Cinebook Ltd XIII 27 - Spaso House

 

Authors: Yves Sente & Youri Jigounov
Age: 15 years and up
Size: 18.4 x 25.7 cm
Number of pages: 48 colour pages

ISBN: 9781800441750£7.99 inc. VAThttps://www.cinebook.co.uk/xiii-spaso-house-p-4590.html

Captured in Cuba as he was trying to exfiltrate a Russian hacker on behalf of Janet Fitzsimmons (the woman who controls him through a chip in his head and secretly runs the entire US government), XIII is taken to Moscow, where he once operated for a faction of the KGB. Caught in a deadly power struggle between Russian intelligence services, he must discover what happened during a decades-old mission … of which he has no memory! 

Artwork is perfectly fine. No problem with it at all. Same goes for the story which is well enough paced and the right amount of "passive" and action scenes.  When the original series ended it did so cleanly and it was a series I read through more than once and I still do not think that it can be beaten.

However, I do wonder whether this type of thing has run its course? It's a problem with comics, movies and TV that there is a success and no new ideas around so "Hey -that XIII series was very popular and got good reviews so let's keep flogging it!"  And that is the impression I get here. I read it and think back almost immediately to the first series and that this does not compare. If it had been The XIII Legacy looking at what happens to another agent who has memory loss then it might have worked with a clever twist to the agent finding out about the first (XIII) one.

Of course, my opinion means nothing and so all I can do is ask how long the series can drag on when fans thought it was all over a long time ago?

I also know that there will be fans of the series out there and THEY are the ones who count because THEY pay for the books and their likes and continued support keeps things rolling on.  Maybe this year I am the Scrooge of Comics Christmas?

Hexagon Comics Kabur #10: The Hounds of Kyros

 

KABUR #10: THE HOUNDS OF KYROS  by Jean-Marc Lofficier, Roy Thomas; art by José Luis Ruiz Pérez, Luciano Bernasconi, Miguel Angel Yzaguirre; cover by José Luis Ruiz Perez.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

76 pages b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-394-1. 

US$12.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-10-the-hounds-of-kyros.html

32. THE HOUNDS OF KYROS story by Roy Thomas & Jean-Marc Lofficier, dialogue by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by José Luis Ruiz Pérez.
EPILOG: AND YET IT MOVES story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Miguel Angel Yzaguirre.
BAO IN VENLANA story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Luciano Bernasconi.SKETCHBOOK by José Luis Ruiz Pérez.



As Kabur approaches the Mountains of the Moon, he witnesses a strange metal fortress fall from the sky, destroying a nearby village... With the help of several travelers he must then face the terrifying creature that emerges from the ship, accompanied by two fearsome hounds... Fortunately, in this desperate fight, Kabur will be able to rely on another extraordinary visitor, also from the stars...

This 48-page saga by Roy Thomas, Jean-Marc Lofficier and José Luis Ruiz Pérez is supplemented by an Epilog by Miguel Angel Yzaguirre and a tbonus ale recounting an heretofore untold adventure of Bao by Luciano Bernasconi.

I love looking through a well drawn black and white comic and the artists on this book are well worth studying.  The stories are all well written (Roy Thomas writes one!) and the action well paced.  I like the blend of barbarian and sci fi and Homicron looks really good in this incarnation and I don't think I've seen the character drawn like this before (but my mind is a porridge filled with over 5 decades of comic characters so who knows!).

Nice to see an old hand like Bernasconi drawing a comic strip and that can only be topped by José Luis Ruiz Pérez sketchbook pages.  Quite honestly you cannot go wrong with this book and I got far more enjoyment out of it than I do the current Avengers run at Marvel -a series I have followed since the 1960s.

I'm hoping Hexagon books get good sales but it deserves to get them. If you have not tried a Hexagon book before 😲 then try this one and if you don't find it a fun read well...why are you here?!

You can order via the Hexagon link provided and at least that way you know the money from sale goes straight to the company.