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Saturday, April 8, 2023

Comics Review: "Disney Villains: SCAR #1" Reveals Different Side of "The Lion King"

DISNEY VILLAINS: SCAR #1
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT

STORY: Chuck Brown
ART: Trevor Fraley
COLORS: Chiara Di Francia
LETTERS: Jeff Eckleberry
EDITOR: Nate Cosby
COVER: Jahnoy Lindsay
32pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (April 2023)

Rated “All Ages”

Scar is a fictional character and is the main villain in Walt Disney's Oscar-winning, animated feature film, The Lion King (1994), also appearing in the subsequent movies that comprise The Lion King film franchise.  Scar is the ruthless, power-hungry younger brother of King Mufasa, ruler of the Pride Lands.  Scar was originally first-in-line to Mufasa's throne, but he is suddenly replaced when Simba, Mufasa's son, is born.  Scar eventually launches a plot to kill Mufasa and exile Simba, allowing him to rule the Pride Lands from Pride Rock.

Dynamite Entertainment's latest licensed Disney comic book series is Disney Villains: Scar.  The series offers a new vision of one of Disney's greatest film villains.  The series is written by Chuck Brown; drawn by Trevor Fraley; colored by Chiara Di Francia; and lettered by Jeff Eckleberry.

Disney Villains: Scar #1 opens in the Pride Lands and centers on an enraged Scar.  He is unable to accept that he will never be king – not so long as Mufasa and his new son, Simba, inhabit Pride Rock.  Can Rafiki, shaman of the Pride Lands, talks some sense into him?  In the meantime, potential allies are hatching a plan to capture Scar's corrupt mind.

THE LOWDOWN:  Since July 2021, Dynamite Entertainment's marketing department has been providing me with PDF review copies of some of their titles.  Disney Villains: Scar #1 is the first comic book based on The Lion King that I have read.  And yes, there have been a few.

Simply put, writer Chuck Brown and artist Trevor Fraley offer a delightful 27-page introduction to the tale of Scar.  Brown really digs into Scar's personality and into his way of thinking, often playing it against the believes and actions of the Pride Lands' other animal characters.  Trevor Fraley's art has a kids' comic book graphical style, and Chiara Di Francia's colors add a fairy tale quality to this first issue.  Jeff Eckleberry's letters also give the story a nice pace, even the few intense moments.

I think that readers who didn't know that they wanted a comic book set in the world of The Lion King may find a treat here.  I'm curious to see where this series goes.  It seems to be a combination of prequel, back story, and side story to The Lion King, and that is intriguing.

I READS YOU RECOMMENDS:  Fans of Dynamite Entertainment's Disney comic book series will want to read Disney Villains: Scar.

[This comic book includes a Q&A with Chuck Brown and Trevor Fraley, featuring character designs by Fraley.]

A-

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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