Battle of the Planets/Science Ninja Team Gatchaman/G-Force/Eagle Riders #1/2 (2003) ft. Ken/Mark the Eagle, Joe/Jason the Condor, Jun/Princess the Swan, Jinpei/Keyop the Swallow & Ryu/Tiny the Owl

"Sometimes we are five, sometimes only one. The mysterious white shadow that steals close to its prey. United, we are GATCHAMAN!"

Over a year in the paying and since childhood in the waiting...my first incarnation of the Science Ninja Team (and first Joe Benitez) has arrived to my wall!

As a child, I grew more and more fascinated with stories oriented around teamwork. Stories around beacons of nerd culture such as the Ninja Turtles, X-Men, Teen Titans and of course, the Power Rangers. As I enjoyed these characters and all their in-team conflicts, I had little regard for the namesake that is credited for being one of the reasons these legends had a direction to reach the world.

Enter high school when I found a comic series along the racks painted by an artist I'd later come to know and love (Alex Ross) with winged characters I felt like I not only knew but were a part of me on a personal level. However, it was during the middle of the series and it never occured to me to look for and collect older issues so I let it go.

Battle of the Planets, as this comic series was called and adapted from the imported television show was the tale of five orphans genetically gifted with the speed, strength and nerve to combat a tyrannical alien enemy.

Why was this so familiar?

Not until my twenties, during a particularly thorough anime rampage did I discover the true name and nature of what was responsible for the trailblazing of not only many of my favorite characters but my favorite teams!

Science Ninja Team Gatchaman!

The story. The dialogue. The violence. Everything I felt the television show had removed for the sake of sensitivity and dare I say evil...was right here. I later bought the maxi series from Image comics and enjoyed the homage to both the Americanized Battle of the Planets as well as the far superior source material Gatchaman.

I swore one day that I would bring home if not an Alex Ross cover from this series then at least...one of the pen and ink pieces as all the good Wilson Tortosa interiors were long snatched up. Turns out, all the painted Ross covers were also long gone.

Enter my guardian angel and savior from a kingdom called TDArt...Tatiana Dykes! Tatiana was/is a pure masterclass in good business, patience and kindness no matter how abominable my finances were and no matter for how pathetically long. She showed me every courtesy and even issued me a partial refund to help me cover rent.

A greater honor couldn't be demanded than to have met and worked with this majestic art dealer and I cannot wait to return to her site for more!

Thank you Tatiana as you have made a fan not only happy but made a grown man child-out everytime I see the team on my wall! Also a big thanks to Joe Benitez for crafting such a surgical cover to this series. Ordinarily I prefer my pencils and inks on the same board but this cover truly gains more for their separate layers.

I haven't a catchy finish for this description therefore, I'll let Jinpei/Keyop spin it on home with what in my nerd-heart may be one of the most dope-sauce commands ever:

"Ninja technique tornado fighter!"