Steam Wars

  In a not too distant galaxy, not too very long ago the rebel leader, Duchess Imeon, has stolen the formula to making warp coal. This fuel is what powers the massive ships of the Hegemonic Crux, an evil empire lead by the mysterious Lord Baron. The Duchess escapes with a space cowboy and his giant bear copilot in their spaceship, the Twentieth-Century Fox.

   It looks like the Duchess is to become the evil Baron's captive when the Fox is shot-down. But her salvation comes in the form of the last laser-sword swinging Dragoon, Bo! But can the young mud farmer be trusted when it's revealed that Bo is actually the estranged son of Lord Baron?

     If this book sounds an awful lot like the adventures of the crew of the USS Enterprise from the Star Trek franchise- you're not very far off...

     Okay- I kid. But you know what sci-fi franchise this series is really based on. Just substitute junkyard chic with steampunk and craft it in the style of manga and you have Steam Wars. I just want to know how artist/ author Fred Perry and the folks at Antarctic Press got anyway with this?!

     As such an obvious twist on a timeless classic, this book is clearly an homage to the original Summer Blockbuster. There are a few funny moments in Steam Wars, but it's not a parody of the movies in which this book reboots. So, I don't see how this manga series could be covered under federal parody law. Plus, since Disney now owns the rights to that original property and Disney has been know to threaten lawsuits against pre-schools that paint Mickey Mouse murals on their wall, how did Steam Wars ever see the light of day?

     I'm not really a fan of manga but based in the source material I just had to give this a go. Thankfully, I enjoyed this book and though it borrows heavily from that other series, it doesn't copy it 100%. There are some changing plot threads and really neat differences that made this book seem exciting and new. Plus, if you are fans of a certain bounty hunter, I think your going to enjoy the fresh new take on him.

    If you can find this book, it's Worth Consuming.

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.