Review: 6 Million Dollar Man #2
The original Cyborg is back! Based on the character created by Martin Caiden, Steve Austin is part man part machine. The novel was published in 1972 and lead to the long running ABC-TV series which also inspired the Bionic Woman. He first appeared in comic books published by Charlton comics. And now, Dynamite is producing a far superior comic book based on the character. In Fall of Man, Austin is on the run from the OSI as he has uncovered plans for an army of cyborgs which will have his bionic abilities and none of his conscious.
The Creative Team:
Van Jensen put Steve through the ringer in issue number one and now Austin’s being approached by Mick Gentle, who heads a world leading tech firm called Arvo. He invites Col. Austin, who at this point is disillusioned from the OSI, to join him and his cause. Austin, of course, is skeptical but Gentle has offered him something that peeks his curiosity: The ability to become fully human again. Gentle takes Steve on a tour of his lab and he meets a scientist named Holly Green. The voice in his head tells her that this girl is hot! Jensen successfully taps into what would motivate a man in Steve’s position the most; to regain his complete humanity.
Ron Salas is at the top of his game. Each issue that goes by his art improves and his characters resemble the actors they’re based on very well. The splash page brings us into the cold inhuman world of Arvo as we see humans enslaved in some sort of amniotic chambers. They’re kept alive only to be used for parts. An ethically challenged laboratory to say the least. One of his better action scenes shows us Col. Austin in Berlin taking on a group of soldiers.
The Cover:
This cover is better than the main cover for issue one. We have our hero on top of a pile of people with his fist clenched, like he’s about to take them all on. Steve’s image is also in the jumbled letters: Fall of Man. And we have the familiar quote from the TV series: We can rebuild him. We have the technology. We can make him better than he was. Better, Stronger, Faster! This one definitely does the trick!
In Conclusion:
Oscar and Rudy are desperately trying to locate Steve Austin, who feels alienated by them and the OSI. Can he truly trust them as friends? In the Meantime, the C.E.O. of Arvo, Mick Gentle, is trying to bring him over to the Arvo corporation and promises that he can make him fully human again. In one of this issues more humorous scenes Steve lands in Berlin and the crowd mistakes him for David Hasselhoff. He tries to convince them that he’s not, but they’re in a frenzy and surround him, so he says the heck with it and bionic jumps to the next building. And the crowd screams that David Hasselhoff is Superman. What Steve discovers in that laboratory is sinister and he winds up being chased down by the O.S.I. To be continued!
6 Million Dollar Man #2
Writer: Van Jensen
Art: Ron Salas
Letters: Taylor Esposito
Colors: Mike Atiyeh, Caitlyn McCarthy
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Publication date: 08/20/2016
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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