Countless ages ago, battles raged and wars were lost, but one lone heroine fought on. Struggling to prevent a time of magic and wonder from becoming extinct, her fight would span centuries, leading her to the one person who could help change the future forever! This special Soulfire tradepaperback collects together the first five, sold-out issues of the Soulfire series, along with the sold-out #0 issue and the rare introductory Soulfire Preview. Features a complete cover gallery and a brand-new cover by Michael Turner and Peter Steigerwald.
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Born and raised in Michigan, J.T. Krul received a degree in Film and Video Production from Michigan State University before heading to Los Angeles. After beginning his career in television production on the legendary sitcom SEINFELD, J.T. broke into writing with MARVEL COMICS on X-MEN UNLIMITED and SPIDER-MAN UNLIMITED. He then joined MICHAEL TURNER and ASPEN COMICS, writing for their flagship properties, FATHOM and SOULFIRE. He also launched his first creator project at ASPEN COMICS called MINDFIELD, which premiered in 2010. At DC COMICS, J.T. contributed to the hugely successful BLACKEST NIGHT event in the pages of BLACKEST NIGHT: TITANS, TEEN TITANS, and the BLACK LANTERN GREEN ARROW special. He has written for DYNAMITE COMICS (RED SONJA, HIGHLANDER: WAY OF THE SWORD) and worked with NBC STUDIOS, writing for their HEROES graphic novels, as well as consulting on various other online projects. J.T. is currently writing GREEN ARROW and TEEN TITANS for DC COMICS.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dragons Vs. Video Gamers!,
By
This review is from: Soulfire Volume 1 (Hardcover)
From Michael Turner, whose work on Superman/Batman brought it to godlike popularity, comes this new series he collaborated with writer Jeph Loeb. Soulfire takes place in the early 23rd Century. Even though it doesn't seem as advanced as a future you'd imagine would be two hundred years from now, they still cling to outdated concepts like virtual reality arcades.
Its here that young Mal and his mates were enjoying a nice afternoon engaged in electronic fantasy worlds. They are soon brought back to the real world when a mysterious bikini-clad woman approaches them, and grabs Mal and hurls them both out of a skyscraper. What seems like a botched suicide attempt turns into something different as the woman reveals to have a pair of large wings on her back. Mal manages to knock himself free from her, only to plummet to almost certain doom. Luckily he hits a few streamers on the way down to break his fall. After landing, another strange woman on a motorcycle rides up and offers to save him. The winged woman chases after them. The biker chick also has a pair of wings, and she flies up after the other one where they engage in mortal combat. After the evil winged-chick leaves, the other one reveals herself as Grace, and that she must take Mal to Hawaii on a matter that involves saving the entire world. At the same time, reports start coming from all over the planet about dragons showing up and causing devastation to numerous major cities. Soulfire has a very crisp and colorful look to it. The dragons featured in it look like they're something that the makers of Evangelion would quake at. The story itself has a great "Blade Runner meets Lord Of The Rings" appeal to it. It appears to have a bright future, provided the creators can avoid the pitfalls of other hyped-up fantasy comics like Battle Chasers and keep their mind on track with their artistic vision.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Light the Fire Within,
By
This review is from: Soulfire Volume 1 (Hardcover)
Finally, finally, FINALLY we get the Trade of the Greatest thing in comics since Batman: Hush and Superman: Godfall!
The original hardbound/trade paperback of the first volume of Fathom is one of the those books that absolutely everyone should read. It's the story of a person awakening to their past, their present, and their future, discovering that there is far more to the world than they ever imagined. It is a story of mer-people who live beneath the waves and the young woman who is the key to their future. While the dialog may not have been the slickest every made (Turner wrote the story too), the characters he crafted were good enough to have their own series spin-offs (Cannon Hawke is one of my all-time favorite characters). What all this means is.... Soulfire is a series that is completely original. It's not based off of some Marvel/DC universe or story. It's a completely different world with completely different characters. It is a return to the imagination of Fathom under the direct control of it's creator. Only this time, Michael Turner is truly at the zenith of his creative and artistic abilities, and he's got Jeph Loeb writing the dialog. If I have ever had reason to complain about anything that Turner does, it stems from two things. First, the series that he draws are notorious for being delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed and delayed like you wouldn't believe. I think at one point it was either getting close to or feeling close to a year between issues of Soulfire (I think I finished a quarter of college, moved to another state and got a new job between issues). Secondly, when Turner does grace us with a few pages of his masterful work, it is just that. A few pages. He's fond of doing two page spreads for character introductions, action sequences, and just plain cool moments (and I wouldn't have it any other way, it's like Widescreen for your book-reading pleasure!), and that makes it feel even shorter. You barely even start to understand what's happening before the issue is over. As I was buying the issues of this series when it was coming out, I was dying for three things. First, the next issue, second, a trade paper-back so I wouldn't have to buy all the alternates just for the awesome covers (but in the end I bought almost all of the alternates