AVENGERS #26 is coming to your local comic book store May 28th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has the exclusive first look at the issue!
The issue is a tie-in for ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM, a “status quo shift” that began this week, the likes of which Marvel says hasn’t been seen since 2008’s Dark Reign.
About the issue: THE MASTERS OF EVIL RULE!
The Impossible City, current home base of the Avengers, has been commandeered by the MASTERS OF EVIL! Who is left to defend the world while DOOM is in power? And how are the Avengers able to fight a war on multiple sides?
The issue is by writer Jed MacKay and artist Andrea Broccardo. The main cover is by Valerio Schiti.
Get your first look at Schiti’s cover for AVENGERS #26 here:
Are you hyped for ONE WORLD UNDER DOOM? Sound off in the comments!
From writer Matthew Rosenberg (What’s the Furthest Place from Here?, 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank) and artist Stefano Landini comes a suspenseful & delightful piece of classic sci-fi/espionage in We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1. Featuring colors by Roman Titov and Jason Wordie and lettering from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, this opening issue offers as much heart and conceptual promise as it does wacky humor. With what comes off as a mix of Johnny Quest, 007, and The Venture Bros.,We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us is off to a phenomenal start.
“After her mad-scientist father is killed by the world’s greatest spy, 13-year-old Annalise is left all alone in the world. Sort of. Her dead dad’s robot bodyguard is following her around for some reason. Now Annalise has a choice: try to lead a normal life for the first time ever…or seek revenge and maybe overthrow the world order in the process.”
Writing & Plot
Matthew Rosenberg captures a modernized take on classic Silver Age sci-fi adventures and espionage stories from the same era. His story here – a young girl being raised by a scientist and a group of bodyguard/nanny robots – is a familiar one told with sharp dialogue and more contemporary humor. The opening here where we meet Annalise, the robots, her father, and are introduced to the whole premise, is a brilliant mix of genre tropes and genuinely heartfelt character writing. Rosenberg’s dialogue is widely varied, with each character having completely distinct delivery and tone. All of the comic’s exposition is delivered in naturalistic conversation, making it as compelling as it is fun to read. The way Annalise’s father’s dialogue switches from stereotypical “cold scientist” babble to that of a loving father without ever losing direction of the character is a great piece of writing. As for the abundant humor, Rosenberg nails every part – from the awkward interactions of the robots to the introduction of a drug-addled super-spy. The script flows effortlessly from humor to suspense to tenderness, all while keeping the reader engaged with the growing mystery of the story. All in all, Rosenberg nails it again.
Art Direction
I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a comic written by Rosenberg that didn’t also have a striking visual style, and Stefano Landini provides this once more in the pages of We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1. His detailed character animations and eye for direction pull the reader into the pages, and keep the story flowing along at an even pace. Rosenberg’s stories always call for a lot of emotion (mostly snark) from the cast. Landini provides this with a motley group of scientists, their assistants, awkward robots, and super-spies that all look and feel totally different. While his wider, more encompassing panels are full of life, its Landini’s close-ups that really grab your attention. There’s a tender moment between Annalise and her father that is a standout in terms of animating emotion. The art also really sells Rosenberg’s comedy, nailing the timing and delivery of dialogue as well as the physical comedy. Helping Landini’s pencils is the color art of Roman Titov and Jason Wordie. Their work here fills in the world with a tonally rich palette that perfectly captures the atmosphere and vibe of every page. They utilize a flat-style palette reminiscent of that in Fraction & Aja’s Hawkeye run – specifically the Kate Bishop parts. There is a lot of usage of lighting as a source of color that really sells a sense of place within the story. Finally, the lettering from Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou is unsurprisingly fantastic. His normal dialogue work shifts wildly to form weird SFX and character sounds that all overlap into a phenomenal reading experience. Overall, We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us is a stellar piece of visual storytelling.
