Dune: House Harkonnen #12 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 12, January 2024

Considering that this twenty-two-page periodical is the last instalment to a multi-part mini-series supposedly focusing upon the “heavily industrialised” Great House centred upon Giedi Prime and its floating Baron, Vladimir Harkonnen is noticeably absent from the majority of its interior content. In fact, apart from a nineteen-panel piece depicting the corpulent framed ruler torturing his nephew for cold-bloodedly murdering Abulurd, Issue Twelve of “Dune: House Harkonnen” is arguably much more focused upon a grieving Duke Leto Atreides and the man's desperate gamble that Doctor Wellington Yueh can restore his badly-mutilated friend back from the brink of death using “Suk medical techniques.”

Admittedly, this somewhat slow and distinctly dialogue-driven depiction of Rhombur Vernius' fate does prove rather well-written, with the horribly injured Earl’s devoted wife Tessia receiving some marvellous moments in which her forceful love for her spouse can be brought to the forefront of the story; “All of him is here! All that matters. The rest can be… replaced.” Yet overall the pacing to this comic is painfully slow and oft-times sedentary at best, especially when Leto the Just decides to take the Lady Jessica on a pleasant picnic deep within the lush vegetation of Agamemnon Canyon, and illustrator Michael Shelfer tastefully pencils him spending a blissful afternoon in his concubine’s arms before returning to court for poor little Victor’s heartbreaking funeral.

Sadly, even the shocking demise of Pardot Kynes does little to add any lasting drama to this adaption’s narrative, due to the first Imperial Planetologist of Arrakis being poorly penned angrily arguing with his son beforehand for no discernible reason. And just why the aged agriculturist then decides to stop dead in the middle of a lethal rock-fall to contemplatively pick a handful of fruit whilst those around him are being bludgeoned to death by enormous boulders is arguably any bibliophile’s guess..?

To make matters worse, it’s made clear from the character’s last words that Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson would have their audience believe he was trying to save the bountiful crop from extinction. But surely the bearded visionary could simply have safely obtained new seeds from a wandering trader or well-stocked market elsewhere, and debatably only therefore dies just so the “award-winning novelists” had a reason for his guilt-ridden son, Liet-Kynes, to unconvincingly follow in his dead father’s footsteps by ‘secretly terraforming Arrakis into a temperate planet.’

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #12 by Raymond Swanland

Dune: House Harkonnen #11 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 11, November 2023

There surely can be no denying the truly palatable pace to this “penultimate issue of the stunning prequel series from Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson”. Indeed, the comic is absolutely packed full of assorted deaths, physical mutilations and various characters conducting their blood-thirsty revenge upon perceived enemies. Disappointingly though, such speed in the storytelling also results in this book’s authors making some sizeable leaps of logic or imbuing various cast members with an impassioned loathing which has never arguably raised its head before.

Foremost of these ‘jumps’ comes at the publication’s start, when Liet Kynes is somewhat shockingly shown marrying his recently deceased friend’s wife and promising to raise the dead man’s newborn son as his own. Such abrupt timing debatably smacks of being in very bad taste considering just how horrific poor Warrick’s demise was. However, the audience are not only then asked to celebrate the Fremen’s wedding. But also support his bizarre holier-than-thou hatred of his hapless dad, when the Imperial Planetologist arrives to congratulate his son, and gets a highly irrational mouthful for doing so; “You never understand anything, father. You’re never here.”

Similarly as unconvincing is debatably this tome’s brief visit to the now decimated Swordmaster School on Ginaz, where the surviving warriors realise that they’re going to need every trained soldier available if House Moritani is to be defeated and their honourable way of life restored back to its former glory. Having spent years relying upon the people there for his intense training, and believing Caladan to be in the safe hands of Duke Leto Atreides, Duncan Idaho still strangely decides to turn his back on his friends’ pleas for help, claiming he’s supposedly needed more on the “lush oceanic world” than the pillaged planet. Such a choice appears utterly contrived in view of the catastrophe Ginaz is facing, and makes him out to be a far cry from the ”admirable fighting man” Lady Jessica would go on to call him. 

Perhaps therefore this comic’s soul redemption lies within the enthralling fall from grace (and sanity) of Kailea Vernius. Having effectively lost both her son and brother to her own evil machinations, the concubine is superbly pencilled by artist Michael Shelfer utterly losing her marbles with those confederates around her. Indeed, armed with a vicious-looking blade and completely psychopathic, the only surprise is probably just how few people she hacks to death before taking her own life.

