The Stop Button

Buck Rogers is surprisingly awesome. It’s like if someone did an exaggeration of Howie Chaykin, only it’s Howie Chaykin doing it himself and doing it really well.

Since it is Chaykin, there’s the usual less than tight art. Not as much as lately, however. Some of the medium shots have issues, but for the action sequences and close-ups, he’s on more than I expected him to be. There’s also the issue of the lengthy expository monologue from Buck Rogers about what’s happened to the world since he’s been asleep.

That monologue comes in between two long, good action sequences. Chaykin writes really strong banter between Buck–who comes from a time when banter is appreciated–and Wilma Dearing, who doesn’t appreciate banter at all. He drags her into it.

The soft cliffhanger is a little odd–Chaykin doesn’t visually establish the hook–but otherwise, it’s an excellent comic book.

CREDITS

Writer and artist, Howard Chaykin; colorist, Jesus Aburto; publisher, Hermes Press.