Pirates of the Caribbean #1
(Joe Books LTD)
Shortly after the events in The Curse of the Black Pearl, Captain Jack Sparrow’s adventures continue on the high seas.
Creators: Chris Schweizer, Joe Flood, Marissa Louise, Jennifer Hale
Genre: Adventure
Reader Appeal: Teen+
Publishing Rating: Unrated
I know what you’re thinking: this comic was published in September of last year. Yeah yeah, the comic might not be fresh on the shelf, but with Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tells No Tales releasing earlier this summer, this series continues to grow in popularity.
I love the idea of the Pirates of the Caribbean. I’ll even listen to the theme song on repeat on long treadmill runs, pretending I’m Jack Sparrow, outwitting and outrunning my adversaries. (Don’t knock it until you try it!) But oddly enough, I’ve only ever watched one, maybe two, Pirates of the Caribbean movies before, and that was years ago. Because of a lack of PotC knowledge, I took me a little bit longer to get into the comic. In fact, at one point I put it down for an entire week before I wanted to try it again. But boy am I glad I gave it a second chance!
Taking place shortly after the events in The Curse of the Black Pearl, the reader finds himself immersed in new tales of Captain Jack Sparrow’s adventures on the seas. After confronting Captain Barbossa in a duel, Jack is once again on the run. Luckily for Jack, Admiral Norrington gave him a head start, but Jack once again finds himself in a game of cat and mouse.
I enjoyed this comic way more than I originally thought I would. After acclimating to the heavy pirate-dialogue, I could fully enjoy all the adventure abounding in this comic. The plot of Jack Sparrow’s life translates very well into a comic, with the action coming alive in each panel. I enjoyed watching him try to escape the self-created trouble he repeatedly finds himself in, and he always held true to the sarcastic wit of his character.
The one thing I appreciated the most about this series was the illustrator, Joe Flood’s, style. His backgrounds are vibrant, rich in color, and just really beautiful. His characters are drawn with a heavy outline, and give off the vibe of sketches. The two styles combine for a very interesting world, and one that is unique in comics.
The only thing about this comic that I have a love-hate relationship with is the pirate jargon. I absolutely understand why the dialogue is written this way, and I actually wouldn’t even want the creators to change it. But it makes it so freakin’ hard to read. It’s like every single dialogue bubble requires me to read it at least twice, almost akin to reading Shakespeare. But once I switched to reading the dialogue in a pirate voice, it all clicked! (Seriously! Try it!)
Parents--if you let your kids watch Pirates of the Caribbean, then this comic book is going to be fine. The content is similar so you can expect similar language and violence. But the dialogue can cumbersome for kids (or a woman in her twenties) to read. If your child is having trouble, sit down with him and conquer it together! Plus, it’ll be fun to try out your pirate talk!
Let's Talk About It
Use these questions to spark discussion among family members who are interested in this comic book:
• What would be the best part of being a pirate?
• Why does Jack Sparrow always finds himself in so much trouble?
• What character trait do you think is most important to be a pirate?
--LV
All product-related graphics in this article are standard publicity/promotional shots and are owned by their respective publisher.
