By Ariel Baska — Cowboy Bebop has undergone many transformations, from manga to anime series, to movie, to most-recently a live-action series on Netflix. Now, the property is getting a comic book form as well via publisher Titan Comics — and for good reason. The property is perhaps the most timeless gateway drug to anime, appealing as it does to a large cross-section of generations

The new ongoing comic debuts January 26, with writer Dan Watters collaborating with artist Lamar Mathurin. While it represents a tie-in to the aforementioned recently cancelled live-action Netflix series, it also has all the hallmarks of a brilliant Cowboy Bebop episode, one that has been rendered lovingly by people who understand the kinetic energy that brought people to the original anime in the first place. Put simply, these are talented comics creators who get Cowboy Bebop.

The classic opening lines of TANK! (the phenomenal theme of the show by Yoko Kanno) are interwoven so beautifully in the book’s opening sequence, and also perfectly proportioned by letterers Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt. From the start, this new comic has the feel of an episode we didn’t know we needed, in a format we never knew existed for this franchise. The lines of Spike’s classic kicks and the pace of action sequences from the anime is replicated much more successfully in the world that Watters and Mathurin render than in the live-action show that left many disappointed.

The noir of it all is rendered in stunning blues and greens by colorist Roman Titov, and deeply embedded references to French noir classics by the film director Jean-Pierre Melville (made famous by films like Le Cercle Rouge and Bob le Flambeur) propel the story forward in new and exciting ways we’ve never seen before in this futuristic world, which looks a bit like Hong Kong blended with New York. The world of Bebop is cool, slick and stylized here, in all the right ways, as it should be. So, if you’re a fan, immerse yourself in this world and this amazing team will not disappoint you. 3-2-1 Let’s jam.

Overall: Armed with a top-tier comics creative team, the new Cowboy Bebop #1 feels like a lost episode of the show that fans never knew they needed. 9.0/10

REVIEW: Cowboy Bebop #1

Cowboy Bebop #1
Writer: Dan Watters
Artist: Lamar Mathurin
Colorist: Roman Titov
Letterer: Richard Starkings and Jimmy Betancourt
Publisher: Titan Comics
An original story set in the year 2171. The bounty hunter crew of the spaceship Bebop chase an ex-gang member who holds a vest which gives the wearer unlimited luck.
Price: $3.99
Read This Comic: Via physical copy, or digitally via comiXology

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Ariel Baska has had many past lives, but right now she’s hosting Ride the Omnibus, parked at the intersection of pop culture and social justice.