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Mighty Samson #1
Publisher: Dark Horse
Writer: Jim Shooter and J.C Vaughn
Art: Patrick Olliffe
To get it out of the way first and foremost: They did it. They pulled it off. Mighty Samson is a treasure of an action comic that you won’t be able to put down.
I know some have speculated an overdose on these Gold Key revivals could be their demise, and since Samson was never brought back before in comics, the speculation was high this could be that weak link. Reading the first issue, I saw nothing missing. If anything, Mighty Samson surpassed any of the hype around the project with yet another solid Gold Key revival lead by Jim Shooter at Dark Horse Comics. The first issue of Mighty Samson sets up everything we need to know: 500 years after the world’s end, two rival tribes are duking it out in a place called N’yark, on the island of fallen towers.
**Minor Spoilers Ahead!**
Amidst all this blood a baby is born, who turns out to have super human strength. After the baby shows off his powers by ripping off a villain’s finger (this reviewer’s favorite surprise moment in the comic), he and his mother are saved from two mutant beasts battling over them. They are taken to a refuge where he is raised, and years later they return to her city, to seemingly find it about to be under siege (I’ll stop here so I don’t give away any more spoilers)!
As mentioned, the first issue is a basic set-up issue that gives us all the details we’ll need to know throughout the series. All the heroes and villains are introduced, and the mutant/barbarian filled post-apocalyptic landscape of a fallen New York City is painted for us. However, this is a high action comic, and the artwork by Patrick Olliffe is fantastic, capturing the very look and feel of Samson’s world. It’s chaotic and brutal, yet has the feeling of a lost world; it’s a place not in the middle of the apocalypse, but a place many years after the end, as it says on its opening page. Olliffe captures both the scenery details and supplies us with glorious non-stop action drawings. Fans of the classic Mighty Samson won’t be let down by his work here. The writing by Shooter and Vaughn is fantastic, too! They have given this story a fresh kick of caffeine while staying true to the original. The characters and adventure are all here and they are giving readers what they would want in a book like this (and from the sounds of our conversation with Shooter on Mighty Samson, they have much, much more where this first issue came from).
Aside from this awesome first story, we also have a bonus reprint of a classic tale from the original Gold Key Mighty Samson comics. Mighty Samson #1 is out on stands, so buy it now.
Drew McCabe
drew@comicattack.net