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Dune: House Harkonnen #10 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 10, October 2023

Largely focusing upon Leto Atreides and his discontent with the incredibly unreasonable Kailea Vernius, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s penmanship certainly should have captivated the attention of any bibliophile even remotely interested in this science-fiction franchise about ‘noble houses controlling planetary fiefs.’ True, the creative partnership’s twenty-two-page plot does occasionally stray a little far away from the captivating political tension between the two former lovers, such as when Baron Vladimar Harkonnen strangely decides to stick an infant Feyd-Rautha right in front of a Laza Tiger and becomes upset that the baby is positively petrified at the beast’s angry roar. But it soon returns to the Duke’s misery and the reader’s sickening realisation that his concubine means to assassinate him rather than lose out to another woman.

Indeed, this truly horrible betrayal is really rather well-penned as it arguably sneaks up upon the audience, even whilst Caladan’s leader is still desperately attempting to seek some reconciliation with the mother of his son, by having the walls of his palace installed with blue obsidian. Such endearing devotion on behalf of “Leto the Just” makes the moment Rhombur’s sister decides to actually kill the person responsible for rescuing her from a life of slavery, all the more impactive – especially when it comes straight after the news that Earl Dominic has been slain by the Sardaukar and the slim possibility of her turning back to the Duke for comfort in her grief; “My father is dead. I have given up everything in this life!”

Sitting alongside this devious ‘scheme of destruction and death’ is the less successful subplot of Duncan Idaho and his fellow Swordmasters of Ginaz being abducted by a boatload of grumpy Grumman. Just how warriors who are supposedly superior to even the “elite military force of the Padishah Emperor” are so easily captured by a blow to the head from a cut-throat is far from convincing. However, to make matters even more contrived, rather than murder their bound prisoners for supposedly slapping “our Viscount in the face by expelling the students”, prodigious penciller Michael Shelfer is tasked to depict the pirates releasing the detainees whilst at sea, and unsurprisingly then watch as some simply dive into the safety of the surrounding water.

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Dune: House Harkonnen #9 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 9, September 2023

It’s arguably hard not to shake a sense of sloppiness with the storytelling inside Issue Nine of “Dune: House Harkonnen”, as numerous plot-threads appear to be resolved with no obvious impact upon this mini-series’ overarching narrative, and new ones created which seem to lack much in the way of compelling logic. In fact, many a fan of Frank Herbert’s original science fiction novel from the Sixties, may well have been left wondering in just what direction this comic was now heading, considering that it ends with a bizarre mixture of death, treachery, and sheer stupidity; “I tried everything else. Ambassador to the Landsraad, appeals to the Emperor. No one will free Ix. The only message I have left is destruction.”

To begin with Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson disconcertingly depict Abulurd Harkonnen simply accepting the kidnapping of his son Feyd by Glossu Rabban, and deciding to live a life “of calm acceptance” alongside the Bifrost Eyrie’s Burgomaster. Such cowardly acquiescence is incredibly hard to accept considering that the man is supposedly the planet’s governor. But is then debatably made all the worse when he irrationally thinks redistributing his brother’s horde of stolen spice “to the poor” won’t attract the Baron’s hideous wrath once again.

Just as poorly penned is probably the tragic death of poor Warrick, who having been skinned alive by a sudden sandstorm, is suddenly pencilled by incoming artist Michael Shelfer attempting to be the first male to ever transform the deadly water of life. Initially, this madness appears to stem from “the blood-brother of Liet Kynes” believing he’s seen the vision of the Lisan Al-Gaib. However, according to his dying declaration it seems clear he knew it would just kill him, and resultantly begs the question just why the Fremen knowingly drank the poisonous blue liquid in the first place..?

Similarly as head-scratching is Dominic Vernius' highly illogical decision to suddenly throw caution to the wind after years of building-up his smuggling empire, and trust the perfidious Rondo Tuek to aid him in a reckless attack upon the second capital of the Corrino Empire with atomics. Considering the inter-planetary scale of the former Earl's covert operations it is difficult to imagine him needing to ask an untrustworthy water merchant for help acquiring a space worthy, unmarked hauler. Yet this uncharacteristic lack of judgement is precisely what he does, and it unsurprisingly costs him his life.

