{"id":4132,"date":"2009-10-21T06:00:01","date_gmt":"2009-10-21T06:00:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/?p=4132"},"modified":"2009-10-20T16:24:23","modified_gmt":"2009-10-20T16:24:23","slug":"the-medusa-chain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comicsreview.co.uk\/nowreadthis\/2009\/10\/21\/the-medusa-chain\/","title":{"rendered":"The Medusa Chain"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"
\nBy Ernie Colon<\/strong> (DC Comics)
\nISBN: 0-930289-00-5<\/p>\n

Born in Puerto Rico in 1931 Ernie Col\u00c3\u00b3n is a tremendously undervalued and unsung maestro of the American comics industry whose work has been seen by generations of readers. Whether as artist, writer, colourist or editor his contributions have affected the youngest of comics consumers (Monster in My Pocket<\/strong>, Richie Rich <\/strong>and Casper the Friendly Ghost <\/strong>for Harvey Comics and his similar work on Marvel’s Star Comics imprint) to the most sophisticated connoisseur with strips such as his startling indie thriller Manimal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

His catalogue of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153straight\u00e2\u20ac\u009d comic-book work includes Battlestar Galactica<\/strong>, Damage Control <\/strong>and Doom 2099<\/strong> for Marvel, Grim Ghost<\/strong> for Atlas\/Seaboard, the fabulous \u00c2\u00a0Arak, Son of Thunder<\/strong>, Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, <\/strong>the Airboy <\/strong>revival for Eclipse, Magnus: Robot Fighter<\/strong> for Valiant and so very many others.<\/p>\n

In 2006 with long-time Harvey Comics\/Star collaborator Sid Jacobson he created a graphic novel of the 9\/11 Commission Report entitled The 9\/11 Report: a Graphic Adaptation<\/strong>. In August 2008, they released a 160-page follow-up: After<\/strong> 9\/11: America’s War on Terror<\/strong>. Even now he’s still hard at work on the strip SpyCat <\/em>which has appeared in Weekly World News since 2005.<\/p>\n

During the first wave of experimental creativity that gripped the 1980s comics business he released this self-generated (even lettering and colouring it himself) science fiction thriller through DC’s ambitious, oversized Graphic Novels line. Intriguing, complex and multi-layered, it is the gritty tale of Chon Adams, a star-ship officer convicted of a dreadful crime, sentenced to a lifetime of penal servitude on a deep-space space cargo ship, and how he finds a kind of fulfilment in a situation most would describe as a living hell.<\/p>\n

Flavoured by Alfred Bester’s The Stars My Destination<\/em><\/strong> (commonly known now as Tiger! Tiger!<\/em>) by way of noir prison\/chain-gang movies like George W. Hill’s The Big House<\/em><\/strong> this is a fascinating tale-within-a-tale as Chon’s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153crime\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is gradually revealed whilst he endures and survives against unbelievable odds in the depths of infinity gaining unlikely allies and a grain of self-respect\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6<\/p>\n

Graphic, uncompromising and thoroughly compelling this classy tale careens from cynical depths of human depravity to heights of glorious high fantasy with ease: a true lost gem of that boldly exploratory 1980s comics boom, and a cracking read for any older SF fan.<\/p>\n

And the one good thing – for you – about Colon’s relative obscurity is that copies of this gem – and his later Marvel graphic novel Ax<\/a><\/strong> – are still readily available through internet retailers at ridiculously low prices. Definitely one you really, really want\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6
\n\u00c2\u00a9 1984 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Ernie Colon (DC Comics) ISBN: 0-930289-00-5 Born in Puerto Rico in 1931 Ernie Col\u00c3\u00b3n is a tremendously undervalued and unsung maestro of the American comics industry whose work has been seen by generations of readers. Whether as artist, writer, colourist or editor his contributions have affected the youngest of comics consumers (Monster in My … <\/p>\n

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