YI SOON SHIN: Warrior and Defender (HC) Review
“Practice makes perfect.” – Baron Seo, as he lines up his arrow at the next helpless prisoner of war, during target practice for the real prize: YI SOON SHIN.
Yeah, this book is violent. In fact, it is for mature readers. Violence, sexual situations, language… all that good stuff that makes a story, well, real. And if that wasn’t good enough – it is a story born from reality. Each of the epic battles portrayed within the pages of this book actually happened. Now, did they happen as they have been portrayed? Likely not – this is a “historic reimagining” – which adds something that is often needed in real life: interest.
This story offers its readers a fantastic story based on real events supercharged with interesting characters with outstanding personalities. I realize how over exaggerated that statement sounds. I put those words together, in that way, for a reason. The primary characters in this book are really interesting. Each of them plays a very important role in the overall story. Even many of the ships and weapons carry a “personality” of their own, crucial to the flow of the story.
Take for instance the guy on the cover. No. Not that guy. The one you probably missed. At the bottom. The guy I quoted, above.
Still don’t see him? I don’t blame you, I missed it the first time too. He is the guy with one eye – Baron Seo. He is one of the most dastardly villains I have ever witnessed in comics. He is a force to be reckoned with – a Joker, a Loki, maybe even a Thanos. As the cliche goes, “Every hero needs a villain.” It gives the hero depth, grounds him, makes him feel more real.
Admiral Yi is a hero – by definition and action – in real life and in this story.
All this inspirational hero talk reminds me: This book contains a foreword, a foreward written by Stan Lee – Stan “The Man”, himself! Onrie had the opportunity to meet with Stan, show him his books, and get one of the best endorsements any comic creator could hope for, a foreword by a legend. It is a great one-pager and gets you in the mood to read a “hero book”. The following is from the foreword:
“Whether they [heroes] exist in reality or in comic books, their presence, their courage and what they stand for are the reason we admire them.” – Stan Lee
So, it should be obvious by now, I really enjoyed this book. You will see my rating (below) reflects this as well. I just cannot say enough about this book. And it is more than the story itself. It is the back story, behind the book that helps make it great. The “extras” in the back of the book are just as interesting as the Korea on Japan Navy violence within the core of the book. It is in these extras that we learn how all this came about, the life of each of the four individual issues, the onsite research performed, and the amazing efforts of Onrie to build a fantastic international team of creators.
Congratulations Onrie, Gio, Adriana, Joel and DAK for producing something so fascinating, it kept me entranced from cover to cover.
Oh, and a few quick notes on the overall quality of this book:
- Absolutely BEAUTIFUL hardcover book, glossy pages, full page murals of art and even a ribbon bookmark (not that I needed it)
- Inspirational WRITING – Onrie Kompan and David Anthony Kraft deliver wonderful characters, engaging dialog, and a thought-provking storyline
- Fantastic ART – Giovanni Timpano did a wonderful job capturing Onrie’s words
- Unbelievable COLORS – Adriana De Los Santos did the same for Gio’s pencils as Gio did for Onrie’s words
- Remarkable book DESIGN – Joel Saavedra not only did an amazing job with the lettering, but the design of the overall hardcover book
“To Victory!”
5/5
Be sure to look for the continuation of this story in…YI SOON SHIN: Fallen Avenger!
S#!T Talking Central