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #9 by Raymond Swanland

Dune: House Harkonnen #8 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 8, August 2023

For those bibliophiles able to navigate this bemusing mass of people, places, and intervals, Issue Eight of “Dune: House Harkonnen” probably provided them with a number of noteworthy moments; not least of which is the sheer outrage felt when Glossu Rabban travels to Tula Fjord on Lankiveil and abducts his baby brother from the very arms of his parents. Indeed, alongside the dramatic facial disfigurement of poor Warrick at the hands of a terrifying, flesh-stripping sandstorm, this scene should genuinely have its readers wringing their hands in frustration at the injustice of the futuristic “feudal interstellar society.”

Sadly however, the ‘set up’ to these harrowing scenes, as well as those depicted on Salusa Secundus, Ix and Ginaz, are debatably far from convincing - especially as authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson repeatedly push the narrative on for months at a time simply through someone clumsily stating, “It has been a year!” since they last did something.

Foremost of these ‘leaps of logic’ surely has to be Abulurd’s utterly bizarre decision to suddenly renounce his House’s name before the Landsraad Council and simply be a Sirdar Governor. This resolve supposedly stems from a desire to peacefully live with his wife and newborn son away from his family’s misguided and sinister political ambitions. But unsurprisingly results in a furious Vladimir Harkonnen seeking retribution directly against him as the Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles (CHOAM) demand that the Baron explain to them why his brother has suddenly done this.

Similarly as frustrating though has to be the convenient ability of Ixian resistance fighter C’Tair to cobble together a transmitter which “takes advantage of my mental link” with his sibling-turned-navigator. This technological contrivance is the beginning of an entire domino line of happy happenstances which visual artist Fran Galan is forced to proficiently pencil, as the “artificially super-evolved human” D’Murr fortuitously finds that renegade nobleman Dominic Vernius is incredibly stowed aboard the very interstellar guild heighliner he pilots, and can thus covertly divert the spacefaring vessel back to Ix where “an unmarked, undetectable ship” will take the Earl down to the heavily occupied planet completely unnoticed; “I know a thousand hidden ways to my underground city.”

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, Illustrated by: Fran Galan, and Coloured by: Patricio Delpeche

Dune: House Harkonnen #7 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 7, July 2023

Taking a somewhat more measured approach to their storytelling than the frantic dash through numerous people, places, planets, and proceedings of this mini-series’ previous instalments, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s script for Issue Seven of “Dune: House Harkonnen” should have maintained the interest of many within its audience upon its release in July 2023. True, the twenty-two-page periodical still slightly suffers with its authors' attempt to absolutely cram as many different politically-based shenanigans as they can within its cover. But the fact that the reader can now ponder upon the various events for a good score of panels every time, at least allows the characters and incidents upon Arrakis, Geidi Prime and Ginaz to increasingly generate an aura of intrigue and excitement.

Foremost of these insights into the “feudal interstellar society” is arguably Gurney Halleck’s decidedly dangerous attempt to escape imprisonment in the Harkonnen slave pits by inciting his savage guards to beat him close to death, and then using his stay at the prison hospital to stow himself away inside an off-world bound cargo of razor-sharp crystals. Well-paced and packed with plenty of tense moments as the unbroken bondsman risks all for his liberty, the talented minstrel’s plight should cause the odd bibliophile to actually hold their breath in case the noise gives the character away to his brutal overlords.

Similarly as heart-stopping and overwrought are the actions of the Ixian rebellion, as they desperately smuggle in weapons and a message from Prince Rhombur Vernius - the planet’s rightful ruler. Again the writers do a tremendous job in making even the most innocuous of daily tasks on the occupied sphere super-edgy, with every citizen encountered suspected of either being a loyalist saboteur or a Tleilaxu spy.

Undeniably the biggest contributor to this comic’s success though has to be the pencilling of Fran Galan, who quite beautifully imbues this publication’s incredibly numerous cast with as much dynamic emotion as a figure upon a printed page can muster. Whether it be Liet’s utter heartbreak at losing the woman he loved to his best friend and departing to “be alone with his thoughts”, or Duke Leto Atreides’ desperate attempt to reconcile with his long-time concubine only to find Kailea more hostile towards him than ever, the illustrator does a fantastic job in bringing each and every character to vibrant life.

