Antonio Serra (1) (1963–)

Nathan Never is one of those concepts where authors manage to put whole bunch of ideas from other sources- other comic-stories, hard-SF, movies, action adventures and thrillers - mix them with their unique twists and plots, put them into the SF setting (not so distant cyberpunk-ish future) and present them using great art (favorite of mine is Ivan Calcaterra who draw this issue). Result is excellent story with great protagonists.

Just look at the beginning of this book - it starts with the bang. Chase through the space station docking yard that ends with villain outsmarting our main protagonist (villain manages to escape in a maneuver that Mission Impossible brought to the "silver screen" almost 20 years later :)). The way shots are organized, each panel is pure joy to look at. This is not colored comic but black-and-white one and I always enjoyed these more (what can I say, I grew up reading Phil Corrigan and Modesty Blaise). Shade, crispness of the drawings, so many details that might get lost during coloring. Aesthetically Calcaterra's work is very similar to Al Williamson's, Frazetta's and Buscema's. Level of details is incredible (just take a look at that android being repaired).

Story wise this is standard crime set in the not so distant slightly dystopian future. Our main protagonist is capable agent working for private security company (think of him as a continuation of Dashiel Hammet's Continental Op but with more morals (or naivete depending how you look at it - although Nathan is not so above using dirty tricks when needed)). He gives his best to capture the bad guys but he makes mistakes and gets himself cornered every so often (and frequently rebuked by his own boss). But like in every story of this type he has friends to help him and our group of merry men manages to bring down the dark schemes of the power-hungry and criminals.

Excellent book. If you are fan of SF crime-noir you will like this.… (more)

Agente Especial Alfa é uma estreia ágil de um grande personagem. A trama serve tanto para apresentar um novo mundo como também personas das mais diversas origens, intenções e compleições físicas. Embora haja uma certa desaceleração do enredo na parte final, temos uma excelente noção de como este Universo funciona e das boas mãos nas quais ele está entregue.

Plano Crítico: target="_top">http://www.planocritico.com/critica-nathan-never-agente-especial-alfa/… (more)