Co-Creators:
Kurtis Wiebe: words
Tyler Jenkins: pictures
The Solicitation
“THE GREAT ESCAPE,” Part One
The city of Calais is the first city in France to fall to the Germans in the spring of 1940. A mysterious American boy named Peter rallies a handful of plucky French orphans and they must work together to survive Europe’s darkest hour.
From the writer of the critically acclaimed GREEN WAKE and THE INTREPIDS comes a new ongoing series: PETER PANZERFAUST, a high energy action story that blends Red Dawn with Peter Pan.
Preview
The Story
Let's talk about making a comic where the basic concept is Peter Pan fighting Nazis.
And I'm sold.
This works as a great first issue. We see that the approach of the story is being told by an old man who turns out to be one of the "lost boys." He is telling the story of how he and some other orphaned boys all were in France when a bomb fell on their orphanage. And that's when they met Peter.
We get more or less a classic version of Peter and how the lost boys work. Peter tries to convince the boys that they need to hide until the Germans are defeated. To do this they will have to remain in hiding. I imagine they will be having some grand adventures as they do so.
We get basic character introductions and a few moments that are classic Peter Pan moments. This story reeks of fun times ahead, and I'm falling for it.
The Art
This is where my problem is with the book. Everything is heavy with shades of brown. At certain points all of the lost boys look almost alike to me. There isn't really too much to distinguish them from each other save for Peter who has a very distinct look. Once I get past that hump, its not too bad.
When I flip through the book, I get really confused as to what is going on. Rooms seem to be built like the inside of a TARDIS. The transition form panel to panel seems weird. At times backgrounds seem to be lacking and objects are there one moment but not the next. I'm liking the story, but the execution of the art could use a little bit better direction.
The Cover
I got the second printing cover. You can't tell from this cover that its Peter Pan in WW2, and I would think that is what needs to be expressed on the cover. You do get airplanes in the back, but you don't know who the guy is. Hopefully if this makes it to a collected edition then it will be changed.
Grades
Words: 8/10 Nice concept and it has me hooked.
Pictures: 6/10 Needs help, but can get better.
Recommend: Definitely give it a try. Its an excellent way to change up the telling of Peter Pan.
Buy Next Issue: Already done!
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