Warriors: Jailbreak #1 Review

[Uriah]

I just read issue 1 and have to say I may have been wrong about the Dabel Bros. being able to come through with the goods.  I was totally unimpressed with their Warriors movie adaptation comics but if issue 1 of the ongoing Warriors series is any indication, they may have hit their stride.  The first arc, titled "Jailbreak" happens a few months after the film ends and tells the story of Swan's management of the gang and Ajax's jail time.  The art and story are much improved IMO and the characterizations and dialog are on point.  If this series holds up, it will be the closest thing to a sequal we'll ever get.

Spoilers below...





Fans will get a kick out of seeing how Cleon chose Swan as Warchief, how Mercy and Swan's relationship has turned out.  Ajax gets a lot of panel time - he takes some and dishes some out in this issue.  The High Hats invade Coney and when the Warriors show up there is a scene that gave me chills it's so damn cool - fans will flip when they get a glimpse of the Warriors on their turf.




End Spoilers.....

If you like the movie adaptation comics, you are going to love this new series.  If, like me, you weren't sold on whether Dabel Bros. could properly handle this property, you need to give them a second chance and pick this book up.  You have my attention, confidence, and my monetary investment Dabel Bros.  You're lookin' good... real good - don't screw it up!

[Godfather]

Wow didn't know this came out!  I was still waiting for issue #3 of the movie adaptation.  Got to head to the comic store. Thanks Uriah for the review.

[LIER ONE]

http://www.henriksenindustries.com/

funny story about James Remar and JAILBREAK #1 in this blog (of the people that wrote etc the comic) about SDCC 09

[4nik8]

From the aforementioned blog:

But my favorite person I met at Comic-Con was a little kid, maybe 10 or 12, who came up to the booth while Herb and I were signing and took about 20 minutes to make up his mind about whether Jailbreak was worth his money:

KID: So what happens in this?
HERB: Well, the Warriors break Ajax out of jail.
KID: So… there’s a jailbreak. And you guys named it… Jailbreak?
HERB: Yeah.
KID: Y’know, you guys are about as creative as… as… a bunch of pirates.

[beat]

ME: How about I knock a dollar off the cover price?


HA!

[BaseballFury100]

I agree with James Remar... Ajax losing to Swan is "horsesh-t"

[Uriah]

We'll since you exposed the Swan/Ajax plot point, I guess we can talk about it!  I figured Ajax fans would take issue with his Warchief right of passage fight.  Having Swan win does make what we see in the movie make sense.  When Ajax challenges him in the cemetary, Swan doesn't miss a beat,calling him out immediately - almost like, " hey, I beat your a__ once and I'll do it again."  Swan didn't seem nervous at all.  Then later in the park, Swan fearlessly puts Ajax down with the "you never were that smart " line -you don't show that kind of blatant disrespect to someone unless you know you can back the insult.  No disrespect to brother Ajax, but Swan could take him.  It comes down to who wants it more and while Ajax fights for personal glory, Swan fights for the good of his brothers.

[Erik Henriksen]

Erik Henriksen here, the writer of The Warriors: Jailbreak. Uriah, thanks for the kind words about the comic! It's great to hear that people are digging the book.

It’s also great to be here on the warriorsmovie.co.uk forums. When we were starting work on Jailbreak, this site was an excellent resource for myself and for the comic’s artists, Todd Herman and Herb Apon. It’s awesome to have this much Warriors info in one place, and also to see how invested you guys are when it comes to anything related to The Warriors. (Including a certain comic book.)

But okay, enough small talk—let’s get to what’s really important, shall we? Regarding that Swan vs. Ajax brawl in Jailbreak #1: I guess if you’ve read the first few pages of the comic, you already know who I’d put my money on in that fight. But hold tight, Ajax fans—by the end of Jailbreak, Ajax will be causin’ some damage, too.

While I'm here, I wanted to give you guys a sneak peek at Jailbreak #2—so here are a couple of panels from the first few pages of that issue. (Unless I'm mistaken, you guys are the first people to see these, aside from myself and Jailbreak's artists and editors.) Keep in mind that these panels haven’t been colored or lettered yet, so what you’re seeing are Nick Nix’s inks over Herb and Todd’s pencils. By the time the book comes out, these will have been colored (and some brilliant dialogue by an astonishingly talented writer will have been added, too).

Here's Swan having a word with his Warriors...

Here are Swan and Rembrandt talking about something big...

And here's Ajax making a few new friends.

Okay—that's all you're getting. I'm outta here, but I'll try to swing by these forums every once in a while. Hope you guys enjoyed those panels, and thanks again for reading Jailbreak!

[Ninth Delegate]

Thanks for the sneak peek.  We appreciate it when people such as yourself, takes the time to interact with the fans.
Were you aware of the newley un-earthed pics of Ajax after he was released from jail in this thread, before you started the project?
http://warriorsmovie.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10950.60

[LIER ONE]

Hi Erik, Glad you came and posted after my invite. We are a very welcoming bunch especially for people who love The WARRIORS like us. Keep up the great work as I have said before and keep posting, we would love to hear from you guys.

[Uriah]

Welcome Erik.  The Jailbreak series has me more pumped about the Warriors than I've been in a long while. I realize these aren't the morst articulate characters to write but that's why we love them and you are nailing it - keep em' street!  Can't wait for issue 2 -thanks for honoring us with a first glimpse at artwork.  The shot of Swan fist thrust in the air and the huge crowd of Warriors responding is awesome.

Please don't be a stranger - I love how the net brings creators and fans together.  Are you or Dabel Bros. planning to do some promotion at the conclave in NJ?

[BaseballFury100]

Thanks for the sneak peek.  We appreciate it when people such as yourself, takes the time to interact with the fans.
Were you aware of the newley un-earthed pics of Ajax after he was released from jail in this thread, before you started the project?
http://warriorsmovie.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=10950.60

Wow i never seen this before... great stuff ninth delegate!

[Riff]

I just got the first JailBreak comic last week and really enjoyed it, it's great to read more adventures of those charaters, like Uriah says it's the closet we will ever get to a sequel. As well as the story so far I really liked the colouring and look of the first issue.

Hey Erik, thanks so much for those preview shots of the next issue, can't wait.

[Ninth Delegate]

My only bit of nitpicking in issue one is that the high hats faces wern't pale enough.  They looked like they had no facepaint at all.
I liked the effect for the flashback scenes where they made it look like some old 1920's film stock.
Dig the title of chapter one, using a reference to the soundtrack.

[Ninth Delegate]

Didn't notice this the first time I read it; once again, cowboy gets K.Oed in a rumble.  What is it with that guy?  Are gang members wearing facepaint his kryptonite?