News
Ablaze Publishes Space Pirate Captain Harlock Comic by French Artist Jérôme Alquié
posted on by Alex Mateo
Comics industry news source ICv2 reported on Friday that Ablaze is publishing a new comic based on Leiji Matsumoto's Captain Harlock manga titled Space Pirate Captain Harlock by French artist Jérôme Alquié. Matsumoto is credited for the original work. The first full-color, 32-page comic will debut in June, and it will also be solicited in the April 2021 issue of Diamond's Previews catalog. The first issue will have a main cover by Derrick Chew. Kendrick Lim, Leirix Li, Yanick Paquette, Miguel Mercado, Andie Tong, and Alquié will draw additional covers.
Ablaze describes the story:
Set within the timeline of the original series, this brand-new Captain Harlock adventure marks the beginning of a new story arc. Planet Earth is threatened by an upcoming invasion by the Sylvidres and despite being banished as a pirate, Captain Harlock won't give up trying to save the world. This time, the source of danger comes directly from Earth, not outer space. A team of scientists discovers a Sylvidres mausoleum where they find information about terrifying genetic manipulations and a destructive power capable of either providing the Sylvidres with immortality or putting an end to their civilization. The unprecedented cold spell hitting Earth might only be a taste of what this new enemy has in store…Will Captain Harlock and his crew manage to solve this mystery and save the Earth from yet another menace?
Akita Shoten launched Alquié's Captain Harlock - Arcadia no Kioku (Captain Harlock - Memoires de L'Arcadia or Captain Harlock - Memories of the Arcadia) manga on its Manga Cross website in June 2019. Alquié is credited for the art, while Matsumoto is credited for the original work, setting, and designs. The manga is a collaboration between Akita Shoten and French publisher Kana.
The manga's story begins when Queen Rafflesia, the leader of a Mazon fleet, races across the depths of space to usurp Earth. Meanwhile, primitive Mazons, who have been living on Earth since before humanity's time, begin to awaken and wreak havoc on Earth. It is up to the space pirate Harlock, his crew, and his ship the Arcadia, to take the fight to the Mazons.
The character Captain Harlock appears in various works in Matsumoto's interwoven science-fiction universe.
In Matsumoto's original 1977-79 Space Pirate Captain Harlock manga, the title character rebels against Earth's inept government and fights for humanity with his crew of 40 aboard the invincible space battleship Arcadia. Seven Seas Entertainment is releasing the original manga. The manga inspired a television anime in 1978, followed by anime feature films, original video anime, and the sequel Arcadia of My Youth: Endless Orbit SSX. The manga also inspired a CG film in 2013. Film World Studios is developing a live-action film based on the manga.
Source: ICv2 (Brigid Alverson)
