Customer Reviews

StarCraft: Frontline Volume 2 (Starcraft (Tokyopop)) (v. 2)

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A note: I am a big fan of StarCraft and I will try my best to be as unbiased as possible in my review. "Jacked up and ready to go!"

Much like the first manga of the Frontline series, volume 2 is a collection of four short stories. Next is a list of my score, brief summary (without spoilers), and reasons for scoring as I did for each of these tales:

Heavy Armor Pt.2: 4/5-This is the conclusion to the Heavy Armor of the first volume. It is drawn and written just as well as the previous enstallment, but It could have been longer.

The Creep: 4/5-A group of Protoss scientists try to learn the secrets, and a way to destroy, the vital Zerg creation known simply as "Creep." Above average art and a very well written story that delves into the Protoss psyche. This story helps estabish the workings of the Protoss's communial thought process and relation to each other.

Newsworthy: 4/5-A reporter is sent on assignment to a Dominion battlecruiser to learn what life for the Marines is like. This was as well drawn as "The Creep," although not as well written. It is somewhat predictable with cliche characters, but still enjoyable. I was a little disapointed by the fact that it wasn't as action packed as I had hoped it would be after reading the text preview of it in the last volume. On a side note, I really enjoyed a special appearence by a character from one of the past StarCraft novels. Hopefully this character will appear not only in future volumes of the manga, but in StarCraft II as well.

A Ghost Story: 5/5-A team of Kel-Morian salvagers scouting the ruins of an abandoned facility on a fringe world encounter unexplainable events. My favorite story of the collection, it is the best written and drawn of the four. The characters are a little cliche here too (the brilliant-but-maybe-too-brilliant-for-her-own-good tech, the too-greedy-to-see-danger leader, the big, tuff, but quite leatherneck, and the dorky greasemonkey.) but I found myself liking them. There are also two twists in this tale, one somewhat predictable and the second being entertaining and dark.

Overall score: 4/5-Not as good as the first, but deffenetly worth a read! This series is heading in a good direction and I can see some of these tales tying into future stories or campaigns in one way or another. While reading I couldn't help but wonder if some of these new characters would be making apperences in the new game (which at this time has no realease date). My only request would be for a little more action and conflict on a larger scale in future stories, after all, that is what StarCraft is known for.

"I do this for Auir."

I'm relatively new to the StarCraft phenomenon, but I found this collection to be entertaining and well-drawn. This is the second volume in the Frontline series, and while most of the stories are completely standalone, the book kicks off with the conclusion to a story that began in Vol. 1, "Heavy Armor." It sets an exciting tone that is maintained through at least two of the three stories that follow.

"Newsworthy" is a lively story that goes behind the scenes with an embedded Terran reporter as she uncovers the truth about a Dominion mission. It's a well written tale with sharp manga art that builds off of events established in earlier StarCraft novels, with a twist at the end that I found surprising. Meanwhile, "A Ghost Story" adopts an even darker tone, with appropriately murky art. More or less a horror story, this is quite possibly the strongest story in this volume and demonstrates the StarCraft universe's ability to serve as backdrop for all manner of tales.

The one story I found disappointing was "Creep." Unfortunately, the Protoss are just not as relatable as the Terrans, and I had a hard time distinguishing individual characters for each other.

Overall, I found this a fun collection of short comics and encourage all lovers of StarCraft or good sci-fi to pick it up.