BUNNY MASK: THE HOLLOW INSIDE hits your local comic book store July 26th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive twenty four-page preview for you.
About the trade paperback: Her footfalls don’t exist. She leaves no marks. Her eyes are a white abyss. Her name is Bunny Mask, and she’s free from her cave and moving through the city, searching for sickness and enacting her own unfathomable sense of justice. Can Tyler Severin control her? Does he want to? The answers are still hidden, but what’s clear is that Bunny Mask is back to grab you by your eyeteeth, and never let go.
Writer Paul Tobin (MY DATE WITH MONSTERS, Colder) and artist Andrea Mutti (MANIAC OF NEW YORK, Hellblazer) have unleashed an eons old legend upon an unsuspecting world – one that’ll make your most horrific nightmare feel like a walk in the park!
Volume two contains the entirety of The Hollow Inside, issues #1-4, as well as the 2021 Free Comic Book Day issue, BUNNY MASK TALES.
The series is by writer Paul Tobin and artist Andrea Mutti, with letters by Taylor Esposito. The main cover is by Mutti and Colleen Coover.
Check out our BUNNY MASK: THE HOLLOW INSIDE preview below:
Are you a fan of AfterShock’s BUNNY MASK? Sound off in the comments!
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #4 hits your local comic book store on July 19th but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you!
About the issue: Rocket Raccoon is back…and he’s not happy to see the Guardians of the Galaxy! Where has he been all this time? What’s happened to him? Get ready for a Rocket Raccoon you’ve never seen before!
The issue is by writers Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing, and artist Kev Walker, with colors by Matt Hollingsworth, and letters by Cory Petit. The main cover is by Marco Checchetto.
Check out the GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY #4 preview below:
Are you reading GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY? Sound off in the comments!
MURDER INC.: JAGGER ROSE #3 hits your local comic book store on July 12, but thnaks to Dark Horse Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for our readers. The book is written by Brian Michael Bendis with art by Avon Oeming, and Taki Soma drops the colors.
About the series: From the creators of the Eisner-award-winning, bestselling POWERS comes brand-new crime fiction like you’ve never seen before. Discover a world in which the five families of organized crime never lost their stranglehold on the United States. Now, half the country is a smorgasbord of sex and sin ruled by loyalty and “family values” as the rest of the world looks on in awe, rage, or jealousy. Join us as newly “made” Valentine Gallo and Jagger Rose rise through the ranks of the notorious Bonavese family.
Jagger has already proven herself one of the greatest assassins of all time and now THE POPE has made her an offer that could upset the delicate balance of world power. Is it an offer she can’t refuse? This and more shocking secrets will be revealed in this all new, gorgeously-illustrated chapter of MURDER INC.
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
It has been a quiet week for me, especially in the comic reading department. A delivery of new books at the end of last week means I have some new things on my table, and I’m already a good chunk into Titan Publishing’s Planet of the Apes Omnibus 4. I’ve also started on Monsters: A Fan Dilemma by Clair Dederer, which is proving to be intriguing and I will definitely be discussing alongside some comics in a few weeks.
On the comics front, I started the week with B.P.R.D. Vampire from Dark Horse Comics. This five issue mini-series is part of the Hellboy universe and is set when the red demon is a child. Hellboy himself features only in passing, but Professor Bruttenholm’s role in the comic allows Mike Mignola to explore the seeds of the relationship that the professor and Hellboy eventually have.
B.P.R.D. Vampire #1 Credit: Dark Horse Comics
In Vampire, Simon Anders, an agent in the B.P.R.D. journeys to Czechoslovakia on the trail of vampire legends, searching for an answer to dreams that plague him. The comic is a sequel to the B.P.R.D. 1947 series from three years earlier and explores the consequences of that story, at least for one of the characters. It is supernatural horror at its best. Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon’s artwork is exquisite from the opening splash page of a bloodied hand trailing through black water, to the complex yet quaint scene setting location panels. The character design falls just short of caricature but this is a part of Ba and Moon’s theatrical style. Their work is dynamic and engaging, bordering on expressionistic in places, and this really brings out the magical essence of the story.
