EYES ON INGLORIOUS REX VOL.1
Rising star MMA fighter Alex Stone steps for the first time into the world of Rex Fighting where giant creatures are linked to the neural systems of their human pilots, twisted together in no-holds-barred, high-stakes cage fighting.
Alex’s unlikely rise as an underdog piloting his late brother’s Rex will set him on a collision course with the fighter that holds the crown – the same man that killed his brother. Alex will have to confront the reasons he stepped into the cage while waging a winner-takes-all battle for the title of Rex Champion.
THE CREATIVE TEAM
Inglorious Rex is a comic book series for young adults created by Shane Davis and Yanzi Lin. Inglorious Rex Vol.1 was written by Shane Davis and Yanzi Lin, penciled by Shane Davis, Inked by Yanzi Lin, and colored by Jason Wright.
Shane Davis worked on the main cover and the 24-hour Annatomic cover that was only available on the first day of the campaign and was randomly available whenever Shane Davis was live-streaming on his YouTube channel. The cover art for the two Inglorious Rex variant virgin covers was done by Kenneth Rocafort and Jon Malin.
The supplemental book “Inglorious Rex: Blood, Sweat and Tears Vol.1” includes two exclusive supplemental stories “Annatomic: Beginnings” and “The Kid” that expand on the backstories of Alex Stone, Annatomic, and Gunn Mordon from Inglorious Rex Vol.1.
Both stories were written by Shane Davis & Yanzi Lin and lettered by Eric Weathers. The artwork for “Annatomic: Beginnings” was done by Nyriam (Bonds Vol.1: The Drive). The artwork for “The Kid” was done by Shelby Robertson, and colored by Jason Wright.
Inglorious Rex is a passion project almost 10 years in the making. An action science fiction tale for young adults to enjoy. Shane Davis brings to this project almost 20 years of experience as a professional comic book penciller and writer on projects such as DC Comics’ Superman: Earth One, Batman, New Gods, and more. He also co-created almost every member of DC Comics’ Red Lanterns, including the world-famous fan-favorite cat Dex-Starr the Red Lantern.
THE BOOKS
The main book Inglorious Rex: Vol.1 is a 68-page perfect-bound graphic novel printed in color on high-quality paper with a soft cover and a printed spine. The book contains a credit page, the main story, and bonus material which includes the black & white version of Cover 1, the 24-hour limited edition cover, the Jon Malin variant cover, and the supplemental book cover.
It also includes the art from the winners of the Inglorious Rex fanart contest: Adam Miller (1st), Mike Wilson (2nd), and Tommy Graphite (3rd). In addition to these, we will find color test pages for Rex Razur and Pilot Gunn and 3 pages of black and white art from the main book.
The supplemental book Inglorious Rex: Blood, Sweat, and Tears Vol.1 is a 40-page stapled graphic novel printed in color on high-quality paper with a soft cover. It includes a credit page, chapter dividers, the background story of Anna, and the story of Gunn Mordon’s debut with his rex Rune.
Near the end we will find the layouts for Anna’s story done by Shane Davis that were used by Nyriam to create the art. It’s a nice look into the creative process. The books were published in 2022 by 9 Lives Comics Inc., a company owned by Shane Davis and Yanzi Lin.
THE STORY
The story takes place in a futuristic world where martial arts are dominated by genetically-engineered super-fighters. Inglorious Rex tells the story of Alex Stone, a futuristic MMA fighter in a time where cage fighting is done through genetically manipulated cloned creatures, which are piloted by their human companions.
THE BEGINNING
The story starts with the MMA fight of Alex Stone who at the last minute wins the match. We get to know that he witnessed his brother’s death during a fight. It’s something that has traumatized him. His girlfriend, Annatomic, is some kind of fighter as well, a cage fighter.
At the Arc City Central Rex Arena, she seems reluctant to leave him alone. During that time, he was approached by someone who informed him that Lil’T wanted to meet him.
THE OFFER
Lil’T is in charge of organizing the fights and has a very peculiar way of speaking English compared to everyone else. He wants Alex to fight with his late brother’s Rex, named 232 before it gets decommissioned. The fight is against Gunn Morden and his Rex Rune who became the champions after killing his brother during the match.
Seems like his girlfriend and his brother Nate were no ordinary fighters. They fight alongside giant genetically engineered creatures called Rex. They are neurologically linked to the Rex and position themselves at the back of the creature in order to pilot the fight. When we see Anatomic linked up with her Rex called Razur her eyes light up.
THE CHALLENGE
The key to a successful linked-up is making sure the Rex is created with the fighter’s DNA. Knowing this Annatomic warns Alex that it is suicide to fight with his brother’s Rex. He just doesn’t listen and only wants her support which he doesn’t get. So, he decides to do it on his own.
In the meantime, Lil’T is motivating Gunn, Alex’s opponent, to make sure he wins. He wants to keep the people entertained but they need to see Rune breaking 232 piece by piece. Will Alex survive the fight alongside 232?
