“Yesterday’s” Comic> Space Pirate Captain Harlock FCBD 2021

“This was not the right chair for my wood deck.”

Free Comic Book Day: Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Ablaze Publishing (2021)

STORY: Leiji Matsumoto & Jérôme Alquié

ARTIST: Jérôme Alquié

LETTERER: Dezi Sienty

EDITOR: Kevin Ketner

The prologue and two chapters of what I assume is a graphic novel. This takes up half of the 30+ page comic, with the other half being short previews for other Ablaze offerings, all in a Japanese art style, and somehow that includes a Street Fighter comic, which I thought UDON Studios had the rights to.

In the presentation we’re introduced the dread space captain Harlock and the crew of the Arcadia. The only rule on the ship is to live by your own rules (and presumably not mess with anyone else or ruin their missions), as they go up against both the corrupt Earth government and the secretly invading Mazon forces. In this story, one raid followed by a trip to visit his daughter Mayu (who doesn’t know her protector is also her father) alerts Harlock to the strange freezing conditions on the planet. They head for the source of the disturbance in the Arctic, where a scientist is called in to decipher tablet in a chamber containing women who burn like paper the moment they’re exposed to the air, and another woman in stasis that seems to be the cause of the phenomenon. But is this scientist doomed to die like all the others who got too close to learning of the Mazon invasion?

I still prefer Free Comic Book Day stories to be self-contained, and I will deduct points here for that. However, this is a good set-up for people not aware of a series that has reappeared on and off since the 1970s in manga and anime form. Jérôme Alquié does a good job recreating Matsumoto’s art style, but I admit an unfamiliarity with the series. All I know is that Matsumoto either sneaks a reference to Harlock in other works or sometimes Harlock and the Arcadia crew themselves. He’s apparently really proud of his work.

The comic gives us a proper introduction to the crew, the backstory, Harlock’s daughter, and the plot for the full graphic novel. As stated, the art matches Matsumoto’s closely and is really good on its own. Overall, I am curious about this story and someday I hope to finally get to experience the source material.