Defenders Of The Earth #1 - Mad Cave Studios

DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH No. 1, August 2024

Starting with the final day of our planet’s war with Mongo in 2020 A.D., Dan Didio’s script for Issue One of “Defenders Of The Earth” probably initially pleased any fans of the 1986 American animated television series upon which this eight-part mini-series is apparently based. In fact, Mandrake the Magician and the Phantom’s deadly encounter with an army of “a thousand strong” Ice Soldiers makes for a riveting read as it becomes increasingly clear that the central protagonists probably aren’t going to survive the confrontation, even after Lothar appears to add some significant strength to their defence.

Sadly however, once this ‘flashback’ has concluded the comic’s narrative debatably nosedives into a bizarre, super sedentary series of set-pieces in which none of the main cast are particularly likeable, and very little in the way of action occurs – apart from an angry Rick Gordon loudly proclaiming to a packed restaurant that his father will be footing all of their meal bills; “Attention! Tonight’s dinner is courtesy of the Defenders of the Earth, and their great saviour, Flash Gordon.” This disappointing reduction of pace appears to have been adopted to allow the American author an opportunity to highlight the sinister corruption seeping into the world’s rejuvenated civilisation. But instead, just makes the titular characters appear selfish, high-handed, petty and shockingly surly.

In addition, the twenty-four page plot suddenly leaps from the intriguing suggestion that Alex Raymond’s creation may well be being diabolically misled by his political advisors to the replacement of a still badly-maimed “Ghost Who Walks” by the masked man's daughter and murderous brother in Bangalla. Many a bibliophile would probably expect such a key revelation to be a major turning point in the comic. Yet instead, it is almost haphazardly mentioned by Lothar as he’s leaving his injured friend, despite Mandrake’s assistant being in his company for some considerable time beforehand.

Sadly, Jim Calafiore’s layouts are arguably just as inconsistent as this book’s penmanship, with the artist’s later panels lacking much of the energy and conviction seen during the heroes’ early battle with Ming’s forces. Indeed, some of sequences concerning Rick’s trials and tribulations to see his father only look somewhat three-dimensional as a result of colorist Juancho’s shading, as opposed to anything the illustrator has actually sketched.

The regular cover art of "DEFENDERS OF THE EARTH" #1 by Jim Calafiore