FIRST LOOK: SOUL SAGA
Originally published 11/99 in Wizard #99
By Scott Brick, Wizard contributing writer
Chris Lichtner and Stephen Platt mix Dungeons and Dragons and "Blade Runner" in their new Top Cow title, Soul Saga.
Imagine a scene from a classic pirate movie. Buccaneers swing on ropes between ships, duking it out with swords and hell-bent on sinking the enemy. Now, imagine those ships are flying…
Soul Saga, Top Cow's brand-new series tentatively debuting in January 2000, presents this "Braveheart" meets "Blade Runner" scenario. And even though the sci-fi/classical combat mix has been done before, creators Chris Lichtner and Stephen Platt, along with inker Batt, have ways to make this book fresh.
"We're taking a very cinematic approach to this series," says co-writer and colorist Lichtner, who, as one of the founders of Liquid Graphics, is a multiple award-winning colorist. "[We] always use film terminology as we're writing it, and you can almost see the pictures moving in this; you can really see this as a film."
Soul Saga stars Aries, a foot soldier for the Dominion - a kingdom torn between archaic culture and advanced technology. "Hand-to-hand combat is a very revered art form in this world," says co-writer and penciler Platt, who rose to fame as penciler on Moon Knight before working at Extreme Studios with Rob Liefeld - and Lichtner, where the duo first met. "Yet they'll carry out these sprawling battles right in the shadow of the Warmates - huge war machines of sophisticated and high-end technology."
The soldier Aries (above) thinks long and hard about taking on the powerful Dominion in Top Cow's latest fantasy series.
Aries turns against the Dominion when he is reluctantly cast in the role of the "Chosen One" and must fight a tyrannical regime à la "The Matrix." Before that, though, he makes nice with the other side by saving the life of the Dominion's Princess Persephone. This earns him the attention - and enmity - of Draken, the King's second in command and commander of his Elite Guard. "[Draken's] this ancient, beast-like man, a very powerful figure with horns and the whole nine yards," says Lichtner. "In a world of tool users, he's this great arcane throwback."
Lichtner and Platt promise realism, which means that when the final battles are over, not everyone will get out alive. Platt claims that they've created an entire world filled with characters who've got death sentences on them. "We've already grown attached to them, but we feel strongly that characters have to die, otherwise there's no drama," Platt continues. "It's just another way that this series will stand out from its competitors."
SOULMATES
THE DILLY-O
It's Soul Saga, a brand-new, ongoing series by Stephen Platt and Chris Lichtner, tentatively shipping from Top Cow this January.
WHY YOU CARE?
Besides the fact that Battle Chasers has made the sword-and-sorcery genre hot again, Soul Saga marks the comeback of one-time superstar artist Platt, joined by fan fave Liquid Graphics colorist Lichtner.
DID YOU KNOW?
The "Jukka Brothers" sketches on MTV are the unofficial soundtrack of Soul Saga. "It's the funniest damn thing!" says Lichtner. "Steve and I discuss each episode as it's actually happening. Those guys are like inbred Amish. It's almost perverted, but funny as hell."
All information presented in this article is © 1999 Gareb Shamus Enterprises Inc.
The opinions and views presented herein do not represent Soul-Saga.com nor any of its affiliates.
|