This narrative features vampires, witches, Gods, and massacres. It also has strong characters who evolve throughout the five issues. The villains and the supporting cast are just as important as the central protagonist and Mignola gives them the attention they deserve. In the end, two of the characters clash but not in a grand violent fight sequence, instead arguing reason with each other. The human world and the supernatural world collide and attempt to find balance, as is often the way in the Hellboy universe. Anders’ fate is left open but the experience has touched Professor Bruttenholm and the parent/child bonding between him and Hellboy begins to make a little more sense.
B.P..R.D. Vampire #2-5 Credit: Dark Horse Comics
I adore this mini-series. The artwork is superb and the composition in the panels with the layout design is theatrical and delightful. Every movement, every transition, has been clearly thought through. Dave Stewart’s color work adds emphasis to the pages like punctuation in a novel. It creates atmosphere and highlights location changes. The colors are so important in this comic, without them so much of the magic would be lost.
And finally, Clem Robins’ lettering suits the artistic style brilliantly. In a comic that has art with such a visual impact, the lettering can easily disappear into the background, and that is the beauty of Robins’ work here. The reader doesn’t notice the lettering creeping in on page 6, which is the first page to contain any speech or text. Your head is full of the sounds of nature from the desolate opening images and the first speech balloon, with the letter “s” repeated, fits naturally into the visuals we have already seen. That first balloon is also the only time that the speech crosses over the panel borders and should stick out like a sore thumb, but it doesn’t. The large balloon with its flicked tail and short line of text through the middle, exactly at the point where the panel gutter would be, matches the thematic visuals of this comic perfectly.
The entire five-issue run is impressive. I’m not a particularly big fan of Hellboy, but I can’t fault comics like this.
Shock Vol 2 Credit: AfterShock Comics
Shock Volume 2 is a collection of short stories published by AfterShock Comics. The talent on display in this over sized, hardback anthology is impressive — Jim Starlin, Garth Ennis, Marguerite Bennett, Jill Thompson, Phil Hester, and Ray Fawkes to name just a few. There are 18 stories in total, all different genres and styles, and each with a twist at the end. It’s kind of like the comic book version of Inside No 9 or The Outer Limits.
Some of the entries, like The Handshake by Juan Doe, are fun, B-Movie type stories with obvious horror cliches, but told in a charming and entertaining manner. Others are more disturbing, like Joe Pruett and Szymon Kurdranski’s The Playground which is a black and white ghost story about a child killer returning to the scene of his crimes in an attempt to put his nightmares to rest.
The artwork on Marguerite Bennett’s The Vampiress stands out in the book as it is brash and bright. Artist Zachariah Roane uses thin, deliberate lines to etch out the characters and the scenery. They use large panels, averaging four per page, to create a sense of awe, whether it’s for moonlit landscapes or interactions between two characters. However, it is Patrizia Comino’s color work that makes the pages pop from the book. Large, flat areas of vivid color shape the characters and their surroundings. It is reminiscent of Francis Coppola’s movie Bram Stoker’s Dracula in its treatment of visual spectacle.
The Vampiress Credit: AfterShock Comics
My favorite stories in this collection are the simple ones, the straightforward ones that tease the reader with an established horror trope — tales like I’m Not Afraid by Jill Thompson. This is one of those stories that you tell around a campfire. A simple set up with a not unexpected twist but it is the execution that makes the comic so appealing. The artwork is gray-scale with no color and the shadows are dark gray instead of black. The combination of white gutters and no panel borders creates a dream like quality to the few pages which is quickly subverted in the final panel on page two ready for the reveal on the final page where the shadows get darker and the light contrast becomes starker. Jill Thompson has designed a horrendous creature that would have fitted perfectly into my discussion on monsters in a previous week. It’s all teeth and bony limbs.