anyway), and third for the main (or is it secondary main?) character to become "the one", awaken his powers, and start fighting dragons! What I got instead was not quite what I wanted (I already told you how long it took for the issues to come out, and let's not even start on how long the trade was delayed, oh and I'm still waiting on the hardcore battles to begin...) but the journey has still been very much worth it. I said it before and I'll say it again, Turner is at his absolute best right now. And he really pours his heart and soul into his personal projects. The characters created are fully fleshed out (and very likable AND cool). The plot is to die for (Death of Magic? Winged Beautiful Women? Dragons?!). The pacing and excellent and the art is... I can't stop saying it. Turner's art is the best you can find. Teamed up with his dream team of inkist and colorist it absolutely boggles the mind The only other art that can really compare to it would be Jim Lee, Alex Ross, J Scott Campbell, and maybe a few of the other greats. It's worth reading for the eye-candy alone. And here it is. The complete first story arc with all of the awesome dialog by Loeb and the awesome art by Turner. All the alternates, the issue 0 and the preview issue. No longer do you need to refrain from reading the story because of fear of tarnishing your sacred individuals of the rare issues. At long last you can read and re-read the entire first chapter of this story over and over. If you're a Turner fan, or just a fan of great art (or even just a fan of good sci-fi fantasy) you will buy this right now. I do so hope I'll be able to see the end of this awesome series. But if not, I could be happy just with this, the awesome introduction. My personal thanks to Michael Turner for helping to keep the the truly creative independent comics alive.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy vs sci-fi in an epic comic smackdown!,
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This review is from: Soulfire Volume 1 (Paperback)
Soulfire is a comic that combines a lot of elements -both standard and fresh- into a single epic package. The story revolves around the typical youthful unlikely hero Malachi and his friends as they discover that their futuristic world of technology is destined to come to an end by his hands as he returns Earth back to it's original magical state of being. Pretty standard. However, what makes this comic really amazing is the visuals. The art is top-notch and tinged with a bit of manga that is complemented by some of the most exciting color pallets I've ever seen. The first 10-issue arc covers a lot of ground and pays homage to a lot of it's inspirations along the way. The characters are instantly likable and inhabit a visually astounding world. This is definitely my kind of thing. Shoot, the covers alone are worthy of a great deal of attention.
When a gigantic dragon begins wrecking mad havoc on San Francisco and bad#$% winged hotties start fighting over you, it might be time to start taking this whole "magic" thing seriously. Time to find some allies. The gang goes to a man named Benoist who is pretty much the coolest dude in the world. He builds battle-mechs and competes with them in an underground arena. Yeah, that guy's on my team! So they are fleeing a dragon and a winged assassin and a corporate supervillain named Ranier who fears that the return of magic will diminish the power he wields in the current status quo. What else you got? How about a guy who carries a large mass of smallish insectoid robot drones that he can use to assault or spy upon our heroes on his back? Malachi and company have to make a mad dash for Tokyo where a master can teach the boy about his untapped inner powers. Eventually, he will become as Neo (of The Matrix fame) and be reborn into a being of limitless power if only he has the will to survive his ordeals and learn to use it. But Ranier is pretty determined to snuff Malachi out before it comes to that. The whole setup sounds pretty typical, but Soulfire regularly sets itself apart with clever humor and an extremely cinematic feel that makes you almost hear the dialogue and feel the flow as though you were watching a movie. This thing was made to be on the big screen. Again, let me point out how visually arresting this comic is. Particularly the hair. Yes, I said it. The hair is awesome. Malachi's winged warrioress bodyguard Grace has possibly the coolest hair I've ever seen. And yes, there is a sex appeal factor to this comic just like every other comic on the market, boys. Plenty of pin-up shots of hot fantasy girls. But it's not enough to override the rest of the visual treats this series has to offer. There are just too many dragons and mechas and sweet goddamn hairdos to compete with to linger on the fanservice. Even the half-baked romance was made awesome by the power of hair and subtler visuals. Plus, I love the wat it segues from romance to a dragon attack. Any story that segues to a dragon attack is on my cool list. The initial run was 10 solid issues that were followed a couple of prequels that showcase the world before it lost it's magic. This is the first of two volumes collecting that first arc. Overall, the story has some similar ideas to the awesome pen-and-paper RPG Shadowrun, which took a very gritty and dark approach to the melding of magic and technology in the novels it inspired. But Soulfire is extremely different in tone and finds most of it's influences for anime and manga as opposed to the more hard-boiled cyberpunk dystopian approach of Shadowrun. Man, I wish somebody would bring that back one as a comic. Anyways, Soulfire is a mighty fine read for fans of science fiction and fantasy who enjoy pretty pictures and have a thirst for adventure. It doesn't break any boundaries, but it executes the story in a very efficient and effective manner that literally kept me reading all day. And that's pretty damn good.
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