Story/Art: Fred Perry
Coloring: Joe Weltjens
Legacy #1
"The Legacy"
August 1999
In Brief:
Joseph Dumar loves martial-arts videogames. That may be the only thing keeping him alive.
The Cover:
Three heroes face an unknown foe. Two carry swords, the third, a young girl, is casting spells from a "Meed Daisy Patch Kids" 3-ring binder.
Summary:
We open on a small-town arcade, where Joe Dumar, videogamer-extraordinaire, is displaying his skills by totally demolishing an opponent at Rival Kombat, perhaps another product of Rivalsan Industries (although the NHS game beside it makes that unlikely). Joe loves his games, and can play them for hours, even when he should be doing something else. For example, like bringing dinner home. Three hours previous.
When his "student" a young lady named Tracy, informs him of the proper time, he panics somewhat, crushing his last opponent with little ceremony. And then he is on his way, leaving a lovesick student, and three rather upset gentlemen behind him. While Tracy ponders her "date", the three defeated gamers are approached by a young, nerdish man named Poindexter.
Meanwhile, Joe's twin sister Vicky is raving at his absence, in the presence of a nine-year old transfer student named Shiva, and several stuffed animals, including a Cheetah plushie based on an actual item owned by a young lady named heidi Dumont in real life. In her rage, she destroys an alarm clock with her bare hands, an action that Shiva notes with some concern, not to mention glowing eyes.
Back on the street, Joe is nonchalantly walking home, drinking his sister's milkshake, (which must be lukewarm after 3 hours, but there's no accounting for taste). When Poindexter confronts him, declaiming on his plans for world conquest, Joe is unimpressed. The three grotesque figures, recognizable as the gamers from earlier, but clearly no longer human, which Poindexter summons to attack him are a bigger problem. Especially when they start tossing around fireballs.
Joe dodges the attacks, performing maneuvers which, only a short time previously, he'd only been able to do in games. Is he scared? No. Is he confused? Not really. Is he pumped? Oh, hell yeah. For several pages, he proceeds to beat on the hapless beasts, until, after some sarcastic clapping, Poindexter displays abilities of his own, by planting Joe face first into the asphalt. And to top it all off, the beasts he'd just knocked out get back up again. Even with what Poindexter calls "The Fighter's Legacy" and "Timeron's Fighting Spirit", Joe is in trouble.
Then the cavalry arrives, in the form of Vicki, in a rather fetching, if impractical outfit, and what can best be described as a switchblade sword, which carves dimensional gates as well as flesh. They make their escape, leaving a somewhat confused Poindexter.
His confusion turns to panic as some fluttering pieces of paper, seemingly just refuse, explode as they land. He makes his escape, as Shiva, revealed as the heir to the Wizard's Legacy, hovers on a piece of paper of her own. She has a lot of explaining to do.
One would think this would be the end of the story, but this issue contains three bonuses. The first is a two-page pinup of Vicki, Shiva and Joe battling the monsters in front of a movie theater (which happens to be showing Gold Digger the Movie). Vicki is also carrying a different sword, one that resembles Should caliber, while Joe wields a pair of ornate nunchaku.
The second bonus is a single-page poster of the three heroes fleeing the city. Vicki carries yet another blade, this one with two blades, while Shiva is wearing Roy Fokker's motorcycle helmet. Oh yes, and apparently, Optimus Prime is in the area, accompanied by Hound and Bumblebee.
The final addition is a previously printed preview which takes place in the unknown past, where an unnamed warrior, probably the previously mentioned Timeron, uses his father's swords to battle the same monsters that our heroes fought in the present. He names them the Wrath, and also the Archessence and Wrath Shadows, and while he is clearly skilled, he knows he is outclassed. For while he wounds as many of them as he can, he cannot win. For the Wrath cannot die.
Thoughts:
A good first issue, but not without it's flaws. There are some attempts at characterization, including a rather dislikable take on Joe, it all seems a bit sketchy. It would have been better to skip the pinups and previews, and use the extra pages to give the characters more shading.
Speaking of shading, it's clear that Fred's art style has changed, as the cover art, similar to his GD style, is quite different from the interior style. It's just as good, though.
The story asks more questions than it answers, which can turn the casual reader away. For someone like me, though, it merely makes me all the more anxious to see what happens next.
Grade: B+.
Legacy #2
"The Soul's Memory"
December 1999
In Brief:
Those who forget history, are doomed to repeat it. And some events should never happen again.
