Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes [Paperback]

Munier Sharieff (Author), Joe Madureira (Author, Illustrator)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: DC Comics (November 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563895382
• ISBN-13: 978-1563895388
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #424,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Praise for America's premier Manga Artist, February 27, 2000

By 

Hank Robbins - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes (Paperback)

Joe Maduriera is the foremost Manga-influenced artist in America today. His characters, battle scenes and backgrounds reflect a very Americanized adaptation of the classic Manga style of Japan. The fantasy elements in the book are well-woven (I especially enjoy the crotchety Gnolan and his war-golem, Calibretto), and the settings and characters brim with a cartoony realism. He, along with peers J. Scott Campbell and Jim Lee form the hub of standard for art in the comics world today. This is a work not to be missed. NOTE: This collection includes issues 1-5 of Battle Chasers' run, and features a gallery of character art at the back drawn by Maduriera and other talented artists.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your time, November 28, 2002

By 

Doc Doom "Vic" (Latveria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes (Paperback)

Honestly, I loved this series. Catch the past tense there? Well, good. My love for it died not long ago.

First, let me say that this collection is well done. The art is amazing, some of Joe's finest. The story is a little lacking, but it's an introductory story. So what you get here is the first storyarc from 3 years ago, isues 1-5, I believe.

How many issues have been published since then? Three.
And how many issues more does he have planned? Zero.

Essentially, Joe "Try-and-spell-my-surname" Madureira quit. The issues he put out were sporadic at best, which is almost understandable. I mean his art is amazing, which obviously takes time. But you know what? So is Mark Bagely and he keeps on schedule.

Joe also took some time off because his wife had a child. Great! Wow, was I happy for him! But ... after one or two issues he decides to put the series on hold indefinately to pursue a video game career. And leaves the comic in the middle of a storyline and at a cliffhanger no less.

Moral of the story: Don't bother with this unless Joe either continues the series or at least finishes the storyline. It's akin to the Wachowski brothers releasing the first half of the second "Matrix" movie and then quitting to become Ping-Pong champions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Great Start...at least it would have been, August 2, 2006

By 

Justin Gaines (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes (Paperback)

It's hard to imagine now, but there was a time when the three Cliffhanger series - Danger Girl, Crimson, and Battle Chasers - ruled the comics world. The creators behind these three eagerly anticipated and heavily promoted series took the world by storm much the same way the founding Image creators did half a decade earlier.

Battle Chasers was the product of Joe Madureira's vivid imagination. Madureira was coming of a high profile run on Uncanny X-Men, and wanted to focus on a sword and sorcery fantasy epic. The result was Battle Chasers. Like the Image creators before him, Madureira's focus was on artwork over story. Battle Chasers essentially took the staples of fantasy, anime, and video games - the reluctant swordsman, a young child who inherits great power, a cantankerous old wizard, a giant robot, and a very well-endowed female mercenary - and throws them in a story straight out of a Dungeons & Dragons game. It's not particularly innovative, but it was certainly a lot of fun.

Madureira's artwork is naturally what steals the show. He obviously has a love of anime and video games, which comes across in his fantastic character designs and action sequences. Everything is vivid and full of energy, which makes it easier to look past the relatively basic storyline.

Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes collects Battle Chasers issues 1-5 as well as the Battle Chasers Preview and a Battle Chasers short story that ran in an issue of Frank Frazetta Fantasy Illustrated magazine. The collection is a great introduction to the series.

Unfortunately it's also just about all we'd ever see of Battle Chasers. For whatever reason, Madureira was unable (unwilling?) to continue the series past issue 9, and aside from a few covers would pretty much disappear from comics completely. This is disappointing to say the least. Fans bought into this series and Madureira's obvious enthusiasm for the characters. I think we deserve better than his abandoning the story and the readers in such a manner.