Overall, Shock Volume 2 is a wonderful read. Some of the stories read like introductions to ongoing series (and I believe that is the case for some of them) but the ones that work the best are short and to the point. Over the years, AfterShock Comics have published some of my favorite comics. Series like Babyteeth, Stronghold, Jackpot, and one of my all time favorites Undone by Blood, have all been exceptional reads that have challenged particular genres and tested the limits of comic book storytelling. This anthology is more of that kind of commitment to comics and the narratives that the creators want to tell. What’s more is that the production of the book, in its over-sized format, is immaculate. It sits on the shelf, enticing people to pick it up and flick through it. Then, once it is in your hands, it pulls you in until you have read each and every story. It is a shame that they haven’t published more in this format.
I’m Not Afraid by Jill Thompson Credit: AfterShock Comics
And ending the week, I looked at another vampire title: 30 Days of Night issue 1. The movie version is magnificent, one of the best vampire movies ever made and, in my opinion, one of the best comic book adaptations because it takes the essence of the comic and creates a cinematic equivalent without being obsessed with fidelity to the source material. It is also a movie I will watch whenever I come across it on TV no matter how long it has been on… which is what happened this week. I caught it from the point where the vampire hoard are trying to coax the humans from their hiding places by using live bait; humans they have captured just to send down the main street in floods of petrified tears.
The film is brutal, and so is the comic that spawned it. Steve Niles captures the claustrophobic horror of being trapped, not only in confined places but also within a location, cut off from the world in every conceivable way. Imagine sitting in your home, unable to leave, knowing that death is coming to your door? In the first issue Niles demonstrates the brutality of the vampire’s, demonstrating the threat in the clearest and most violent way possible. These aren’t the types of vampire that jump out of bushes and give you a jump scare ala Buffy’s foes, or the twinkly love struck teenagers of Twilight. No, these vampires tear off heads and feed on the spurting fountains of blood. These vampires are more like the blood lusting creatures from the movie Vamp starring Grace Jones. However, there is an organization to their feeding frenzy, a conspiratorial nature to their existence which is more befitting of the X-Files than the hidden-in-dusty-castles myths from tales such as Dracula.
30 Days of Night #1 Credit: IDW Publishing
Although the story is packed with horror and moves at a pace that never allows boredom to settle in, it is fairly straightforward. The real reason that this comic has become a classic, and caught the eye of Sam Raimi leading to the movie version, is the visual interpretation of the narrative by artist Ben Templesmith. The artwork here is outstanding. Templesmith draws atmospheres and then scratches out locations and characters in hair thin lines. The characters shift from detailed, emotive figures with elaborately drawn faces to smudges with only the implications of features. If it’s fair to describe the work in Vampire (above) as verging on expressionistic, then some of Templesmith’s art crosses over into abstract expressionism. If you were to remove the characters from the page, you would be left with the impression of a world soaked in terror. The very first page is a prime example because it contains no characters, instead plumbing gray clouds slowly reveal dark stains that could be dwellings and only the caption box confirms this.
30 Days of Night originally came out in 2002 as a three issue mini-series and has spawned a string of sequels over the years written and illustrated by different people. Steve Niles even wrote a rebooted version of the story, fleshing out the original idea and giving the narrative a twist or two. The concept endures because it plays on a natural, identifiable terror of hopelessness and being trapped. The vampires are visual representations of all predators, animal or human, and illustrate how overwhelming forces can crush spirits and hopes even before any personal attack happens.
We fear the oncoming storm.
So, that’s my week in comics. Five issues of Vampire, a horror anthology, and issue one of 30 Days of Night. Comics numbered 182 to 188 ticked off. Next week we might find something meatier, but Wimbledon is on, the only sporting event that I really make an effort to watch, so I might not have time for intense reading. Any suggestions for comics that might complement a week of tennis? Let me know below.
GRAMMATON PUNCH #5 hits the internet July 11th, but thanks to Comixology Originals, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you, as well as writer Miles Gunter’s five favorite classic video games!