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #7 by Raymond Swanland

Dune: House Harkonnen #6 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 6, June 2023

Whilst there should be little doubt that “award-winning novelists Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson expand upon “the rich mythology of Frank Herbert’s Dune” with their storyline for this twenty-two-page periodical. The comic book adaption’s frequent time jumps from planet to planet, and then back again, must surely have baffled all but the most committed fans of the best-selling, distant future interstellar franchise; “A year and a half since I was thrown into this slave pit.”

Foremost of these continuum conundrums is arguably that surrounding the events taking place inside Castle Caladan. The publication’s narrative has potentially already been moved on by eighteen months following its opening scenes set upon Arrakis. However, Jessica states she has only been assigned to Leto Atreides for six weeks since she was first introduced to the great house, and resultantly is “still learning the household, the people, the relationships.” However, Kailea then later accuses the Red Duke of having an affair with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen’s daughter at some point during the past couple of years, so it’s debatably difficult to say when this important argument actually occurs in relation to the Bene Gesserit’s aforementioned earlier sequence and the surrounding events depicted upon other worlds. 

Of course, considering just how many characters within this comic’s considerably sized cast repeatedly mention events moving on ‘a year and a half’, the writers could well have simply pushed everything within this book forward for that span simultaneously. But if so then it has been clumsily implemented, as at Lankiveil the audience are shown Rabban mercilessly destroying the settlement’s reconstruction some four months after its inhabitants first started its repairs, before being hurled the obligatory eighteen months into the future, and are then pushed a further eight weeks forwards to see Lord Abulurd’s wife announce her surprising pregnancy.

Perhaps therefore the sole success of this mini-series’ sixth instalment lies within the layouts of Fran Galan, whose consistently prodigious pencilling at least manages to gel everything together into a harmonious looking feast for the eyes. The freelance illustrator is particularly good at depicting each figure’s emotions on their faces, with Leto’s angry and utterly exhausted looks at the ever-antagonistic mother of his child telling the audience everything it needs to know about his feelings for the infuriating woman.

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #6 by Raymond Swanland

Dune: House Harkonnen #5 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 5, May 2023

Having started this comic with a fast-paced opening involving young Gurney Halleck staging "a tense rescue mission” inside a depraved Pleasure House on Giedi Prime, it is hard not to imagine some within this book’s audience becoming a little despondent at the somewhat sedentary storytelling which then follows. Sure, the subsequent seemingly inescapable fate of little Victor Atreides to fall before the charge of a gigantic Elecran should definitely grab all but the most cold-hearted of bibliophiles by the throat, especially when the tiny boy's bodyguards declare their inability to protect the first son of Caladan’s duke from so deadly a sea mammal. Yet even this devastatingly dramatic near miss is quickly engulfed by the co-authors’ determination to cram in as many other locations, personalities, and dialogue-driven predicaments as the twenty-two-page periodical will allow.

Furthermore, there arguably seems to be some distinctly dodgy characterisation taking place where “Leto the Just” and Earl Dominic Vernius are concerned. Many readers will doubtless acknowledge that “the Red Duke” is very wise to be suspicious of the Reverend Mother Mohiam’s motives when she suddenly visits him bearing “a trained Bene Gesserit to serve in your household.” However, the ordinarily cordial and considerate ruler debatably acts more like a paranoid Baron Harkonnen during this meeting, by savagely grabbing his unarmed “gift” around the neck and threatening to cold-bloodedly stab her in the throat with a hand-dagger. Likewise, it is difficult to imagine the “hero of the Ecazi Revolt” making small talk with a couple of Fremen traders who have inadvertently stumbled upon the fugitive’s hidden headquarters deep within the South Polar Zone on Arrakis, when the former war hero’s beloved wife was cold-bloodedly gunned down following a similar indiscretion.

Quite possibly adding to this disconcerting avalanche of figures and affairs from Frank Herbert’s “feudal interstellar society” is artist Fran Galan, who frustratingly appears as just another in an increasingly protracted line of contributing illustrators for this mini-series. Slightly stiff when it comes to drawing the physical movement of this comic’s considerable cast, the Spaniard’s proficient pencilling itself is not really the problem though. But rather his ‘take’ on the appearance of certain individuals, which will doubtless cause some fans to initially rely upon this publication’s text to inform them as to just who it is being depicted in the panels – most notably Gurney, who repeatedly seems to either age or rejuvenate his looks depending upon what activity the “talented minstrel” is sketched performing.