Verdict
We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us #1 is a fantastic opening chapter for this new series. Matthew Rosenberg’s script has as much humanity as it does humor, combining familiar genre tropes with great comedy and moments of tenderness all wrapped up in a genuinely compelling story. The visuals from Stefano Landini, Roman Titov, and Jason Wordie all work together to make a piece of visual narrative that captures the pace and atmosphere of this sci-fi/espionage comic perfectly. Be sure to grab this debut issue when it hits shelves on March 26th!
From Sam Fonseca, creator of three-time HQMix Prize nominee Age of Rust and Best Webcomic winner Dynamite & Laser Beam, comes his debut graphic novel: Shadowplay.
Shadowplay‘s first volume, Midnight School, follows an unnamed protagonist as he survives a nightmarish high school. The typical school worries are abundant, such as missing assignments, tardiness, and deep anxiety regarding the future, however, this is only the first layer of the students’ dread. Dark figures rule the school, placing students in chains and torture devices while encouraging their worst fears and anxieties. Pleas for mercy go ignored or unnoticed as students attend their classes as normal. Although the protagonist slowly opens his eyes to the horrors around him, he awakes to a fate worse than he could have imagined.
Writing/Story
The idea that high school is horrible is not new. However, Fonseca’s ideas in Shadowplay take this idea to a grim and macabre place, reminiscent of Pink Floyd’s The Wall. The book offers a wide-ranging horror showcase right from the first chapter, ranging from purely psychological, to body horror, to Lovecraftian, and even slasher and cosmic. Starting the comic, our protagonist is just another cog in the machine, simply unable to see the obvious atrocities unfolding around him along with his fellow students. As he navigates this twisted landscape, he slowly begins to break free of the psychological chains around him, only to have physical ones put on.
Later in the comic, as truths are revealed and we learn more about the backstory and the very compelling secondary protagonists, it’s clear to see Fonseca’s other passions besides horror come to fruition. One of these is music, which is how the protagonist best communicates, as he seems to have some form of Synesthesia, which causes him to see music as colors. The music influences the story, motivates the main character, and allows the latter half of the story to differentiate itself from the first very distinctively, as it introduces color into the comic, figuratively and literally. Fonseca has also composed and released a music score for this very comic, which I highly recommend listening to as you read.
While the dialogue, especially in longer conversations, can sometimes feel a bit clunky and expositional, there is no lack of heart in creativity and vision. The horror, the characters’ journeys, and the ideals that motivate them, all feel well thought out and complement each other.
Art Direction
It would be easy to keep this section short and sweet and simply say that Fonseca’s art is amazing. The 400+ page novel bides its time well when it comes to color. Allowing for no more than simple thematic splashes here and there. When it does show up however it is almost like an explosion. It feels powerful and bright and brings a sense of hope along with it. It becomes clear that the lack of color earlier in the story wasn’t simply a thematic choice, but literally stolen from their world, and the more they get of color, the closer they are to breaking free.
When diving into the backstories, the contrast between their current world and their past becomes abundantly clear due to the use of color alone. These are also the moments in which the lettering is showcased a bit more, as it remains mostly constant for the start of the issue. The shift in lettering happens subtly throughout the comic, as in the first couple of acts the ‘sounds’ are almost muted. Things that in many comics would warrant bold impact frames, bright lettering, and other actions of the like are left simply as that. No added action or onomatopoeia is shown, though this feels intentional as to imply, that not only has the color been stolen from the character’s world, but even sounds. As the comic begins to progress it is fascinating to see characters begin to be able to emote more through the lettering.
The art style itself pivots rapidly in the story from “that’s the most horrific thing I’ve ever seen” to “that’s adorable” in a couple of pages, yet never feels like it detaches from the story. As the story begins to reach its conclusion and Fonseca allows more use of color it’s hard not to be impressed by how well every artistic choice comes together like a symphony. Fonseca also doesn’t shy away from putting the horror well on display with some deeply unsettling scenes scattered throughout. Some of the best page spreads in this series came in the form of abundantly dark scenes.