About the series: Season finale. If he is to acquire the Grammaton Gloves, which can banish Feeders to the After, Van must survive the horrors of a haunted house ruled by the poltergeist of a serial killing surgeon. It all comes down to this!
The series is by writer Miles Gunter and artist Briane Andan, with colors by Lee Loughridge, and letters by Taylor Esposito. The logo and book design is by Ed Dukeshire.
GRAMMATON PUNCH, along with all other Comixology Originals, is available for purchase on Comixology, and is also free for subscribers of Comixology Unlimited, Kindle Unlimited, or Amazon Prime.
Check out the GRAMMATON PUNCH #5 preview below, and read on for Miles Gunter’s Top 5 Classic Video Games:
“The original 8-bit classic. I still have a vivid memory of seeing this for the first time at Toys R Us. Back when you had to take a ticket up to the front to pay and then go to a Hannibal Lecter style glass pen where they’d give you your game. I’m not sure how many times I’ve played through this one. Probably hundreds but it never gets old. There’s such a feeling of satisfaction when you’ve got that triple boomerang and can basically go God Mode for the rest of the game, unless you screw up and fall in Frankenstein’s dungeon, in which case it’s back to holy water, sucker! This game is so wired into my brain that whenever I’m going up a big flight of stairs I’ll start whistling the theme for when you’re climbing the stairs to Dracula’s tower for the final battle.”
“There were many quality side scroller beat ‘em ups back in the day. Double Dragon, Bad Dudes, Streets of Rage, Ninja Gaiden, etc.. but for me the apex of this style will always be Capcom’s Final Fight. The action was faster and harder and the character designs were wilder and more heavily rooted in anime and manga than we’d seen up to that point. This is a game where you got to demolish a car with your bare hands. And it very much laid the groundwork for the aesthetics of Street Fighter II which came along two years later. All of the characters had their merits, but for me, Guy (yeah..I know, real creative name) will always be my favorite.”
“Back when arcades were still a thing, you’d occasionally have larger game cabinets where you’d sit inside to play. Sinistar was a space shooter in the vein of Asteroids. A little ship on a screen flying around shooting space rocks and various alien spaceships. But the main adversary of the game was this evil looking machine head called Sinistar. When you put in a quarter to start, a booming metallic voice would announce, “I HUNGER..” As an 80s kid, you’ve been dropped off by your parents at the arcade and the possibility of getting kidnapped is a very real consideration. So right off the bat, this game made you nervous with its ominous predatory vibe. Sinistar would slowly take shape as the game progressed until he would announce, “BEWARE…I LIVE” at which point he made his grand entrance; flying onscreen rapidly while screaming at you. Like literally screaming. At this point you’d either die from fright or fire off a few bombs to damage Sinistar. If you succeeded in destroying him, he would simply respawn and the process repeated. There was a standing version of the game as well but nothing could compare to the seated version with its bordering on unsafe loud volume. They don’t make ‘em like that anymore.”
“For me, this game was the apex of the Sega Genesis 16-bit era. It was challenging but not as much as the original Shinobi which was absolutely brutal at times in a way that would anticipate games like Dark Souls. This was a cool full ninja meal without giving you a kiddie ulcer. Gorgeous design work both in the enemies and levels with cool boss fights like Godzilla’s skeleton, Spider-Man (shhh…don’t tell Marvel), Terminator, a bat-winged dude in Z Cavaricci’s (if you know, you know), and an awesome main adversary in Neo Zeed. And the soundtrack rules to this day. I bought the vinyl a few years back because that’s what GenX adults like me do at this point. The sequel Shadow Dancer is also rad as it introduced a wolf sidekick (!!!) into gameplay.”
