ThunderCats: Pumyra #1 // Review
She was a very young child when the Mu’tants came to the small farming village. They slaughtered everyone...were about to kill her when others had come to attack the Mu’tants. With both of her parents dead, she seeks revenge in ThunderCats: Pumyra #1. She’s going to find that revenge is a bit more complicated than it first appears in a well-rendered coming-of-age story. It’s a very sharp study of a very basic dynamic that rolls through quite a lot of fantasy genre fiction. Writer Ed Brisson adds considerable depth to the beloved property with artist Alice Leclert. Color comes to the page courtesy of Arancia Studio.
The TunderCats had come to save Pumyra’s village, but it was too late for everyone but her. SHe’s suffering from survivor’s guilt and a whole lot else as the trauma works its ay through her. She’s training. Jaga and Panthro are a bit concerned with her drive. It’s explosive and reckless. She doesn’t have control over her emotions. She’s going to get hurt if she’s not careful. She could get killed if she’s particularly reckless. Of course, she’s not thinking about her own safety as she tracks down the one responsible for the death of her parents.
Vengeance is something that gets explored rather a lot and fantasy genre of fiction. It's really good dynamic for framing some very powerful drama. However, the basic essence and element of it isn't really explored with a lot of clarity very often. Brisson manages a very tight and surprisingly complicated picture of the nature of vengeance and a very tightly woven story that comes together with impressive brevity and striking gravity. Though there's no question that the author is working with for quite a few clichés, he manages to bend them around refreshingly complicated story.
Leclert is quite well poised in his execution of the drama and action in Brisson’s script. This is particularly impressive with respect to the title character. She's shown at a couple of different points in her life. They connect up quite well together or even though they're separated by several years. Furthermore, they do a really good job of illustrating this particular character at an earlier point in her life when she's been more prominently featured as an adult in the past. There's a definite progression going on here that feels very refreshing.
Typically, a one shot will do a really good job of setting up the overall premise of a series. The characters in situations will feel like they might deserve something more than a single appearance between two covers. Some of the best one shots do that. However, this is a good example of one that really just does a very good job of telling a simple story in a single issue. There really isn't any more need for anything more. While it might be cool to see more of this particular character in her own series, the coming-of-age element that the author and artist are exploring here doesn't necessarily need anything more. It's just a very well crafted single issue.
