This installment was supposed to be about the first issue of Omega the Unknown, the cryptic and complex series by Steve Gerber, Mary Skrenes and Jim Mooney. After a few hundred words of notes, though, it became obvious that it was impossible to discuss the issue without discussiing the series as a whole. Expect a column on the entire 10-issue series soon.
For now, here's something completely different: Shogun Warriors.
This wasn't Marvel's first foray into Toyetic licensing (that would arguably be Star Wars) and it wouldn't be their last. This is a mostly forgotten toyline so, consequently, Shogun Warriors is a mostly forgotten series. I have fond memories of this series (as well as the high-quality toys that inspired it) and was a little let down when revisiting the first issue.
After two pages, I had this sinking feeling that I was in Mighty Morphing Power Rangers territory.
The idea of a diverse team of pilots er ... piloting giant robots wasn't a new idea in 1978 when Shogun Warriors debuted. The concept dates back at least to Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, so neither Shogun Warriors nor the Power Rangers can lay claim to territory already annexed by Toho Studios and their Godzilla movies.
The story begins as awakardly as you could imagine. Two giant robots are duking it, one obviously good, the other obviously evil. There little in the way of scale to convey to the reader the weight of giant machines punching each other; these characters might as well be cosplay fans for all the drama the scene has. To make things even more confusing, a number of word bubbles eminate from various points around Raydeen, making him look like a schizophrenic. It's later revealed that these voices are a trio of pilots chosen by our alien ancestors to battle their ancient enemies, the Maur-kons.
The three pilots - a Japanese woman, an African man and a white American - are teleported without warning to the Shogun Sanctuary somewhere in the "far east." Dr. Tambura quickly gives them a corporate presentation on the history of evil on earth, revealing that humanity is the descendants of blonde, white alien ancestors.
These aryan dreamboats had enemies of their own, the previously mention Maur-kons, who look like Asian vampires. The overt racism of the extra-terrestirial "yellow menace" is betrayed by the multinational demographics of the Shogun Warrior pilots, but it's kinda hard not to be a little bit offended by the a backstory that would make Hitler cream.
Anyway, our three heroes take Raydeen out for a spin and clobber the monster of the week, only to learn that two other mecha-warriors are available to them in later adventures - Dangaurd Ace and Combatra.
There seem to be a series of rules that apply to Bronze Age comics, at least two of which are on display in the first issue of Shogun Warriors: Overt Displays of Mythology (even pop mythology like the Chariots of the Gods stuff on display here); and All Stories Lead Directly to the Next (though the opposite applies to DC Comics during this era.)
The book was written by Doug Moench, who would do much better work on books like Moon Knight and Batman.) Bronze Age hero Herb Trimpe provided the art, and he wasn't shy in his admiration of Jack Kirby (the similarities in style could be a coincidence, but I have my doubts.) Trimpe took a lot of shit from Wizard Magazine back in the 1990s, but I think he'll have the laust laugh in the end.
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