Review: Katana Vol. 1- Soultaker
Quick Summary
Pros: The fight scenes are enjoyable. A few of the book’s plotlines are compelling. The artwork is mostly positive.
Cons: The overall narrative feels chaotic in a way that is almost hard to follow. At points, the dialogue is strange. The book’s conclusion is sudden and leaves many plotlines and mysteries unresolved.
Overall: This is a book with too much going wrong and not enough going right. The book has some enjoyable scenes and some cool moments. However, all of this is undercut by problems with the storytelling. It is then further undercut by an awful conclusion that leaves many of the book’s big questions unanswered. Readers who really want to see Katana in action may enjoy parts of this book, but readers simply looking for good stories might want to stay away.
Story
Katana Vol. 1: Soultaker, by Ann Nocenti, has a few positives that are unfortunately buried by plenty of negatives. The positives come from the book’s exciting approach to action and its compelling mysteries. However, the writing feels chaotic, the dialogue is weird in several places, and the volume generally feels like it is lacking direction. On top of all of this, the story ends with many of its mysteries unanswered and many of its plotlines unresolved. Altogether, this book may be worthwhile for fans who simply want to see Katana take on some villains but it does not make for a good read.
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Starting with the good, Soultaker is action-packed and moderately compelling. The book makes an effort to have Katana utilize different weapons and fighting styles, depending on the situation and who she is fighting. This makes for diverse and entertaining combat. The book also contains several compelling mysteries. I was immediately pulled in because of this and was happy when a few of them were resolved.
However, the negatives in Soultaker are quite numerous. The overall progression of the narrative feels chaotic. Instead of having events build and flow naturally from one to the other, things just happen and then move on. For example, Killer Croc appears in a chapter and sets a dragon free from Katana’s sword, this action has very little setup and neither Croc nor the dragon end up having an impact on the story outside of this. In addition, there are places where the dialogue is weird. One page features characters making jokes while simultaneously being riddled with machine gun fire. Together, these factors make the read feel sloppy.
The other big problem in Soultaker is that the conclusion is terrible. The book ends without answering many of its mysteries and without resolving several plotlines. Readers never learn why Shun’s tattoos are prophetic, what was meant by her tattoo of Katana, what secrets Coil knew, the purpose of the Falconer, and much more. It is also an incredibly sudden conclusions, making the final battle feel lackluster and making the setup behind the samurai character feel pointless. The conclusion is so sudden that I had to go back and make sure I hadn’t missed anything, because I was sure the book couldn’t actually end the way it did. Even if the rest of the book were written better, the conclusion makes it hard to recommend.
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Art
The artwork in Soultaker is mostly positive but still has its problems as well. Alex Sanchez and Cliff Richards both produce work that looks nice and is structured well. This work looks best in the volume’s action scenes. Here, the battles flow well and the action feels dynamic, allowing these scenes to stand out as one of the volume’s high points. However, there are several places where characters look strange. This typically comes from weird facial expressions, where it is hard to tell what emotion is being expressed, but it also comes from oddly proportioned drawings as well. Overall, the artwork in this collection, despite a few flaws, is mostly successful.
Continuity
Katana Vol. 1: Soultaker is a mostly standalone series that does not have its origins in any other comic.
The Katana series ends with this volume. However, some elements of Katana’s war against the Clans are continued in Jeff Lemire’s run on Green Arrow (Reading Order), specifically in Green Arrow #27, 30-31, collected in Green Arrow Vol. 5: The Outsiders War (Review). Later on, Katana’s conflict with Mona Shard continues in Secret Origins #8, collected in Secret Origins Vol. 2.
This volume also references the stories from other comic books, detailed below:
- Katana #2 briefly mentions the JLA (Reading Order) dealing with Catwoman (Reading Order). This situation is detailed in Justice League of America #3, collected in Justice League of America Vol. 1: World’s Most Dangerous (Review).
- This volume contains a few mentions of Green Arrow’s (Reading Order) involvement in the clan war. This is detailed across Jeff Lemire’s run on Green Arrow (Reading Order).