WHITE SAVIOR #1/ Story by ERIC NGUYEN & SCOTT BURMAN/ Art & Covers by ERIC NGUYEN/ Colors by IWAN JOKO TRIYONO/ Letters by MICAH MYERS/ Published by DARK HORSE COMICS

Legend tells of a war between two clans in feudal Japan; the sinister Akuno and the noble Omura. A prophecy proclaimed that an outsider with skin the color of snow would lead the Omura to victory. They believed that their savior was US Army Captain Nathan Garin.

They believed wrong. For whatever the legends said, oral history records that the Omura were slaughtered, thanks to their decision to trust in a drunken, lecherous moron just because he was White. This didn’t matter much to Japanese-American film history teacher Todd Parker, until a random chance sent him back in time to the days before the final battle between the Akuno and the Omura. It is up to Todd to try and set right what once went wrong and convince his ancestors in the folly of following their… White Savior!

From The Last Samurai to Beverly Hills Ninja, the world of Western film is filled with stories where some random White guy proves to be far better at martial arts than those who grew up being trained in The Art of War. Eric Nguyen is clearly sick of this and has channeled his annoyance into mocking the whole sordid business with White Savior. Thankfully, this comic is far better in its execution than the base concept might suggest. This is largely due to the protagonist, Todd Parker, being the affable sort of everyman we want to root for in a story like this. It is also due to the script, co-written by Nguyen with Scott Burman, being utterly hilarious.

The artwork is top-notch, with Nguyen changing up his style between the scenes set in the past, modern times and the stories of Todd’s grandfather. (These last moments almost seemed to parody Frank Miller’s work on Ronin, but I am not certain that is intentional.) The colors by Iwan Joko Triyono are equally well-varied based on the setting and the letters by Micha Myers are well done. White Savior is a must-read for all fans of a good comedy and samurai fans looking for a spirited satire.

White Savior #1 releases on January 18, 2023.