The regular cover art of "DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN" #5 by Raymond Swanland

Dune: House Harkonnen #4 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 4, April 2023

Despite somewhat disconcertingly setting this “newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint” some eighteen months after the events depicted in its previous instalment, Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s narrative for Issue Four of “Dune: House Harkonnen” still provides its readers with a thoroughly engrossing sequence of jostling sub-plots. In fact, considering the sheer number of characters the co-authors commendably cram into this twenty-two-page publication, its storyline is still incredibly enthralling, especially once Baron Vladimir Harkonnen manages to infiltrate House Atreides with “an operative who fits the particulars exactly” and cleverly starts pitting Lady Kailea against her dearest Duke Leto.

This traitor’s villainous influence genuinely should turn many of this comic’s audience against the exiled member of the Great House Vernius in an astonishingly short space of time, so by the end of the book the refugee’s unreasonably antagonistic attitude towards the father of her infant son seems on the verge of being treasonable. Furthermore, this particular thread allows the storytellers to make another considerable time jump into the future, by showing just how changed the now vindictive concubine has become over the space of two years since her close companion’s arrival at Caladan’s spaceport; “Why are you always angry with me? You’ve changed so much since Victor was born. You’re not the woman I fell in love with…” 

Enjoyably however, this hotbed of political intrigue is also repeatedly interrupted with several much more dynamically paced insights into Herbert’s Hugo Award-winning universe as the reader is temporarily transported to the likes of Carthag on Arrakis and Geidi Prime. Such ‘detours’ do a good job in breaking up the dialogue-heavy discussions which are putting such a heavy strain upon Leto’s relationship, and occasionally get so blood-thirsty that it may come as something of a relief to some bibliophiles when the tale’s focus returns to its far less gore-splattered scenes.

Artist Michael Shelfer must also take a well-deserved bow for his contribution to this comic’s success. The illustrator proves particularly good at imbuing a blossoming Kailea with all the glow one might expect from an expectant mother and then later adding a visible hardness to her beauty once her mind is turned against her lover. In addition, the pencilling (and colours by Patricio Delpeche) for the layouts set on Lankiveil when Glossu Rabba brutally butchers a number of fur whales single-handedly is as darkly dramatic as the majestic beasts’ mutilation is disturbingly memorable.

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Dune: House Harkonnen #3 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 3, March 2023

Focusing primarily upon Giedi Prime’s bloated Baron and the increasingly debilitated leader’s battle of wills against the Bene Gesserit following his discovery that the ‘witches’ infected him with a degenerative disease, Issue Three of “Dune: House Harkonnen probably pleased the vast majority of its readers. Sure, it’s not entirely evident from Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s penmanship just what the “secretive matriarchal order” hoped to achieve by initially inviting their enemy into the Mother School on Wallach IX and then scaring Vladimir away before the man had even spoken to Harishka. But at least by the end of the ‘game’ it is clear neither side would ever be willing to openly speak out against the other faction to either the Landsraad or Emperor.

Just as beguiling as this uneasy stalemate is Duncan Idaho’s training “to be the legendary fighter he’s destined to become” by the Ginaz Swordmasters. Arguably it would have been all too easy for the two writers to have presented the “Killer extraordinary” as an unstoppable trainee who excelled at every hurdle placed in his way by his teachers. However, despite some significant successes, the youth is shown to still learn from his defeats as well, such as when he’s made to don the most impenetrable armour imaginable and still falls before the blades of his fellow apprentices; “The hawk is safer from the attack than the turtle.”

Rounding out this twenty-two page periodical is the desperate uprising on Ix in the underground city of Vernii. Somehow crammed in between this comic book adaption’s central plots, the plight of poor C’tair Pilru makes for a good reminder as to just how terrifyingly deadly Herbert’s future universe actually is, especially when the Sardaukar dispense with an elderly “accountant for the Earl Dominic Vernius” by lashing his upside down corpse to a stone column with barbed wire for all to see.

Also aiding in the storytelling is artist Michael Shelfer, whose attention to minor details, such as unfriendly eyes of the Ginaz Swordsmasters, helps add plenty of additional atmosphere to the publication’s vast array of locations. Perhaps foremost of these touches though lies in the Florida-born illustrator’s pencilling of Baron Harkonnen, who genuinely seems to be disheartened by his worsening physical plight, and Rhombur’s “new Bene Gesserit concubine” who is cleverly shown close to her partner’s side when he makes the bold decision to “do something to liberate my people!”

