Hello and welcome to another speical edition of Comic Book Consideration. This week we look at the trade Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero.
Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero offers a look at how the movie universe came to be. While the movie did a great job of helping to show how that universe branched the trade seeks to bring some depth to the characters that did not get all the attention in the movie. The trade also has credibility to it due to the involvement of Travis Beacham who wrote the movie which sets it apart from many comic and book tie ins.
Due to the limit background of what is a pretty new series let us turn to the the plot of the trade.
Each tale from year zero has a framing device to launch it its tale. For the first one a Reporter called Naomi Sokolov is looking to interview Marshal Pentecost and instead meets Tendo Choi the man who runs the systems for the Jaeger and the head of Gipsy Danger has a cameo. The two after talking sit down and we learn that Chio was in San Francisco the day the first attack happened in 2013 working a ferry to Angel Island. He helps to get people onto a ferry and recalls that his Grandfather is stuck in China Town. He gets him out just in time as the monster starts to attack the city. The tale also goes outside the scope of one man and we see some of the people when they were just children including Raleigh and Yance, Also during this event in San Fan Francisco Stacker Pentecost gets a call from his sister who is in the RAF but secretly training at Vandenberg but about to engage the Kaiju. Pentecost tries to talk her out of it but fails and her and the planes attack but fail and she is killed by the Kaiju. Also during this time Choi boat comes back for him just in time. However, his grandfarther had been exposed to Kaiju blood and he died as the same time that the city was nuked to kill the monster. The second interlude has Sokolov talking to a Dr. Schoenfeld. His story features the creation of the Jaeger program and the Pan Pacific Defense Corps from his son playing with a robot toy. It also deals with how the drift was created by Caitlin Lightcap. It also explores how the drift brings people together and can help to change people. Lightcap tested it on herself and it changed her as a result. She and another pilot also go out and using a prototype Jaeger to kill a Kaiju setting up the victory of the program. It ends with love lost and how the Dr. Lost her to the program and the drift she had with someone else that helped to make her a better person. The Final interlude takes place at the Pan-Pacific Memorial Cemetery with Sokolov finally meeting Pentecost. He remembers her as someone who almost broke up his star team of Raleigh and Yancy when she was a teenager. She than asks how Pentecost was forced to stop being a pilot. It happened eight years ago when his co-pilot during a mission passed out and he was forced to pilot it by himself. It is found out that his partner Tamsin has cancer and they have to be pulled due to that. He is forced to move on but sees a little girl on the newspaper by the name Mako Mori who he aready adopted. His new job is to get people ready at the Jaeger Academy. We see that Raleigh and Yancy are both their. The two of course have the bond and start to do well at the academy. Both meet Sokolov as a teenage and it cause them to fight and for their chances of being pilots being in danger.However, they get off with a warning which works. The past ends with Pentecost taking Mori to see Tamsin and he stating she helped safe the life of Mako. In the present we see Mako laying flowers at the grave and for Pentecost saying never give up.The story ends with Choi talking to her and saying write the story the way you want and for them to talk about the future.
With the story out of the way lets turn to the Artwork in this special. The artwork in this trade is great. You really get the sense and can tell the people are the people from the movie. Both the Jaegers and the Kaiju are well drawn and show just what the future may hold for different monsters and mechs. All in all nothing negative to talk about and artwork you should all have a look at.
Now that both the plot and artwork have been examined it is time to turn to the plus and Minuses of the trade.
Plus
-A great way for people to get more info for characters and background info that adds depths to the movie
-One of the better tie in pieces to be put out.
-Well worth a pick up if you loved the movie
- Pentecost character really get flushed out well
Minus
- It is a shame this all these great character moments just happen in the comic and not the movie
-some of the female characters are little too busty at times as comic drawers seem to do that all the time
In closing, Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero offers some great back story and character movements that helps to add to the movie. It tells three different events from the past in the early days of the fighting at the Kaiju. It also has some great artwork that helps to make this a very good trade and something to pick up if you are a fan of the movie. I would give this trade a recommendation and really can't say enough good things about it.
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