“Pacific Rim” fans rejoice. While the sequel to the beloved monsters vs. machines movie has been put on hold, the story is alive and well in a new comic book serie. The first issue of “Pacific Rim: Tales From the Drift” hits comic shop shelves today.
This new four part mini-series is written by Joshua Fialkov (“The Bunker,” “Doctor Who”) and is based on an original story by Travis Beacham who wrote the movie. The events of “Tales From the Drift” take place years before the events of the movie, the Jaeger program is in its infancy and any hint of alien involvement is far in the future.
At present kaiju are emerging from the rift and humanity is content to smash them to bits with massively impressive robots. The dual protagonists, a husband and wife team of Jaeger pilots, find themselves wrapped in battle with a massive monster whose claws rip into their machine compromising its nuclear core.
The resulting injuries and damage to their Jaeger put them in a state of peril and they slip into the limbo of the drift while waiting for help that may never come. The story intersects two timelines, the current timeline with eminent monstrous danger, and the past where our heroes meet one another and form the bond that will last the rest of their lives, however brief it may be.
There’s no arguing that “Pacific Rim” is fun in its purest form, there is something enticing on a primal level about monsters and robots, what makes this universe stand out are the additional elements, specifically the idea of the drift. And the implications of a voluntary mind meld are never more stark then with a husband and wife team.
I had an opportunity to speak with writer Josh Fialkov (full interview forthcoming) about his role and experience in working on “Tales From the Drift” and one thing was abundantly clear, Fialkov loves (as he referred to it) the PacRim universe, this love of the material comes across on the page and makes for a book that’s a lot of fun to read.
This first issue focuses mostly on character introduction and establishing backstory but leaves our heroes in a precarious position at the end of the issue that makes the reader want to immediately know what comes next.
If, like me, you can’t wait an indefinite period for your next batch of massive robots face punching cloned alien monsters, pick up the first issue of “Pacific Rim: Tales From the Drift” at your local comic shop today.