Artist/writer Verl Holt Bond's Galactic Diary #4 is a front-to-back, Wolf McKenzie extravaganza, as the nomadic warrior's "Post-Apocalyptic Blues" exploit continues.
In this issue's 64-pg (4-part) saga, Wolf and Jenny join forces with Chief Mada, whose women have been kidnapped by large, humanoid aliens for breeding purposes. The invaders' queen soon learns that the tribe is mounting a rescue mission and requests her soldiers to squash it. This leads to a fierce clash between high-tech weaponry and "primitive," old-school know-how, the culmination of which will leave readers on the edge of their seats.
Bond's dialogue is crisp and identifiable (never verbose or stilted), and his artwork flows like a fine-tuned storyboard, so that it's easy to envision "Post-Apocalyptic Blues" as a movie or television show.
On that basis, Wolf's world reminds me of such childhood favorites as Logan's Run, Planet of the Apes, Korg: 70,000 B.C., Ark II, Genesis II, Strange New World, Planet Earth, Fantastic Journey and Land of the Lost, where the speculated sojourns were spirited, but also held morals and a profound sense of duty: an important balance missing from far too many of today's mainstream, action-adventure yarns.
For those with a hankering for the way imagi-fables were once told, Galactic Diary #4 is your ticket to fulfillment. If interested in a copy, please send a check or money order of $5.00 to Verl Holt Bond, 1663 Blue Heron Lane, Jacksonville Beach, Florida 32250. Once payment is received, he'll dispatch your copy in a flash!