“A big part of the arcade experience was playing with others and the four player beat ‘em up games were a blast to experience as a team whether it was with friends or strangers. While there were many great games in this style like TMNT, X-Men, and the Simpsons, this Data East cabinet was my favorite. At the time it came out in ‘91, Marvel stuff in general was entirely confined to the comics and a couple cartoons, although James Cameron was planning to make Spider-Man with Michael Biehn (still bummed this never happened). Data East leaned heavily into the comic book art style and the results were and still are, awesome. You could button mash as Captain America, Iron Man, Vision, and Hawkeye through Double Dragon-style levels featuring bosses like Juggernaut, a Sentinel, the Mandarin, and the Red Skull. It also had voices. “OHHH! I CAN’T MOVE!!”, which at the time was still a new thing in games.”
Are you reading GRAMMATON PUNCH? Sound off in the comments!
WE LIVE: AGE OF PALLADIONS Vol 2 hits your local comic book store July 19th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive twenty five-page preview for you.
About the trade paperback: Welcome back to the world of WE LIVE — to the hopeful apocalyptic world of Tala and Hototo.
Six years have passed since Salvation Day, when the Palladions emerged as the protectors of humanity, saving the five remaining Megalopolis and securing the future of the human species.
But nothing lasts forever. Death, famine and desperation lurk around the streets of Megalopolis 9. The New Nature has learned how to break the energy channels that power the Beacon, which, in turn, powers the Palladions and the city’s lifesaving shield.
Now, Hototo, along with his sister Tala, plus new friends and old, must venture into the wastelands in search of a solution, to defy the odds and live another day.
Volume one collects the entire second arc, WE LIVE: AGE OF THE PALLADIONS #1 Black, #1 White and issues #2-5.
The series is written by The Miranda Brothers with art by Inaki Miranda, colors by Eva De La Cruz, and letters by Dave Sharpe. The cover is by Inaki Miranda.
Check out our WE LIVE: AGE OF PALLADIONS Vol 2 preview below:
Have you read WE LIVE by the Miranda Brothers? Sound off in the comments!
MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #8 hits your local comic book store on July 12th but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: MILES BATTLES THE HOBGOBLIN!
SPIDER-MAN, A.K.A. MILES MORALES, has a target on his spider-symbol’d back. The most dangerous super-villains in NYC keep coming at him – hard. First RABBLE, then CLETUS KASADY and now…THE HOBGOBLIN is back and more dangerous than ever, and he’s got his glider aimed squarely at Miles! How could this get any worse for Spidey? Well…Hobgoblin might not be the ONLY thing Miles needs to worry about…
The issue is by writer Cody Ziglar and artist Federico Vicentini, with colors by Bryan Valenza, and letters by Clayton Cowles. The main cover is by Dike Ruan and Alejandro Sánchez.
This book marks the start of a new story arc for Miles — “Spun Out” featuring the Hobgoblin. Ruan and Sánchez’s cover is an homage to the iconic Amazing Spider-Man #238 cover by John Romita Jr. and his father, the late John Romita Sr.; ASM #238 marked the first appearance of Hobgoblin.
Check out the MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #8 preview below:
Are you reading MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN? Sound off in the comments!
I’ve been a huge fan of G.H.O.S.T. Agentssince its first issue. Writer/Producer Rocko Jerome, along with 20 new artists and outlaw comics icon Ken Landgraf, is making waves in independent comics by riding the Kickstarter system hard. We talked about G.H.O.S.T. Agents: Apocalyptico, a treasury-sized, newsprint-papered book called “a stunning achievement” by cartoonist/podcaster Jim Rugg. He’s currently in the last days of a Kickstarter campaign for the next installment, called G.H.O.S.T. Agents: Crimson Reckoning, which he is feverishly attempting to make successful. Here’s his take on how it’s all going.
G.H.O.S.T Agents creator/producer ROCKO JEROME
Monkeys Fighting Robots: So tell us about G.H.O.S.T. Agents. Rocko Jerome:You mean like what it’s about or how it’s made?
