All-Ages Reviews: Ratchet and Clank

[dragonsong12]

Licensed versions of pretty much anything are going to be a mixed bag. Most often, fans of the original expect very little out of licensed work - movies based on video games or video games based on movies are largely both considered likely to be terrible right off the bat. But what about a comic based on a video game?

Comments

[dragonsong12]

Yeah, there's some really great angles and shadows in the covers that the interiors just don't have. I'll definitely agree that the colors in this book are really wonderful, but the lineart is comparatively missing something.
I think both styles definitely work, but it's stands as the reason why I hate the habit comics have of having difference artists on the covers vs the interiors. I get why they do it, and that it's often necessary, but I still don't like it.

" I wonder is it that its a licensed product holding it back, or that is simply not a popular enough product to really fly?"

This is actually a really good question. I mean, I know the Ratchet and Clank franchise has produced a number of games, but it's still not big enough that you'll hear it talked about alongside the video game heavyweights. So it could definitely be that the fandom just isn't enough to sustain it. Or it may be that, being an adaption, fans assume it will be terrible, and people who aren't fans assume they won't be able to get it.
It's interesting to think about, and either way a shame.

I wonder also why it is that licensed works tend so often to be terrible - is it too much meddling from above, keeping the artists from really giving it their all? Or is it just that they often get put into the hands of people who don't understand or don't care about the original property? Either way, it's nice to see the occasional work like this where the writer seems to really be on board with the style and produces something really enjoyable.

Haha! I don't know too much about the Sonic comics, which is surprising considering how long they've been running. Is it a real mess?

And I have to confess, people throwing empty guns at things is one of my favorite cliches ever...of all time. The fact that they did it twice here made me really happy, haha!