Verdict
Shadowplay may be Fonseca’s first foray into horror novels, but he writes it like a seasoned pro. The concept, the monsters, the yearning for freedom and escape, the conflicts, and the fleeting hope, make a true horror story and he has them here in spades. All of that is accompanied by jaw-dropping art and masterful use of color (and an even more masterful non-use of color) making Shadowplay an absolute must-read. 400+ pages feel short, and I cannot wait for volume 2.
Absolute Superman #4, by writer Jason Aaron, artist Rafa Sandoval, colorist Ulises Arreola, and letterer Becca Carey, is a much needed change of pace for this new Superman’s supporting cast of characters. Readers get to see how the people he has come into contact with view him this time around. Rather than exploring his psyche, we spend some time with the people he’s affected, which is just as important to Superman as anything else.
Superman doesn’t appear much in the issue. It starts off with Lois Lane interviewing a few of the people the hero has helped, and feeling their disdain towards her and the Lazarus company. They talk about how Superman has changed their lives. Lois leaves, and then goes to discipline a violent Peacekeeper. She takes a call from her father where he says that she’s making a mistake trying to talk to Superman. Lois goes into town anyway, where she’s met with this universe’s Omega Men.
Lois Lane interviews those who have come into contact with Superman
WRITING
Aaron shifts gears a little here. The past few issues have been setting up Superman himself as well as his background, while this one shakes it up. We spend zero time on Krypton, with Kal hardly even appearing in this one. We instead spend most of our time with Lois Lane, which was a really smart move on Aaron’s end. We haven’t explored her much, so this issue makes up for that. He also uses her as a way of showing us the regular world in the aftermath of our hero. She’s on the ground, she stays, and she tries to talk to people. She’s basically the opposite of everything Kal has been up until this point. She works for the enemy, but she wants to learn. She’s becoming a very interesting character.
This issue also introduces a few new characters. The rogue Peacekeeper from earlier is Christopher Smith, the Peacemaker fans know from the main DCU. He’s seen as an uncontrollable killing machine, one with some clear problems affecting his mental state. He’s not well, and he can lose himself in his rage. We also have the new Omega Men. They seem to be a peacekeeping militia with a few familiar faces and some new tech. We don’t know exactly what they want yet, but they’ve established themselves as wanting nothing to do with Lazarus. That being said, we don’t know how they align with Superman either. There’s a lot of pieces in play, and Aaron’s handling of them is smooth and concise. He asks the reader what we should think of this Superman as well.
Lois fights a Peacekeeper
ART
This issue’s art is pretty in line with the rest of the book so far. There isn’t a whole lot of action in this issue, so Sandoval really allows himself to get a feel for each of these characters. It’s the best some of his designs have looked so far. Superman’s suit especially is a breath of fresh air. The cape looks full of personality and the suit is looking really consistent on every page it’s in.
Sandoval’s paneling is really satisfying. Nearly every Superman appearance is displayed as mysterious yet powerful. He’s shrouded in the red of his cape often, but when he’s in full view, he stands tall and with a purpose. With Lois, her physicality feels really refined. We know more about her through how she stands and reacts depending on who she’s talking to. She’s seen as almost timid when speaking to her father, but doesn’t back down and still stands tall. She’s a confident woman, but is unsure of what she’s doing now. Sandoval presents that to us beautifully.
Lois walks away from the fight
COLORS
This issue has some really beautiful backgrounds. Arreola colors the foreground of the panels well, but he really excels with the backgrounds here. The colors mix so beautifully and the way they reflect off the characters is amazing. There’s one panel where the moon gleams on a purple and blue sky and that mixes really well into Superman standing in the foreground with his red eyes piercing through. everything blends together really nicely, especially Kal’s cape as he finally enters later in this issue. The massive red cape fills the panel with a shaded silhouette of Superman present in the middle of it. It’s really striking work.