MFR: I’m curious to hear both. Give me plot AND process! RJ:So it’s a spy-fi, sixties, style-as-substance thing that spins out into many genres. It’s all short stories that are very episodic, but if a person commits the bandwidth to read all or a few of the stories, there’s a bigger narrative arc. I write the stories, many artists draw them. I’m monogamous to none. I sleep around. How I make it is that I spot an artist somewhere that I like and just hit them up. Great art you got there. Wanna make some money? If it’s a yes and we connect, I ask them what they wanna draw, how many pages, by when, and then I get high and write that. I always have a few of those going at a time.
MFR: And you used Kickstarter to promote these? RJ: Yeah. My partner, Eli Schwab of Cosmic Lion Productions, and I, we ran five successful G.H.O.S.T. Agents Kickstarter campaigns in 2022. Back to back to back to back to back. We’re running one right now, and it’s our most ambitious one yet. Kickstarter is a fucking miracle for people like us, man.
MFR: Kickstarter is great! How did it work so well for you? RJ:It’s one thing to just go out on a limb and print a bunch of books and try hawking the damn things at local shops, conventions, and whatever pookie-ass online setup you can finagle. It’s quite another to have this established Sherman tank of promotion with a sleek presentation that people are familiar with and a built-in imperative for people to support the thing. You see the goal, you know if it doesn’t hit the goal it won’t be made, you know if you don’t throw in and it does get made, it might be a bitch to get later. It’s all right there for you. And what people don’t tell you is that the profit margin on printing comics is sickeningly thin. A book you can sell for five bucks costs four to print if you do it in America. But a poster you can sell for ten can be printed for a buck. Buttons, stickers, shirts, shit like that, similarly loaded. And Kickstarter helps you package that in the tiers and all that. It’s normalized what we do. Seven years ago, I got my first job in advertising, and I knew Steranko had done that for a while. So I asked him for advice. He said the three big words are new, now, and free, and watch your back. I internalized that. He also said that within ten years, I’d do something really interesting, and I kinda blew him off even though it was flattering. And now I’m almost accidentally doing this shit, so I feel good remembering that.
MFR: What’s the most important thing you would like for people to know about you? RJ:It’s something that you hear a lot from people that make any art at the lowest independent levels, where we’re just kicking cans, but every bit of juice you can get from the squeeze is precious if you’re trying to get something going. Every person whose attention this thing gets, every dime, every share on social media or anywhere, all of it matters. I’m pretty shameless about getting G.H.O.S.T. Agents in front of as many people as possible and selling as many as possible in a way I likely would not be if I drew it. I’m shameless. Because all these artists trusted me to hustle for them. Everybody got paid, and that’s important to me, and I’m proud of that, but now the next thing is, I need this book seen. I look at it all the time. I show it to everybody. I fervently want this thing to succeed because I believe in it beyond any involvement I have in it. I believe in it more than I’ve ever fuckin’ believed in anything I’ve been a part of. This art deserves to thrive.
MFR: So what you are promoting now, G.H.O.S.T. Agents: Apocalyptico and the newer G.H.O.S.T. Agents: Crimson Reckoning, are old-school treasury size and newsprint books, which is a pretty bold choice. I love Apocalyptico and I’m looking forward to Crimson Reckoning. As soon as I opened the book and smelled that newsprint, I was transported to another time. Apocalyptico collects the first three issues of G.H.O.S.T. Agents that you previously did with all these artists, right? RJ:Yeah, that’s right. Or well, there are some changes to a lot of the art, particularly in coloring and stuff. I wouldn’t use the word improvements, but I wanted to add variance, so anyone who bought those previous books wouldn’t feel cheated and might still want this new thing. And I just wanted to try some new ideas out, because newsprint hits differently. Then Crimson Reckoning, that’s all new material.
GHOST Agents Apocalyptico cover. Art by Barry Tan. GHOST Agents title and logo by Sam J. Royale
MFR: Those previous issues, are they still available? RJ: Nope! We printed about as many as we sold and gave the rest of the money to the artists.
