Frank Frazetta’s Neanderthal #1

Frank Frazetta’s Neanderthal #1 by Image Comics is an attempt by comic book creators to interpret and pay homage to some of the greatest fantasy paintings of all time. The good news–the art does Frazetta justice. The panels are luscious and the colors make the artwork pop. The bad news–the plot is a little weak and the one-shot format makes the story suffer in scope. The characterization of the neanderthals are fantastic as they in no way resemble modern man and the evolution of the weaponry used in the tribal warfare was interesting. What I like most about this story is, there were no words, save the opening captions. The artwork did the storytelling, as it does in Frazetta’s paintings. Maybe I find the subject matter a little dull for my tastes, but all in all the story didn’t do anything to draw my interest, it did however make me remember just how brilliant Frazetta’s work is. Tim Vigil does a fantastic job mirror his style to match Frazetta’s in terms of action and attention to subtle detail like leaves of grass, hairs on the animals, and facial expressions of the “cavemen.” All in all I’d give the one-shot a five out of ten. Sorry comics world, this one is for die-hard Frazetta fans only. It’s almost time–read the Free Comic Book Day survival guide here: http://www.comicbookjournal.net/its-like-christmas-in-may-how-to-gear-up-for-free-comic-book-day/
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