped for the battle about to come. The battle starts out with some serious beating of Jack. Aku takes this time to not only beat him to a pulp but to also talk...a lot. Why do villains always feel the need to tell us everything during battle? Those narcissistic idiots. But you gotta love him. And man does Aku make the perfect villain for Jack. Aku brings his funny charm to the fight, even at one point trying to burn Jack and laughs at his own joke of calling him a “fry samurai.” I love this dude. He holds nothing back, even when his jokes are corny.
Jack takes the beating, because frankly he isn’t as powerful as Aku without his sword. But what I love about Jack is that he has something better than a sword, he has a metaphor! What you quickly learn about Jack is that the sword was only a metaphor for the power within a person. And that my friends, we know is stronger than Aku’s.
I have to say that the battle is well written, and the action is well played out. I think that Jack sometimes does too much when he is fighting his advisories that readers can’t fully understand his moves. But in this battle the action is so raw and not so fairy tale, that it makes it more fun and believable. Any kid involved with some defense class would fall in love with Samurai Jack.
This story is a real success in my book for Samurai Jack. I wasn’t that into this comic, but reading about Jack’s quest to mend his sword has made the comic worth the price. I shall be keeping up with the story and you should start reading this comic as well. It is easy to pick up, and with an ending like that, you have to experience Samurai Jack just once.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Jim Zub Artist: Andy Suriano Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/10/14