Fire Power has turned out to be one of the finest comic book series of the last several decades and the pre-series Volume 1 graphic novel sets the tone and the standard. In the book, an ambitious, hefty 160 pages, author Robert Kirkman and Chris Samnee mix fantasy, martial arts action and drama that will bring a smile to readers of Doug Moench and Paul Gulacy's classic '70s Master of Kung Fu series. Kirkman subverts cliches from the very beginning. In a superlative twelve-page sequence of silence, Owen Johnson risks the elements to reach a secluded Shaolin temple at the top of a mountain. There he finds the wise old man he's searching for - only, he sports Air Jordans and listens to Radiohead on his iPod.
There's plenty of mystery, romance, intrigue, drama and action here, sensitively drawn by Chris Samnee (whose work is the reason I picked the series up), who channels the spirit of cartoonist Alex Toth in his classically choreographed storytelling. I'm usually averse to computer coloring in comics, but Matt Wilson (who's worked with Samnee on several projects) keeps the color schemes inventive, subtle, appropriate and surprisingly beautiful.
Volume 1: Prelude has been kept at a low price point ($9.99) for years in order to provide an easy access point to the complex series and though the story has ended, it's still a great time to invest $10 and read it from the beginning.