Lois once again talks to survivors
LETTERS
The lettering in this issue is really detailed. When Lois speaks to her father early in the issue, the bubbles coming from the phone have this sort of glitch effect to them that adds a nice touch. Later, when Christopher Smith talks to a mysterious character in the middle of the issue, his speech bubbles aren’t what you’d expect. Rather than being your typical bubbles, they’re presented as boxes that hover over Smith’s head. Like the mysterious character is influencing him, as he knows that Smith is easily manipulated. It’s a really nice touch from Carey that adds some more depth to that character.
Lois calls her father
CONCLUSION
This issue wasn’t what you’d expect, but was incredibly necessary. It provided us with the views of some minor characters as well as the public’s general view of this new Superman. It told us so much about the character without him even directly being there. Aaron, Sandoval, Arreola, and Carey all capture the magic of Superman here through that. Despite this Kal not being the one we’re familiar with, readers are beginning to learn about him and to grow fond of him. The entire team passes with flying colors on that.
MAGIK #2 hits your local comic book store on February 12th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: Magik’s hunt for the Liminal Seals takes her and Cal deep into the Tokyo underground. But who is watching Illyana from backstage? And has Cal teamed up with Earth’s best chance against the demon invasion or its prophesized leader?
The issue is by writer Ashley Allen and artist Germán Peralta, with colors by Arthur Hesli, and letters by Ariana Maher. The main cover is by J. Scott Campbell and Tanya Lehoux.
Check out our MAGIK #2 preview below:
Are you picking up MAGIK #2 next week? Sound off in the comments!
NAMOR #7 hits your local comic book store on February 5th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: The dark secrets of Atlantis laid bare! While World War Sea rages in the deep, Namor learns the dark truth behind the original sinking of Atlantis, a revelation that will forever change the course of the undersea realms!
The issue is by writer Jason Aaron and artists Paul Davidson & Alex Lins, with colors by Neeraj Menon, and letters by Joe Caramagna. The main cover is by Alexander Lozano.
From comics legend Mike Mignola comes a new graphic novel full of folklore and myth in Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown. Featuring long-time collaborators Dave Stewart on color art and Clem Robins on lettering, Bowling With Corpses is exactly the kind of mysterious and clever romp fans of Mignola’s work would expect. With sharp, humorous writing and Mignola’s signature visual style, this is a must-read for fans of Hellboy or comics in general.
“New folklore-inspired tales abound in this new anthology of fantasy stories written and drawn Hellboy creator Mike Mignola. From a search for the beating heart of a long-dead sorcerer, to a pirate girl who makes a deal with the devil, to the titular boy who wins a grim prize in a game with some undead interlopers, and more.”
Writing & Plot
Mike Mignola’s signature blend of folklore, myth, and witty humor all collide once more for Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown. For this new world of magic and monsters, Mignola takes readers on a tour of different tales with different lessons, but all with his now iconic sense of mystery. The first story, Bowling With Corpses, takes us to do just that – while also setting up the tone and worldbuilding for Mignola’s new creation. Every story offers a unique sort of tale while bolstering this new mythology and promising more in the future. Several of the tales in this volume, like any great piece of folklore, end in a way that basically says “we haven’t seen the last of them.” Mignola is still a master at pacing and direction, which is why his more wordy panels and pages still flow so well. There are pages of characters talking about the many gods, lands, and legends this world has to offer. While it can feel like rambling, the way these sequences are constructed and paced makes them feel like a rabbit hole to fall down rather than just exposition. Of course, Mignola still knows when *not* to write as well, and his ingenious sequential direction frequently steps in to bolster the storytelling. Mignola’s sense of humor is on display in Bowling With Corpses as well, with plenty of delightfully funny pieces of dialogue interspersed to break up the mystery and add whimsy to the story. All in all, this is exactly the kind of graphic novel fans of Mignola’s work would be delighted by in terms of its story crafting.
