Writer: Adam Gallardo
Artist: Nuria Peris, Sergio Sandoval
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $7.95
Release Date: 31st October
Gear School is another entry in the rapidly expanding Manga style books that Western comic companies are now producing in an apparent attempt to straddle the gap between pure Manga and traditional Western based comic books. As such it is in a smaller (but not quite Manga-small) format that will let it sit alongside it competitors at the bookstores. Marketing aside, Gear School is essentially a straightforward story of being a teenage girl who pilots giant armoured spaceships and fights against aliens.
The story delves straight in by swiftly introducing the main characters and establishing the setting and the conflict. No further background story is given, either as a result of being pitched towards a more teenage market, or more likely because it would eat into the page count too much. It’s a minor niggle anyway; there is no need to be bogged down in tedious exposition when there are giant pieces of armour to be flying around in. The characters themselves are divided between the teenage pilots-in-training and the older battle-hardened staff which lends a tone of Starship Troopers or X-Men.
Our chief protagonist is 13-year-old Theresa Gottlieb who has just entered Gear School to try and become on of the elite pilots of the three-story Gear ships. Being a teenager, Theresa has to juggle a tough exercise regime with academic pursuits and chasing boys. The school finds itself in trouble when the aliens devise an unexpected way to attack it. As you may imagine, it’s up to Theresa to try and help her friends despite not having the most success in her piloting training.
Whilst seemingly simplistic in its execution, the pacing of the story cannot be faulted. The artwork is functional, carrying all the little facial quirks of mainstream Manga and the design-heavy aspects of huge pieces of machinery. The action scenes are generally good, although a few of them suffer from being a little difficult to follow and lacking a sense of scale. These are minor quibbles though, Gear School is a great little book and it would be nice to see some further tales of the students.
James Dodsworth - Born and raised in Yorkshire, residing in London since 2000, James has a Law Degree and works for the Anti-Financial Crime Office of a International Asset Management Company. He is a writer and editor for FractalMatter.com.
But his main claim to fame is living next to the pub where Shaun of the Dead was conceived.