Hexagon Comics Kabur #12: The Birth of the Natrix

 

KABUR #12: THE BIRTH OF THE NATRIX  by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by José Luis Ruiz Perez, Roberto Castro, Gabriel Mayorga, Manuel Martin Peniche; cover by Roberto Castro; foreword by Roy Thomas.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

96 pages b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-424-5. 

US$14.95

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-kabur-12-the-birth-of-the-natrix.html

34. THE BIRTH OF THE NATRIX. by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by José Luis Ruiz Pérez.
THE APES OF SHINXU story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Gabriel Mayorga..
THE GARGOYLES OF KADMAEON story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Manuel Martin Peniche.
LAGRID: THE STAR SEED story by Jean-Marc Lofficier; art by Roberto Castro.
SKETCHBOOK ROBERTO CASTRO.


Kabur's quest in Gondaxa is finally comes to an end, but his reunion with the beautiful Lagrid is not what he had hoped for... First, he must defeat Selinor Psah, the Sultan-Sorcerer of Arkhanal, whose monstrous plans are finally revealed... 
Plus three tales recounting heretofore untold adventures of our hero, a sketchbook of Roberto Castro's alternate covers and a foreword by legendary Conan writer Roy Thomas.

Roberto Castro fills the sketch pages in this issue and it is interesting to see how his pencils are quite sketchy compared to regular pencils I have seen. I need to point out here that at one point Big Ben Dilworth sat in my apartment as I watched him complete a Blue Saviour pencil illo. It was supposed to be for the back cover of Zine Zone. The pencils were so detailed and then....inks all over the detail. If you are going to ink your own work then why a lot of detail? Andrew Hope (from Fantomex) once told me that my pencils for him to ink were "engraved" in the paper!  I like sketch pages because, to me, they are an insight.

Bet you thought I'd forgotten I was reviewing a book didn't you?

The cover, like most of the other Kabur covers, are eye-catching and the need for such covers to draw in buyers should never be underestimated. I read Roy Thomas's intro and had to ask out loud why he was not being used by Marvel to at least bring some quality and knowledge of characters back.  As for the artwork in the book...

José Luis Ruiz Pérez became a personal favourite very quickly and so it is a given that I like his work. He gives Kabur a really lived in face while the female characters are  very well depicted; and his background details seem simply but are very effective and layouts are also...effective. Two "effectives" in one line. Poor writing. The use of cross-hatching (rarely used in comics these days it seems) and grey tones -spot on.

Gabriel Mayorga's contribution has an introduction explaining that the story takes place between episodes 1 and 2 of the saga.  Hey, you like Planet of the Apes you'll love this!  The art is nicely rendered, although that, again, seems like a given with these books.

Manuel Martin Peniche's artwork is solid black and white with a lot of lovely detail and Kabur...."gets the girl"!  And as if that was not a big enough treat Roberto Castro gives us more solid black and white work and an interesting story -Kabur nowhere in sight!

So far all of the 50th anniversary Kabur books have been a treat and to date I have spotted no continuity problems and that should come as no surprise since Jean-Marc Lofficier knows his comic history and his characters and he has fleshed out so many over the years because pre-Hexagon these characters never crossed over and could seem a little "flat" if enjoyable. All of this guidance has made Hexagon a company that deserves more attention.