Jonathan Luna pays tribute to thirty years of Image Comics with a new one-shot! Check out the time-traveling adventures of Spur in The Phalanx by Image Comics!
THE PHALANX
Writer: Jonathan Luna
Artist: Jonathan Luna
Colorist: Jonathan Luna
Letterer: Jonathan Luna
Editor: Jonathan Luna
Publisher: Image Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: June 1st, 2022
Previously in The Phalanx: Jonathan Luna grew up on Image Comics and cemented his path of becoming a comic book artist. Thirty years later, he pays tribute to those earlier stories that inspired him.
MEETING YOUR HEROES
The Phalanx starts in modern-day 2022 with Spur chasing Diego Saint. Saint stole a crystal from Spur’s employer and is on the run. However, Spur corners Diego, but he shows supernatural abilities and opens a portal with the crystal. Spur quickly follows but finds herself in 1992. She finds herself face-to-face with superhero team Phalanx with heroes Loch Ness, Valkyrja, Cyon, and Colonel. The Phalanx also tracked Saint and picked up the time travel energy signature. They also explain that Saint is controlled by an alien invader who takes control of human hosts.
The group team up to chase Saint and end up in Malibu, where they fight him on the beach. The group manages to gain the upper hand, but as a last hurrah, the alien lets go of his host, killing them both and deactivating the crystal. Spur is now stuck in the past but has friends with these new heroes.
A NICE HOMAGE
Jonathan Luna did an excellent and respectable job paying homage to Image Comics. I can sense the Image style and themes that run through their early books. And Luna did a fantastic job putting a rather complex storyline in a single one-shot issue. He included time travel, five main characters, and a complicated alien host villain into a cohesive story. On top of that, his character designs are exceptionally well done, and I appreciated how unique each character was.
I wanted more. I wanted to explore this storyline for just a little longer. Spur immediately convinced The Phalanx that she was a good guy. There was no interpersonal conflict because the page count didn’t have time to explore it. There wasn’t a complex theme or concept because this was a single issue. But Jonathan Luna did a tremendous job with the page count he had, and I am invested in this series, regardless of if they ever appear again.
BOTTOM LINE: SOLID BOOK
This is a great series that pays tribute to comics that I grew up with. I loved the art style, characters, and plot line. The Phalanx is a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars, and I’m excited to see what Jonathan Luna does next.
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Jonathan Luna does a fantastic job paying homage to Image Comics in his new one-shot, The Phalanx.
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