Art Direction
Mike Mignola’s unmistakable visual work is on full display here in Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown. From his iconic approach to character design, to his atmospherically rich inking, and his expert sequential direction, the master is still firing on all cylinders. Mignola is able to swing from moments of macabre delight and whimsy wo those of genuine dread and immense mystery. This is all due to how dynamic his visual approach really is. The strange joy in watching a boy bowl with some corpses for a promise of treasure, or farm animals comment on their place in a tale of mythic heroes, is just pure comics greatness in the simplest ways. Mignola’s manner of playing with timing for both structural and comedic effect is a constant treat, as he utilizes the comics medium to demonstrate the kinds of effects that can only be captured in said medium. Joining him are his two most faithful collaborators, Dave Stewart and Clem Robins. Stewart’s color art has always filled out Mignola’s worlds with his dark, flat palette completing the atmospheric tones of this new universe. Clem Robins’s lettering is the perfect finishing touch for the reading experience. His dialogue fonts are great of course, but it’s his iconic SFX work and the detailed touches on specific panel moments – like exclamation points above a character – that really set his work apart. As phenomenal as Mignola is, his work just wouldn’t feel complete at this point without the efforts of his collaborators. Overall, Bowling With Corpses is yet another astonishingly stellar piece of visual storytelling from some of the greatest to ever do it.
Verdict
Bowling With Corpses & Other Strange Tales from Lands Unknown is yet another stellar entry in the Mignola library. The Hellboy creator’s iconic style of mystical yet simplistic writing takes readers on a journey into a new land of gods, monsters, and adventurers with all the wonder and humor we expect from a modern legend. Mignola’s art, completed by Dave Stewart’s colors, is still a joy to experience and shows off just what the medium is capable of in the hands of a practiced master. Be sure to grab Bowling With Corpses from your local comic shop today!
Fan-favorite creative duo Matthew Rosenberg and Stefano Landini (The Punisher War Machine vol.2) are bringing a brand-new creator-owned series, We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us, to Image Comics. I had the chance to talk to Matt about the book and I am beyond excited. Like all his books, it’s an amazing concept filtered through relatable characters. Read our chat below and make sure you pick up We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us when it debuts in March.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Matt, for those folks who haven’t heard about or had the pleasure to read the first issue of We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us, what’s your elevator pitch for it?
Matthew Rosenberg: We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us is both a spy-fi love letter and a tongue-in-cheek satire of the over-the-top romanticism of the 60’s and 70’s spy thrillers like James Bond. But we’re approaching the story from a different angle, instead of being about the super macho spy and the devious villains he fights, it is about the teenage daughter of one those villains whose life becomes collateral damage in their games of global domination. And then I throw in a lot of the stuff I like to talk about like family, revenge, growing up, and some robots for good measure. When all is said and done the recipe is probably equal parts Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Leon: The Professional, Diabolik, and Paper Moon. But that’s really pretentious so I’d just say it’s about a foul-mouthed kid and her robot bodyguard on their quest to kill a very powerful man.
MFR: You’re no stranger to revenge stories, having written The Punisher for many issues. What about revenge stories makes them so appealing to read, and in your case, to write?
MR: The best motivators in all of fiction, and maybe all of life too, are love and revenge. So when you can do a revenge story that is also about love? How can you pass that up. For me, writing revenge is really cathartic. It’s something we all fantasize about doing in both little ways and grandiose ones. So when I get to dig in and explore both the gratification aspect of it, but also the moral consequences, it really is the kind of story that I feel like I’m learning about myself as I go. And hopefully, that leads to me saying something worth hearing.
MFR: Did anything other story or genre in particular inspire this series?
MR: Yeah, with all of my stuff I try to really wear my heart on my sleeve. I get why people obscure their influences and inspiration. It’s romantic to think ideas sprung forth from nothing. But I am a big story nerd so it feels really disingenuous to me to try and play the instructable wizard. Obviously, a lot of spy movies were a big influence, Connery and Moore era Bond, but also the more modern stuff- Bourne, Mission: Impossible. But also things like John le Carré and Graham Greene for their more grounded approach. Rucka’s Queen & Country, Brubaker and Epting’s Velvet, and Millar and Gibbons’ Secret Service. But we’re also pulling a lot from other places, coming-of-age stories like La Haine and Heathers, buddy road trip stories like Midnight Run, Nice Guys, and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And then at its heart, the book is about family too. So stuff like Paper Moon, The Royal Tenenbaums, and To Kill A Mockingbird were all sort of guiding lights.
