Samurai: Heaven and Earth

Romeu and Juliet, Cleopatra and Marcus Antonius, Shiro and Yoshiko... What they have in common? Remarkable characters, tragedy and unending love. It's rare to have romantic "historical" fiction in comics, but "Samurai: Heaven and Earth" really gets the job done. The main characters are three dimensional figures, the background settings, scenery and the costumes are well researched by the artist Luke Ross, who gives the reader astonishing drawings - true masterpieces. Ron Marz wrote an interesting tale of love, questing and the pursuit of happiness. For the story I give 4 stars, its good but could be better. There are only two characters that are well developed, several secondary characters being "wasted". I want to know more about the slaver and his bodyguard, about the animosity between the Chinese Warlord and Shiro's Daimyo, about Don Miguel - even the three musketeers could be better used (the author grossly exagerate the fighting skills of Shiro...and why nobody in Europe uses firearms?). And the voyage through the silk road? That could have made quite a story! Etc. Having said that, I must congratulate Ron Marz for several of the best written dialogues in a comic book. For the written text I easily give 5 stars. This is a very good series, and I will definitely continue to buy it. P.S. Historical purists beware! In the begining of the 18th century China didn't invaded or raided Japan. Remember this is entertainment, but even history buffs can benefit from the great art Ross presents us.

I have read the works of Ron Marz for years and I can tell that this is a project of pure love and joy for him. The writing and the art are outstanding. It is an epic adventure that incorporates romance into a comic that doesn't seem forced. This is a comic that takes you around the world, but doesn't give you jet lag, you can't wait to step back on the plane for one more trip.

Dark Horse beats Marvel and its silicon super-heroes, with the release of this early-modern swashbuckling adventure, perfect for all fans of old samurai tales, Alexandre Dumas' novels and XVIIth century charm. Instead of Dr Doom punching Spiderman or other plastic bozo, we have a piece of solid storytelling taking us from Japanese castle to swarming chinese cities, Silk Road dangers and finally the Cloak‡ European setting. Pitting our hero against famed musketeers was excellent idea, as well as contrasting refined japanese culture with as much refined french spirit. Authors perfectly managed to lay hold of various stereotypes - we can observe silent and melancholic dedication of a japanese samurai, rakish and fanciful behavior of a french musketeer as well as passionate and savageous wickedness of a spanish ambassador. The only disadvantage is, that authors tried to contain very large story in just one volume - the crossing of entire eurasian continent and political intrigues our hero is embroiled in, barely have enough room and thus many interesting characters (like arabian slaver or complaining frenchman) and events are scantly fleshed out, so you sometimes feel unpleasantly when thinking 'it could be told so much more here' but even if adventure is unveiling in a split-second style, it's still very good with many plot-twists. The leitmotiv of a samurai travelling to Europe isn't really new (the event really happened during Momoyama period), as well as most of storyline but all elements are composed in flossy manner. The art is very subtile, rich in craft details and engraved, rendering the historical settings with opulent style, and making the comic a must-have for early-modern histories afficionado. Let's hope that it is a beginning of a new trend in comic industry, of digging in interesting periods and episodes of the world history. A brief fable, Walter Scott himself would be dragged in.

A great story with some of the best art i've ever seen. Lush and colorful. I hope they make more.

Abadazad. Alias. Runaways. Fallen Angel. Samurai: Heaven and Earth. There have only been five books thus far in the millenium that I can safely praise as masterpieces, and this is one of them. "Samurai: Heaven and Earth" is one the most emotional, touching, amazing pieces of literature I've ever read. You think it's a straightforward story about a man who lost his love and would go to any lengths to get her back, but it's about so much more than that. Everyone can identify with following your dreams, wanting that one thing that may always elude you, and this book understands that and cuts into the heart of that idea. Marz's script is the best of his career by far, and that's saying something. He perfectly balances the action expectations of the book with the emotional center of it. There are twists you won't see coming, fish-out-of-water moments you'll sit in awe at, and an ending so perfectly pitched and timed you may just tear up. The art is phenomenal. Luke Ross changed from a great comic artist into a master overnight. Who would have thought that penciled and colored comic art could look this close to paintings? You have to see it to believe its beauty, literally. This is a must have for any serious comic collector. Heck, it's a must have for anyone who's ever loved and lost, or just loved.