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Dune: House Harkonnen #2 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 2, February 2023

Despite whisking its audience on a truly head-spinning journey from Kaitain’s Imperial Capital down to “the underground city of Vernaii on the planet Ix" and beyond, there’s still some opportunity to enjoy Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s storyline for Issue Two of “Dune: House Harkonnen whenever the collaborative partnership’s plot lingers just long enough at a single location. In fact, one of this publication’s most pulse-pounding moments comes when the tale momentarily focuses upon the former “home of House Vernius” and depicts a Sardaukar patrol flushing out “a nest of traitors!”

Arguably this comic’s biggest draw though comes with Vladimir Harkonnen’s discovery that his increasing weight gain and physical lethargy stems from him being poisoned by the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. The tense atmosphere during the Baron’s examination by a Suk Doctor of the Inner Circle can be cut with a knife, and the planetary governor’s angry reaction to learning the Bene Gesserit has infected him with “an incurable degenerative disease” definitely does not bode well for the future Imperial Truthsayer. 

However, not every scene is quite so enthrallingly penned, with this book’s dramatic cliff-hanger set on the icy waters of Lankiveil debatably proving both highly unlikely and incredibly contrived. Admittedly, this sequence’s opening shot of Abulurd Harkonnen’s sea-faring vessel chasing down a pod of fur whales during a snowstorm is pretty exhilaratingly penned. But then the authors have the Baron’s out of favour half-brother spot the one fake iceberg in an ocean teeming with real ones simply so he can subsequently uncover an illegal secret sash of melange, which despite its covert nature is helpfully stored within large containers adorned with his Great House’s instantly recognisable griffin motiff.

Persevering through all this political intrigue and interplanetary space-hopping are the proficient pencils of Michael Shelfer, which do a good job of packing each and every panel with as much dynamic energy as the illustrator can presumably muster. Of particular note is the artist’s ability to imbue this comic’s extensive cast with plenty of emotional facial expressions, such as Vladimir’s aforementioned furious response to his debilitating fate, as well as the Padishah Emperor’s utter exasperation at the Tleilaxu’s unsuccessful research into a synthetic spice.

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer

Dune: House Harkonnen #1 - BOOM! Studios

DUNE: HOUSE HARKONNEN No. 1, January 2023

For those readers unacquainted with Frank Herbert’s Dune Universe and hoping to use Issue One of “Dune: House Harkonnen” as an opportunity to familiarise themselves with the late Science Fiction Hall of Famer’s franchise, this “brand new” twelve-part comic book series is probably not the best of starting points. Indeed, considering that the twenty-two-page periodical bewilderingly throws its audience to almost every corner of the Padishah Emperor’s interstellar empire, it is arguably difficult to imagine even those fans who are well versed in the fictional universe’s “rich mythology” easily following so huge a web of colourful characters, political manoeuvrings, Machiavellian machinations and geological explorations.

To begin with, whilst Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s narrative undeniably does contain plenty to do with Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, interest in the titular Great House is debatably soon swallowed up by all the numerous insights into other worlds, such as the Imperial Planetologist’s investigation into the cataclysmic storms of Arrakis and a burgeoning rebellion brewing on the Tleilaxu-conquered planet of Ix. Coupled with artist Michael Shelfer prodigiously pencilling some serious shenanigans occurring during a supposedly peaceful party at Count Hasimir Fenring’s Arakeen residency, as well as a somewhat sedentary sojourn to the Mother School complex of the Bene Gesserit to witness Jessica practicing her Prana Bindu training, and it’s hard to imagine many bibliophiles managing to keep their eyes fixed upon quite so many spinning plates.

Perhaps this novel adaption’s biggest disappointment, however, lies in the comic’s sudden and rather undramatic conclusion on the planet of Caladan. Admittedly, the authors’ try their very best to add an element of impending doom to poor Duncan Idaho’s final words as the youth receives a valuable blade from Duke Leto Atriedes prior to departing to become “a worthy trainee for the famed Swordmaster school.” But it comes so out of the blue and with so little context that it sadly smacks of the writers simply crowbarring the scene into this opening instalment just so it doesn’t end on a whimper; “I will study hard on Ginaz, my Lord. I will become the best Swordmaster ever… For all our sakes.”

Written by: Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and Illustrated by: Michael Shelfer