Customer Reviews

Battle Chasers: A Gathering of Heroes

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This book is incredible. Amazing artwork that breaks from the traditional Marvel/DC/etc. style, it really stands out from the croud. Totally over the top, obviously influenced by Japanimation - major eye candy after so much of the same thing for so long in other books. The characters are unique and engaging, not your average superheroes by a long shot. The storyline gets off to a great start in this book, and you get great insight into the characters along the way. A great buy even if you're not into traditional superhero comics, and a must-have if other comics are all starting to look the same to you. This man is a genius, buy this book!

I've always been a fan of Joe Madureira's work, so when I heard about BattleChasers, I knew it would be a must-have. In terms of the artwork and the story itself, I was not disappointed. The characters are unique(as much as they can be in a genre like this), and the story is great--full of mystery, intrigue, and some of the coolest action scenes and artwork I've ever seen. The book itself is easily worth 5 stars. If I have any complaints, it's that the Graphic Novel cuts out just as the story REALLY gets going, and since the series hasn't been the most reliably published(IS it even being published anymore?), it's hard to find out what comes next. I can only hope a second GN is on it's way!

This man is the ultimate artist of the 90s. 'Nuff said! His characters are a mix of fantasy and superhero convention, with a dash of Dungeons and Dragons and a good helping of Final Fantasy. There's something for everybody in this book, which includes the first five issues of Battle Chaser's run. Any fantasy fan will love it, and any comic book fan will love it too. I'm from both camps and I find the book exceptionally satisfying. There's an intro writted by the Mad man himself, alsong with a gallery of character drawings by Maduriera and others. Pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

It has been quite a while since I picked up a comic book that I've truly enjoyed, and even then most series seem to fizzle after a few issues. Call me crazy, but I've been looking for something with good characters, good art, AND a good storyline, and most series seem to lack at least one of the three. This is where Battle Chasers truly shines: While the first five issues are merely the beginning of the overall story, they are driven by some of the most well designed and thought out characters I have seen -- in comic, novel, or movie. Each of them blends the familiar with the exotic, allowing us to identify with them while remaining intrigued at the same time. By the end of the first three issues, I felt a connection with all of them, and I've seen very few books that can manage to do so this early on. The art is superb throughout the series, and contains some of the most effective battle scenes I have ever seen in a comic. It is set in a fantasy-style world where magic and technology not only coexist, but intermingle, creating a sort of magitech. The storyline is excellent, even though you can tell it's only just the beginning (in my eyes, this is a good thing). I'd reccommend this book for just about everyone, though I think older audiences may appreciate it more.

I remember reading this when Image, I think, release 3 new IPs. It was 1 of 3 Cliffhangers series. The others were Danger Girl and Crimson. Of the 3, I thought this was the best one, too bad it took FOREVER for each issue to be release. It was this series that made other writers/artists not to follow habits of passing deadlines. But in the end, it was a great read. I'm trying to find the other issues and hopefully Joe Madureira finishes it...someday.

i was confused by a previou review that said joe worked out of brazil...the last i checked joe grew up and worked out of new york...am i wrong? not important...what matters is this guy can draw his [butt] off....ive been following his growth as an artist since his early days at marvel...that first "deadpool" series got me hooked and i've bought everything he has published since, Battle Chasers being his absolute greatest accomplishment yet...buy this book....cant go wrong with the price.

This is Madureira at the height of his artist ability. Never has he been so good, his action packed magna style has improved since his Uncanny X-Men run from the early to mid nineties.

The story takes place during a fantasy Dungeons & Dragons type of world. The magna style and the D & D factors go well in hand to make this an exceptional comic book. The characters are drawn beautifully and colored almost even better.

The actual story was quite good, but not exceptional. There were some holes in the narraration. For example a king mentions mana. There's a battle aganist a djinn. The writer doesn't explain what these are. I know what they are, but if you aren't fimiliar with fantasy stories you may not. The book also cuts off at issue 5 which leaves you hanging, and the rest of the adventure up to the ol' imagination.

Overall the graphic novel is the best fantasy graphic novel I've ever read. The artwork is superb, Mad. and the art team have out done themselves. If you're looking for great comic art, a good fantasy read, or are a fan of Joe Mad.'s work I highly recommend this book.