MFR: Is this a story you’ve been cooking up for a long time? When did this idea first hit you? And how did the project come together?
MR: In 2020 Stefano and I were supposed to do a series at Marvel, but the pandemic hit and everyone was told pencils down and the book was paused. When things were unpaused we were no longer on the book that we had been so excited about. So Stefano actually approached me about us doing a creator-owned book together and I was really into the idea. He sent me some drawings of this robot character that he’d been playing around with and I just fell in love with the design. From there I built a whole world for the robot to live in. Some of it was born at that moment, some of it is stuff that’s been in my head for years. I tend to really focus on a few themes and dig deep into them, and sometimes that spills over into the next book. So in some ways this book is in conversation with my other titles We Can Never Go Home, 4 Kids Walk Into A Bank, and What’s The Furthest Place From Here?. They aren’t literally connected but I think there is a thematic throughline as I reassess things I’ve said, if that makes sense.
MFR: I love how you can come up with these evocative, long titles that fit the books perfectly. What’s your secret to this?
MR: I start with a title that is way too long and make everyone mad and then I cut and cut until they just kind of ignore me.
MFR: Like so much of your work, you have this amazing ability to come up with insane high concepts, yet ground them in ways that connect the characters with readers. How the hell do you pull off that magic trick?
MR: I don’t think I’m exactly weird in this, but I also have talked to enough of my peers about process to know it’s not how everyone works. I start with characters and relationships and build the world and the story up from there, and not vice versa. I think a lot of what we forget in comics, especially in the days of IP farming publishers and people chasing the Hollywood bag, is that what makes people come back every month and spend $4 or $5 on a story is caring about the characters. That goes back before Homer and Aesop. Although I don’t know how much they charged per issue. Character is at the heart of what we’ve always done. It’s cool if you have an awesome idea for a time travel story about Hamlet or figured out how to do John Wick in space, but if I don’t give a fuck about Cyborg Hamlet or Martian John Wick as people then none of that matters.
MFR: You’re teaming up again with artist Stefano Landini, who you worked with on The Punisher. What made you choose Stefano as the artist for this book?
MR: I mean, he chose me as the writer. But yeah, I love Stefano. We worked on
The Punisher and those are some of my favorite issues in the run. And then we did a Grifter story at DC that was great. I think he is one of the best storytellers I’ve ever worked with. He knows how to handle action and acting equally, and he can go small or go big. There is just an ease to his storytelling that makes it a joy because you know you can try anything. I hope more people fall in love with him from this book.WTEDWU 01 01 (1)
MFR: Another aspect of the art that stood out for me was the coloring. Roman Titov just kills it. What made you choose them for the book?
(NOTE: Roman and Jason Wordie split coloring duty on the book. It’s all a bit confusing.)
MR: Roman was coloring my other book What’s The Furthest Place From Here? for a long time and I just love the imaginative simplicity of it. Big, gorgeous colors that work in service to the lines but never overpower them. Unfortunately Roman had to take a big gig outside comics. We talked about it and I’m happy for him and was sad that we’d probably lose his colors. But the great Jason Wordie stepped in to take over. When I told Jason he can redo everything so it’s only his work, he looked over what Roman did and appreciated it as much as I do. So he suggested maybe taking Roman’s work and building off of it, and that’s sort of how the final colors came together. It really is everyone sort of building on top of each other in a cool way and I can see clearly this influence of Roman’s in Jason’s work, and I can see where Jason is making it his own completely and it’s very fun to watch.
MFR: And of course you once again have Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou doing the lettering. What made him the right choice for the project?
MR: He’s the best letterer in comics.
MFR: What do you hope is the final takeaway readers will have about We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us?
MR: I hope it makes them laugh, and yell in joy and anger, and I hope it makes them cry. All of us are looking for ways to feel numb these days, and art can be great for that. But that’s not what we’re trying to do. Be vulnerable. Feel things here. Let a foul-mouthed little girl who kills people and her robot friend into your heart. We promise not to break too much stuff.