The Cover:
The heroes battle the Wrath in biology class. Vicki prepares to show that she's as good at using a bow as a sword.
Summary:
It's Study Hall, and Vicki and Joe are waiting for answers about the event's of last issue. While Shiva doodles on a piece of paper, Joe practices his moves (on a Game BoyTM) and Vicki studies...a romance novel. Joe finds this all very humorous, until Vicki throws a small eraser, bouncing it off of the chair in front of her...nothing but crotch.
Shiva finishes her mystical diagram, and casts a spell called "Time Freeze", which as you'd expect, freezes time. Then she performs what I like to call "doom origami", folding space and time to take them all back 1100 years, to the time of the Wrath.
There is a huge battle, and the good guys, namely humanity, are losing. Bones are broken, blood is shed, lives lost. Then Shard, greatest sorcerer of the age, and Shiva's role model, arrives. Even blindfolded, he handly defeats half of the monsters, turning them into stone. The other half are immune.
That's Timeron's problem. Two things about him are notable. One, he's the warrior from the backup story in issue #1, and two, he carries the double sword from the second pinup in that issue, which is revealed to be called the Midas Sword.
Timeron pounds Wrath booty for a page or three, prompting Joe to compare him to a character from the movie "The Last Dragon" (sho-nuff). By using the "Midas hammer" technique. Timeron defeats all his opposition, save only for their commander. The Demiwrath. Timeron's son.
Timeron can't fight him. Not alone. Even Shard (who pulls off his blindfold and glows gold) isn't enough. The other eight champions (including a master thief, an assassin, a priest, and a paladin) aren't enough either, even under the influence of a Haste spell. Timeron's son dies, but the Archessence of the Wrath lives on, and escapes.
The priest has a solution, however. Their skills, bound in their souls, can be preserved for future generations. Their lives, however, would be forfeit. All agree, and the Legacies are born.
Thoughts:
Much better. The backstory is swiftly fed into place, and we get some nifty action scenes along with our infodump. Some details are left out, though, like the identities of the other four Legacies. From an old website that was used to promote the book, we can glean a few facts, like the fact that there are also Rogue and Acrobat Legacies, and that the Priest is/was named Atremis, but it would have been nice to get those details in the story. After all, not everyone can reach the website.
There's also some confusion about just what the enemies are called. The monsters are the Wrath, or the Wrath Shadows. They are commanded by the Demiwrath, which is the host for the Archessence, or are they all parts of the Archessence? It's all a little vague. Hopefully, further issues will clear this up
Grade: A
Legacy #3
"The Acrobat's Legacy"
March 2000
In Brief:
It's good to have friends. They can help you in the most surprising ways.
The Cover:
The heroes flee the city. This cover is identical to the second pinup from issue #1.
Summary:
Tracy, Joe's student/unknown love interest is back. And Joe is treating her like dirt, making her study source code, design docs, and playtester notes for various video games. She puts up with all of it for one reason alone..she wants a date. Unfortunately, to Joe, she's not "date material". Remind me again..we are supposed to like this guy?
After ignorantly shattering her spirit, Joe spies Poindexter, aka the new demiwrath, hanging around with a sneer on his lips. Since a good fight is more important to him than his friends, he follows Poindexter into a fairly obvious trap.
Elsewhere, Vicki and Shiva are having an after-school snack. Vicki bumps into some old friends while Shiva pays for her Happy Meal, and it's time for some characterization.
Y'see, it seems Vicki used to be a real "hottie" and a regular at parties across the city. She tries to act tough to preserve her reputation, calling Shiva a "little freak" who was "crampin' my style". Of course, Shiva was right behind her, carrying a Bunnychu backpack.
Feelings are hurt. Shiva walks away. Vicki's former friends drive up. Vicki has a choice to make. Will she choose popularity? Or will she choose a real friend? Someone who showed her how school can be fun, who was willing to listen, who even reads her stories.
Vicki makes the right choice. She and Shiva walk away, closer friends than ever. But when Tracy tells them about Joe, and Poindexter, it's time for plot again. Shiva and Vicki run into an alleyway, where she summons the Gate Carver (now called the Keyblade, which makes some sense). Of course, Tracy was watching.
Meanwhile, Joe walks into the trap, eyes wide open. His usual arrogant self, he fakes a nap while a Wrath Shadow rants. Then, predictably, they fight. And fight, and fight. Of course, the Wrath are stronger now (as they are after every battle, see issue #1), but he knows these Shadow's personally, having faced them in the arcade so many times. When Vicki and Shiva gate in, he's in control of the situation.