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
INGLORIOUS REX VOL.1
The Monster Martial Arts is visibly stunning. The fundamentals of the story are easy to understand. A great effort was made to make sure the reader understands the mechanics of how humans and the creatures fight together but you are left with multiple questions about the rest.
I’m not sure if it’s normal to have so many word balloons but it was very prominent in the main book. Especially because the art looked so amazing and some of them covered it. Starting after “Round 5” the word flow becomes more even. Maybe adding more panels, in the beginning, to show different angles as the conversations flow. The supplemental book has a better balance which makes the story flow better.
THE MULTIPLE QUESTIONS
The main story is action-packed. There is a lot to see visually but the story will leave the reader with questions leaving space open for fan theories and conclusions that could be correct or wrong. Like my initial wrong take on Alex and Anna’s relationship.
THE HUMANS
Are the humans in Arc City normal? Alex seems to have something dark inside. Is it because of his brother’s death? Did that influence his own Rex fight?
THE RELATIONSHIPS
What is the depth of Alex’s relationship with Annatomic? Are they together for convenience? They don’t seem to have deep feelings for each other. Later on, we learn that Alex has been her cheerleader and he expected the same. Then they did act like it was the first time Alex was attending her fight. It was a little bit confusing.
The depth of the brothers’ relationship is also unclear. We know that Alex was severely impacted by the death of his brother but what kind of relationship did they have? Nate was supportive of Alex’s fights but how deep was their bond?
ARC CITY
What is the mystery surrounding the city? We learn from one of the flashbacks that it takes someone “Epic” to win the fight and defend the city. Defend the city from what exactly? Do the humans and the creatures become part of the military or part of a defense protocol? How does it work?
THE REXES
It seems that it costs money to keep the creatures alive and so far, they fight to die so they have fewer mouths to feed. The creatures are treated like robots. They seem to be easily disposable. Reminds me of Pacific Rim where humans connect with giant robots to defend the city.
BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS VOL.1
The supplemental book contains 2 stories. The first one is about how Annatomic became a Rex Fighter and the second introduces a new character that is linked to Gunn Mordon’s journey to become the champion.
ANATOMIC: BEGINNINGS
I enjoyed the stories in the supplemental book. In the first story, we learn about Annatomic’s past struggles and how she met Alex which helped me as the reader to better understand their relationship. It completely changed how I initially saw them as a couple. The story is illustrated in black and white.
Alex and Nate’s relationship is also showcased in the story. I think it would have been better to condense it and add this story to the main book. For those who didn’t get the supplemental, they would have missed an important part of the story in my opinion.
THE KID
In the colored second story, we meet Theodore Marcer known as “The Mace” who to me is like a grown-up version of Max from Real Steel, a kid with a heart and a dream.
“Heart is what drives a fighter forward. Heart is what digs down through the pain. Heart throws the hardest punches”
In Real Steel, Max motivates his father to fight with an old sparring robot. In this world, fights with giant robots operated remotely by humans are very popular and lucrative. There is an unbeatable champion that they go against. Everyone expects the fight to be a quick beat down in favor of the unbeatable champion.
In “The Kid”, Mace wants to fight Nate who is the current champion but before he fights Nate, he must go against Gunn Mordon who will be fighting with a new Rex.
THE CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN
By the time I decided to support this crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, I chose the Fight Champ tier. The Fight Camp perk included (1) Inglorious Rex Vol. 1 standard cover graphic novel, (1) Supplemental Book, (1) Starlight Cats 2nd printing graphic novel, (1) Ink sketch of a character from Inglorious Rex on a 5×7 bristol board (I chose Alex), and (1) Inglorious Rex athletic shirt. Along with my order, I also received some free stuff, what they call stretch goals on these campaigns, including 8 trading cards, 2 stickers, and 3 magnets. All the books received were signed.
Updates on the status of the project were provided during the campaign so backers were timely updated. The tracking number was provided directly via IndieGoGo. The products were shipped in one package and received in good condition.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Inglorious Rex Vol. 1 and Inglorious Rex: Blood, Sweat, and Tears Vol.1 are engaging stories for those who enjoy the combination of science fiction and fighting matches. The art is amazing to look at while the story will leave you with questions that will hopefully be addressed in Volume 2.
The crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo for Inglorious Rex Vol. #1 was closed a while ago but the main book is available for direct purchase at the 9 Lives Comics web store. The crowdfunding campaign for the second volume has been active for a while simultaneously on Indiegogo and on the 9 Lives Comics website but has been already closed. The new books will be probably available on the website in the near future.
Interested in more titles? Check more COMIC BOOKS and GRAPHIC NOVELS under the “EYES ON” series wherein I documented my experience with crowdfunding entertainment and shared my notes on the products I received.
My notes are all set. Let me know what you think.
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