MFR: Any final words for our readers?
MR: I don’t know, man. I write comic books. Practice caring about all the people you’ll never meet. Don’t fuck up
We’re Taking Everyone Down With Us is out from Image Comics on Wednesday, March 26.
From Image Comics, with a story by writer AJ Lieberman (Martian Manhunter,Batman: Gotham Knights, Harley Quinn), artist Mike Henderson (Dead Man Logan, Daredevil, Cable: Love & Chrome), and colorist/letterer Iñaki Azpiazu (Eki, Cruel Kingdom, Proof) comes a highly anticipated neo-noir series, The Hive.
Set in the homeland of strange, confusing, and bizarre (a.k.a. my home state of Florida), The Hive follows ex-members of a criminal organization known as, you guessed it, The Hive. Although our protagonists possess a strange power that allows them to command others through direct commands, they quickly discover that no one leaves the Queen Bee without getting stung.
Writing/Story
The first issue of The Hive starts with a bang, as the readers are thrown headfirst into a world of violence, crime, sex, and bees. Lots and lots of bees. Although quite a lot happens in the opening chapter of this tale, Lieberman does a great job of dividing the many characters and their portions into digestible bite-sized pieces, providing enough exposition to allow for a glimpse into their characters and relationships, without revealing much of their story. The most gripping of these characters is the Queen Bee herself, Shae, who is the source of all the fear and plotlines in this first issue. A calm but cruel monarch, no one in the story is unaffected by her presence and control. As a character, she seems to exist outside of the chaos of the first issue, yet paradoxically seems to control all outcomes just the same.
The highlight in the writing was likely the small preambles before the action begins or resumes at various points in the comic. The conversations in those moments feel real and natural, sometimes uninvolved with their violent world. There is a world of characterization that comes from the characters’ actions and lines, unrelated to their main goals and objectives, which gives these people a real personality within moments of introducing them.
Art Direction
Henderson’s art in this first issue perfectly complements the story choices and the chaos within the narrative. No member of The Hive seems to be a stranger to multitasking, so every conversation is usually accompanied by many ongoing visual actions, whether that be crime, sex, or intense showdowns. It doesn’t matter—there is no lack of happenings in their world. Henderson also uses framing and two-page spreads very well, with some scenes giving an intended suffocating feeling, only to be immediately contrasted by a similar environment, yet with a complete change in dynamics through panel density alone.
While sex and crime are used copiously throughout the comic, each character is represented differently in those moments through a layered use of shadows and colors—courtesy of Azpiazu—giving a profound sense of characterization and personality without overstating. This is exemplified directly in sex scenes, with certain characters being cloaked in shadows, face covered, with small panels showcasing hidden views of the act, as if in shame of it. Yet, the following scenes display a similar situation like a badge of honor, with bright bold colors showing the characters involved, displaying them proudly as their entire bodies face the reader. The lettering is also important to note here, as it can be very understated as the comic begins, with traditional textboxes being used for most of the first half. However, as the characters’ powers begin to be showcased and the action amps up, Azpiazu shows his hand and delivers some extremely impactful impact frames and diverse speech bubbles.
Verdict
The Hive #1 stellarly sticks to its bee motif, presenting a variety of “workers,” each with their own story, none of whom are as important as their Queen. While the first issue only leaves the reader with questions, there is no lack of action or exposition, allowing an enthralling mystery to unfold.
WEST COAST AVENGERS #3 hits your local comic book store on January 29th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: As a second Ultron appears and declares himself leader of a terrifying new religion, Iron Man and War Machine reveal at last how their Ultron became a hero!
The issue is by writer Gerry Duggan and artist Danny Kim, with colors by Arthur Hesli, and letters by Joe Caramagna. The main cover is by Ben Harvey.
Check out our WEST COAST AVENGERS #3 preview below:
Are you reading WEST COAST AVENGERS? Sound off in the comments!
