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Kei Zama

Auteur de Transformers: Unicron

8+ oeuvres 45 utilisateurs 5 critiques

Œuvres de Kei Zama

Transformers: Unicron (2019) — Illustrateur — 11 exemplaires
Transformers: Optimus Prime, Volume 1 (2017) — Illustrateur — 10 exemplaires
Death's Head: Clone Drive (2019) — Illustrateur — 10 exemplaires
Transformers: Optimus Prime, Vol. 4 (2018) — Illustrateur — 7 exemplaires
SPIDER-GWEN: SHADOW CLONES (2023) 4 exemplaires
Optimus Prime #25 - Post (2018) — Illustrateur; Artiste de la couverture, quelques éditions1 exemplaire

Oeuvres associées

Scarlet Witch Vol. 2: World of Witchcraft (2017) — Illustrateur — 62 exemplaires
Transformers Vol. 1 (2024) — Artiste de la couverture — 11 exemplaires
Transformers: Optimus Prime, Volume 2 (2018) — Illustrateur — 8 exemplaires
Transformers: Optimus Prime, Volume 3 (2018) — Illustrateur — 8 exemplaires
Transformers: Optimus Prime Vol. 5 (2019) — Illustrateur — 6 exemplaires
Transformers (2019) #14 - The Change in Your Nature, Part 2 (2019) — Artiste de la couverture, quelques éditions3 exemplaires
2000 AD Free Comic Book Day #2017 — Illustrateur — 2 exemplaires
Optimus Prime #24 - A Sunrise Dark (2018) — Artiste de la couverture, quelques éditions1 exemplaire
Optimus Prime #23 - Time Will Rust (2018) — Artiste de la couverture, quelques éditions1 exemplaire
Optimus Prime #22 - Unstopped and Unstoppable (2018) — Artiste de la couverture, quelques éditions1 exemplaire

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Access a version of the below that includes illustrations on my blog.

In the 2010s, the original Death's Head has experienced a bit of a resurgence at Marvel; one assumes this is because the 1980s kids who grew up on him are now in positions of creative authority themselves. This volume collects Death's Head's first self-titled comic series since the 1980s, which was a four-issue miniseries by Tini Howard and Kei Zama from 2019 where the original Death's Head meets the Young Avengers and the new Death's Head V. It was collected under the title "Clone Drive" by Panini, along with a reprint of Death's Head vol. 1 #1.

Death's Head may have been killed off and absorbed into Death's Head II back in the 1990s, but he's still alive and well here. My understanding—such as it is—is that this is because originally Death's Head died in comics set in 2020. Back in the 1990s, Marvel UK's 2020-set comics were supposed to be the "real" future of the Marvel universe... but now we're up to 2020, so they're clearly an alternate timeline, and thus Death's Head died in this alternate timeline, but not in the real timeline, meaning he is alive and well and carrying on as normal. Evelyn Necker of AIM was responsible for the original Death's Head's death, and Clone Drive gives us the Evelyn Necker of "our" reality, who has become obsessed with finding and creating different versions of Death's Head.

So anyway, this was pretty enjoyable. Death's Head is a fun character, but he is difficult to get right as a lead character; even his creator Simon Furman has struggled with that. What made Death's Head enjoyable in Transformers was the sense that he's outside it all, kind of. The Transformers may invest great significance in the was between Autobots and Decepticons, in their battles against Unicron, in the time-travelling antics of Galvatron... but Death's Head doesn't care about any of that, he just wants to get paid. But also Death's Head is at his best when he's a bit put-upon, when things get away from him and don't go as planned. So he's a great foil, but it's hard to make him a main character because how can you give your lead a vibe that what's going on around him doesn't actually matter? Furman occasionally managed this with the original Death's Head series; my favorite issue of this is the one where he gets involved in some guy's squabble over a treasure map with his wife, and it's clear Death's Head doesn't give a shit about any of this backstory or even who lives and who dies, he just wants the money.

Writer Tini Howard recreates that vibe here by combining Death's Head with the Young Avengers. Flung back in time from the future era of the original Guardians of the Galaxy (the 31st century), Death's Head takes refuge in the apartment of Wiccan and Hulkling. They are having relationship drama... and Death's Head just does not care at all. He just wants to get back to the future and stay alive. The teen angst of the Young Avengers is the perfect counterpart to Death's Head, because it's very clear he doesn't want to know about any of it, but they keep trying to explain it to him, and it keeps having an effect on him whether he likes it or not... plus, here's Death's Head V with his own existential angst!

Howard is a fun writer, and does fun stuff with the characters here; in addition to Hulkling and Wiccan, we also get Hawkeye, who was my favorite in the original Young Avengers run. There's good jokes and good angst and good twists. Artist Kei Zama, appropriately enough, got her start on Transformers, and she's adept here with human and robot alike, capturing Death's Head expressiveness. There are some neat layouts.

If there's a fault here, it's that I think the series wants the reader to care about the Hulkling/Wiccan drama more than I actually do. I'd rather be like Death's Head and be a bit above it all! The series ends with new, potentially set-ups for both Death's Head (with Evelyn Necker) and Death's Head V (with Hulkling and Wiccan). Alas, though, I don't think either character has had any subsequent appearances; specifically, Hulkling and Wiccan have returned but without any indication that "Vee" is still living with them.

My Panini trade paperback has an introduction by Brady Webb, which gives background on Death's Head that unfortunately repeats the apocryphal, untrue story about Death's Head's supposed original appearance in "High Noon Tex."

Death's Head and Marvel UK: « Previous in sequence | Next in sequence »
… (plus d'informations)
 
Signalé
Stevil2001 | 1 autre critique | May 19, 2023 |
Ok, this was just absolutely delightful. And also sweet and heartwarming. Howard has Wiccan and Hulking and their relationship down pat and writes them beautifully. And Zama does a fantastic job with the art and page and panel designs to show abstract things like the disorientation of rebooting as a sentient robot perfectly. Just all around a wonderful 4 issues of comics.
 
Signalé
boredwillow | 1 autre critique | Mar 4, 2023 |
I like Barber's work, but there's something a bit... lost with this book.

I blame the humans. Humans are awful. Prime and company dealing with this irritating species is just something you endure.

Honestly, Cybertronians are why we read the IDW comics. The tie-ins are at best tolerated (the only exception being Thundercracker and all references to Josh Boyfriend).
 
Signalé
Kavinay | Jan 2, 2023 |
Yes! This is Barber at his finest. Payoff for so much continuity and guesswork over the years. I really do wish this aspect of the OP series, Cybertronian mythos and history, had featured even larger in the scheme of the series until now.
 
Signalé
Kavinay | Jan 2, 2023 |

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Brady Webb Introduction

Statistiques

Œuvres
8
Aussi par
10
Membres
45
Popularité
#340,917
Évaluation
3.8
Critiques
5
ISBN
10