“Giant-Sized Savage Tales #1” – A Comprehensive Review

Acting as a bit of a who’s who for Dynamite’s greatest hits, this latest effort from writer David Avallone has everyone from Gullivar of Mars to Vampirella. With Vampi being a part of this, you just know I had to get on it! Included are a total of four stories, so I elected to split this into four parts, diverting from my usual review style. Without further ado, let’s get into “Giant Sized Savage Tales #1”!

Writer: David Avallone
Artists: Mariano Benitez-Chapo, Pasqual Qualano, Sebastián Piriz
Colors: Omi Remalante Jr.
Letters: Jeff Eckleberry

“Gullivar of Mars: His War Chapter Four”

As someone who’s never read “Gullivar of Mars”, this initially felt like a rather odd story to approach. That being said, I greatly appreciated the narration at the beginning, as it detailed a bit of his backstory. I always love it when writers do things like this to catch new readers up, as it helps ease us into things. Under Avallone’s penmanship, Gullivar comes off as someone that has great regret for his actions and inactions while trying to do the right thing. This creates and highly interesting and layered character that kept me glued to the page.

As for the story itself, I was a tad bit lost at first, but Avallone made things easy to piece together. He seems to have struck the perfect balance between intense and simple. While the story is set to the backdrop of an ongoing war, Avallone kept things to just three characters to focus on and gave enough information to get readers caught up and engaged. For any writer, this isn’t always the simplest task, so I have to give major props for him being to do it!

When it comes to the art and colors by Chapo and Remalante Jr, everything here was simply incredible. The lighting looked highly realistic while several of the angles kept things electric, making the reader feel perspective of power. Whatever else these two work on, I’m more than game to read.

“Red Sonja: The Code”

Hot off the heels of Gullivar of Mars is my favorite She-Devil With a Sword, Red Sonja! Just like with Gullivar’s story, this one is simple to follow yet great. Avallone perfectly demonstrates not just why, but who Red Sonja is as a character. While first making you question her motives as a mercenary, the plot twist here turns everything on its head while simultaneously wrapping things up beautifully. To top it off, the pacing is spot on, blending both action and intensity to keep readers locked in.

Pairing perfectly with the writing is the art from Pasqual Qualano. His penciling couples well with Remalante Jr’s colors, drastically enhancing the already great work of Avallone. This was for sure a total feast for the eyes.

“Allan Quartermain and The Invaders”

Growing up, I only ever knew of Allan Quartermain thanks to the movie “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen”. So suffice it to say that it was hard for me to not picture Sean Connery while reading this savage tale. Here, Avallone portrays Quartermain as this terrifying force of nature, a one-man army against German soldiers. I also loved the setting and framing of this story as they both felt rather unique, both from most stories and from each other. While the main setting is this small farmhouse in the English countryside, the framing of it focuses on two guys on a boat, one telling the other the second-hand account of the story. It gives this air of an unreliable narrator, making you question if the details are exact or exaggerated and I love it.

In terms of the artwork by Sebastián Piriz, it feels perfectly intense and haunting. The facial expressions in every character perfectly show what emotions they’re experiencing, making the reader feel them too. I know there was a few moments where my heart began to race in fear of Quartermain and that’s all thanks to the perfect pairing of the artwork and writing. Stellar work all around!

“Vampirella: The Old Country Trigger”

Now for the story that Dynamite themselves seemed to continue hyping up, Vampirella! However, this is unlike any way we’ve seen her before, or at least recently. When you think of Vampirella, I’m betting you think of space, monsters, aliens, Hell, the like… but probably not the noir genre. Oddly enough, it works and it works extremely well. So well, in fact, that I want more! I know we’ve already got Priest’s “Vampirella” and Sniegoski’s “Vampirella: Armageddon” but I’m greedy. With that cliffhanger, I fully expect a spin-off to come from this. As for the pacing, it’s super easy to keep up with while the jokes and bombastic action keep things fun!

Return to do more artwork in “Giant Sized Savage Tales” is Chapo who did excellent work here as well. The action and angles made things feel in your face while the shading lent airs of spooky mystery. As for Remalante Jr’s color choices here, they did the perfect job of capturing that classic noir vibe. If it’s this team working on it, I will more than happily take a spin-off!

Final Thoughts – 9.5/10

I can’t imagine this having been an easy feat for David Avallone to take on as sole writer, but he did an absolutely stellar job! Paired with this insane team of artists and Omi Remalante Jr., they created something that was truly special from start to finish. Whether you enjoy none or all of these characters, I can’t recommend this book enough. If you get the chance to read it, do.

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Comments

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