105. Voltron Force, vol. 1: Shelter From the Storm by Brian Smith

Voltron Force: Shelter From the Storm by Brian Smith. Art by Jacob Chabot (US) - (Canada)
Voltron Force, vol. 1

Pages: 96
Ages: 9+
Finished: Apr. 8, 2012
First Published: Apr. 3, 2012
Publisher: viz media
Genre: children, graphic novel, superheroes, science fiction
Rating: 4/5


First sentence: "My patience grows thin, Maahox."

Publisher's Summary: "The mighty robot Voltron is back! And three young cadets—Daniel, Larmina and Vince—are training to become defenders of the universe.
But King Lotor and his villainous minion Maahox have other plans. They’ve unleashed a horrifying storm, churning with evil energy. When Daniel, Larmina and Vince are sucked into the vortex, their worst nightmares come true!

Acquired: Received a review copy from Simon & Schuster Canada.

Reason for Reading:  My eldest son and I used to watch Voltron, Defender of the Universe all the time in the '90s.  I had to give this title a go and thought my youngest would enjoy it.

Voltron Force takes the original Voltron cast and adds three new cadets who are being trained to become Lion pilots.  This first volume takes a couple of pages to introduce us to the pilots, cadets and villains and then jumps straight into the story.  No previous knowledge of Voltron is needed.  The background and scenario are unveiled in this first issue making sure one understands the basic plot.  The book does include some references to past villains which will be nods to big fans of the original.  It's been so long for me that I hardly remember much about the old story, except that I enjoyed it :-).  The story is very action heavy, lots of battling and on the dark side but not overly so that it is still rated "All Ages".  The tension is tempered with light-hearted humour.  During the battle against a bad guy the cadets get a lesson in team work and the reader is briefly introduced to each character's attitude.  The story ends with a complete solution to the plot but finishes off with a teaser about the future.  Looking forward to the next volume.  If you've never heard of Voltron, you'll enjoy if you are a fan of such shows as Power Rangers or Transformers.

The Original Voltron Intro: