Review — ‘Sectaurs: Warriors Of Symbion’ #1 Revives A 1980s Sci-Fi Icon

I have to lead off by saying that I’ve waited nearly four decades for this comic. Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion toys debuted when I was seven years old. At that time, the action figure market was ridiculously saturated. Although the figures were introduced in Spring 1985, the animated show didn’t roll around until several months later.

That, coupled with a higher price point, made them less popular than G.I. Joe, Transformers, and He-Man figures at the time. These humanoid insect combatants and their giant cootie friends were, in my mind, infinitely cooler than those others, though. And don’t ask me how, but my father somehow ended up getting me a complete set of these buggers.

Prince Dargon’s Insectoid steed, Dragonflyer, had battery operated iridescent wings. The toy featured “hands-in” technology, which was basically a glove that used your thumb and index fingers to operate two legs on the left, ring finger and pinky on the right, and your middle finger would move his jaw open and closed. Similarly, General Spidrax rode Spiderflyer, a giant flying tarantula, which is horrifying when you think about it.

The other main characters also had Insectoid companions, and every one of them did cool stuff. There was a bug friend that squirted water, one that had a grapnel that pulled out of its mouth and recoiled, another with snapping jaws … There weren’t any little useless molded pieces thrown in. That was one of the things that really set this line apart from competitors. If it came in the package, it had a functioning ability. These figures were wicked cool.

All of that is to say  Sectaurs: Warriors of Symbion #1, from writer Dennis Culver, line artist Ramon Bachs, color artist Manoli Martinez, and letterer Taylor Esposito, had a lot of expectations to meet. A huge chunk of my childhood is represented in these pages. 

The book opens with a quick, one-page description that orients readers with the broad strokes of the war between the Shining Realm (faces) and the Dark Domain (heels). King Markor the Mighty has fallen into a coma, leaving his green son, Prince Dargon, with the responsibility of keeping Emperor Slane at bay once he comes of age. 

The tipping point has been reached, where Dargon has to prove himself by ‘telebonding’ with his Insectoid steed Dragonflyer. He has to ride the giant dragonfly out to the Swarm of Sovereigns, where he will renew the peace treaty between the faces and heels. If he and Dragonflyer don’t get on the same page, like, right now, he can’t take up his father’s mantle.

There’s a hierarchy, similar to George RR Martin’s ‘blood of the dragon’ rule, where only noble blood lines can ride giant flying bugs. This kid has to show his worthiness with this one monumental task before he can be accepted as a true heir to the throne.

One of the first things I noticed about the series is how accurate the characters are to their original toy designs. Mantor’s bug friend Raplor uses a grapnel that he spits out of his mouth. Dragonflyer’s abdomen is just as thick as his action figure counterpart’s. (I actually discussed this bit with the comic book store clerk when we were discussing the covers. That thing held a metric ton of batteries for the wing motors. It had to be thick.) Dargon’s tights have that same red line down the front as the toy did. It even terminates just above the knee, where the two pieces of Dargon’s leg were joined at the knee articulation. 

Bachs and Martinez took zero liberties with character design and color scheme, which is rad for the folks who had these toys, but also gives a sort of vintage feel to the story. It’s not just ‘80s inspired’ imagery. It’s the exact same imagery that was used by Sectaurs in the 80s!

First issues can be tricky, especially in science-fiction and fantasy, where entire worlds and the rules that govern those worlds need to be shown and explained. This is a very exposition-heavy issue, but Culver manages to work in all the explanations about as naturally as can be expected, and gets in one of the coolest lines I’ve read in a minute, when Emperor Slane lets loose with “I killed far greater warriors before their father’s fathers hatched from their mother’s miserable wombs. I forged these very swords out of their bones!” He even worked in one of the ill-fated Series 2 characters that never saw production in the final pages of this debut chapter. 

I had massive expectations headed into this book, and they were largely met or exceeded. The couple things that bugged me (See what I did there?) are really so nitpicky that I won’t even mention them. This is a solid opener, which should not only satisfy the old folks (like me) who had the original toys, but also grab hold of new readers. I’m really looking forward to the next installment.