The Wrath seem weak. Could Shiva's as-yet-unrevealed plan work? All she can do is try. She casts a spell, giving Joe a weapon of his own called the "Staff of Erasure". All he ahs to do is hit Poindexter with it, and they've won. But the staff only works once. And now, joe has his friends to worry about.
Joe falls, but the police arrive. Luckily for him, he doesn't have to explain what's going on. Unfortunately, that's because Poindexter turned them all into Wrath Shadows...before he battled them for the first time. This time, it's his turn to call the cavalry.
One of them has the key blade. All of them have guns. Things look bad.
And then, the police find themselves punctured by a handful of thrown and extremely sharp pencils. A figure somersaults from the shadows, and nimbly lands in their midst. The heir to the Acxrobat's Legacy. Also known as Tracy. And she has enough No. 2's for everybody.
It's good to have friends.
Thoughts:
Oh yesss. This is the way it's supposed to be done. The characterization bits seem to be tacked onto the plot, but in one final panel, Fred ties it all together. And as my quick blurb suggests, the whole story has an underlying theme, that of friendship, and people looking out for each other. Every reversal, every victory, comes from the fact that people care (although using that term for the Archessence might be stretching the poInt). Even Joe, for all hIs faults, walked Into the trap because he wanted to defeat the Wrath, once and for all.
Really, the only grumble I have wIth the book Is the cover. The idea of Vicki with the Midas Sword sounded promising, but unfortunately, the cover didn't accurately reflect the story. The same could also be said for the prior issue, but in this case, it was particularly irksome. Not enough for me to give it a lower grade, though.
Grade: A+.
Legacy #4
2000
In Brief:
The best laid plans of Wrath and men often go astray.
The Cover:
Back to the camera, Joe tightens his headband, all set to kick Wrath butt.
Summary:
Four heroes, and far too many corrupted police. Things don't look good. Shiva's
plan didn't work, and for all her bravado last issue, Tracy (the new heir
to the Acrobat's Legacy) is bordering on hysteria. Shiva tells the others
to run, as her own escape plan requires solitude.
They split up. Tracy catches a thrown shotgun from Vicki, and Shiva starts
throwing out a fair amount of mystical energy (not exactly a shoryuken, but
darn close). There's a lot of fighting. Joe gets hit by a car, Tracy fires
a bullet into a cop's head (from above, while upside down..Chou Yun Fat, eat
your heart out. Vicki gets shot, Shiva gets crushed by a Wrath Shadow.
In other words, things aren't going well. It looks like only one of the police
officers wasn't corrupted, and Poindexter is working on that. Upset at Shiva's
loss, Vicki attacks, and busts Poindexter in the mouth (4 or 5 times..don't
get her angry). But she's losing blood fast, and only the timely arrival of
Joe (carrying the staff of erasure) turns the tide.
He tosses the staff at Poindexter, but Bazerk (one of the original trio,
along with a large fellow named Girth) gets in the way..and is vaporized.
That one free policeman pulls up in his cruiser and tells them to get in.
Joe's all for it..until Vicki reveals the fate of Shiva. And then Girth, the
Wrath Shadow who crushed her, arrives.
But he doesn't attack. Rather than be crushed by him, she allowed herself
to be absorbed into him, and controlled him from within. And now, not only
is she free, but Girth has woken up...
Thoughts:
There is nothing really *bad* to say about this issue. True, it's basically
an extended fight scene, and the various police officers seem to be interchangeable,
but it's not a bad issue. It's just not a very good one.
The problem seems to be one of continuity (by which I don't mean the high
detail squabbling that many comics fans engage in). Last issue, we had a cliffhanger
with Vicki losing her sword, and Tracy's arrival. But when this issue is over,
neither of those issues are really addressed. The sword (a powerful tool)
is hardly mentioned, and Tracy's abilities seem to have become purely instinctive,
rather than the conscious (and somewhat charismatic) approach used last issue.
Nothing much really happens this issue. We have a big fight, Vicki and Shiva
reinforce their friendship, and a potential new ally or two joins the crew.
I'm betting the police officer is the Paladin's Legacy, by the way. Nothing
solid, just a hunch. But at the end of the issue, nothing much has changed.
In a quarterly title, that's not necessarily a good thing.
Grade: B+.
