Sharpen up those
FOOT BLADES and fire up those
GALACTIC PHOENIX for this is the further
dissection of the new
Combatron komiks.
So without further ado, here are a few things we missed from the old
Combatron:
1.
Title Cards/Recaps
This was somewhat essential to the story since it was last seem
20 years ago. Other readers might not be as familiar as to what state
Mega Death was in prior to the latest issue.
For this is the form half of the population remembered him as:
And just for the sake of those keeping scores at home, this was the back story to
Mega Death's incomplete planet form (
accounts as told by Ur-quan Destroyer Robot.)
Which is also quite fitting when you consider that
Mega Death DID start out as a bunch of individual planets fused together.
2.
Panels with black frames (
w/ captions optional)
This helps contain the image or action to a single frame at a time. It's less confusing and the eye doesn't wander off to the next panel unwittingly.
3.
Primary and Secondary colors
We're not really sure if this was
FK's printing standards but the
Primaries and
Secondary colors were what makes
Combatron-
Combatron. Sure there were a few inconsistencies in the earlier issues. But these colors were what made the art pop.
4.
Word Balloons
We need this,
Sir! We
really really need this!
5.
Hand-drawn SFX
6.
Cute humans.
There might be no need for them on the current storyline but it would be fun to see them looking this cute again for the final issue.
7.
Rocks.
Lots
and lots
of
ROCKS!
Ok, we're kidding with that last image but we seriously need to bring back dem space rocks.
8.
Metal interiors of spaceships and what nots
I kinda miss these as well! I used to copy
Sir Berlin's depiction of metal walls on my
older komiks. It's simplistic as it is effective.
9.
Optimistic covers
Back then I never really understood why
Combatron and the gang would care about the environment
or subtly encouraging
FK readers to pray to God.
But as an adult I'd slowly appreciate that these themes do tie in with the character/story of Combatron.
Him being a human and having compassion for other beings in the universe.
Combatron himself values both life and death a trait that mirrors the personal convictions of the author.
And at
10. Hidden Greetings
I always get a kick from that "Hi Mom!" greeting written in the rocks.
And Sir Berlin is not the only FK artist guilty of this artistic mannerisms. So is Michael Angelo Andaya of Viktar Istarkid
and Jon Angelo Hernandez of Jonax fame.
But then again, the only permanent thing in life are changes.
So this newer version of Combatron might actually be a good thing.
This is the next logical and evolutionary step to Sir Berlin's art style after all.
Hence t'would be best to just let it be.
Again as we've mentioned in an earlier entry. This was a very Mega Death centric issue.
I also liked that Mega Death has a bowl cut in his base form
and has a more streamlined final form.
(Side by side for comparison.)
Again, the writing deserves to be praised and SSM! would be more than happy to lend a helping hand on any other production aspects of the book.
Hopefully this dissection would prove to be a helpful reference in the future. If anything else, we're just glad that Sir Berlin gets to finish his story in his own terms and in his own ways. Our suggestions are merely just that, SUGGESTIONS. And in no way shape or form to be ultimately followed or believed in.
We wish Mr. Manalaysay nothing but the best and a rather belated congratulations on completing this rather arduous task himself.