MFR: Isn’t the idea of Kickstarter to actually kickstart a project so people can get it later? RJ:I mean, yeah. I guess. We didn’t do that. If you see something that says G.H.O.S.T. Agents on it and you want it, guess you better buy it, huh?
MFR: What separates you from your peers? RJ:I feel like comic writers at the level I’m at, which is, like, barely a comic book writer, they have some big concept in their head, and they maybe are really precious about it. And the way they think of the art is that it’s something they’re gonna go hire. I’m not seeing it that way. I want the artists to soar. I’m like, draw something weird. Draw your nightmares. Push the medium hard. Challenge the perceptions of what a comic book can be.
MFR: finally, what do you wish more people understood about you? RJ:That if this thing works, in five years, I don’t want to be able to afford any of the guys in this book I’m pushing now. I want them all to have made it really big and be swinging hard in the business on their terms. And when that happens, I’ll be doing books with people who will be popping like that in ten years. And I also want everyone to know they can go to GHOSTagents.net and order this badass book that will help this concept keep thriving.
The premise is simple: read one comic every day for the entire year. It seems like a simple task but there is no way that I read 365 comics last year, even if you count the individual issues in collections. So, this year, I am committing myself to this reading challenge, in the hope that I can broaden my reading habits and fully engage with my favorite hobby again.
This week I thought I would catch up on some new (or, at least, fairly new) comics. Issues that may still even be on the shelf of any good comic shop. As you’ll discover this did not really go to plan.
I have no real excuse; I can’t even blame the new series of The Witcher, because that was not out until Thursday. I suppose, it is what it is. Funny how this always happens when I try to read new comics, almost like my brain has an aversion to new and shiny.
Ultimate Invasion #1 Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 175: Ultimate Invasion #1
On paper, this should be a surefire success, and (judging from the reviews on the internet) it seems to have hit all the right spots for most people. But it just didn’t do it for me. Jonathan Hickman has written a very Hickman-like script with an overload of information, and Bryan Hitch’s artwork is the epitome of modern superhero comics. However, that is the problem with this comic: it’s just another superhero comic with nothing that is really outstanding. It may have something to do with my lack of knowledge (or interest) in the Ultimate Universe. For me, this comic is about a group of people breaking out an evil version of Reed Richards (it took a while for that to become apparent), who then goes home much to the chagrin of the other superheroes.
Insert shrugging emoji here.
It is clear this comic is not for me. I am a massive fan of Hickman and love most of his independent comics. Decorum was one of the best comics to come out in the last five years. It was innovative, challenging, and entertaining. The writing and artwork weren’t compromised by the physical nature of the monthly comic; instead, it was a visual spectacle that engaged and delighted on every page. Ultimate Invasion in comparison lacks innovation and experimentation. It is a wonderful superhero comic that will appeal to people who follow Marvel, and the Ultimate Universe, closely. To anyone else, there is little on offer.
Dead Romans #4 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 176: Dead Romans #4
I don’t have much to say about this. I am still loving it. The combination of gritty writing and outstanding artwork makes it a compelling read, issue after issue. See previous posts for what I have said about this comic in the past: nothing has changed.
I’ve really only added it here to highlight its existence and recommend people go buy it.
Go buy it!
Quantum #2 Credit: Time Bomb Comics
Comic Number 177: Quantum #2
The second issue of this new sci-fi anthology is as good as the first. Some of the stories are blossoming like magnificent flowers, opening up to display depth and complexity with fascinating characters and engaging narratives. Westernoir by Dave West and Gary Crutchley, and Whatever Happened to the World’s Fastest Man?, also by West with Marleen Starkesfield Lowe, are the best of the bunch. They both have strong narratives with a clear purpose and artwork that suits the tone of the story.
The new edition to the line up, Death & Taxes by Katie Cunningham, Tim Newell, John Charles, and Rob Jones is an interesting murder mystery story involving the search for immortality and artificial people. With only six pages to play with, it contains a surprisingly solid introduction to the central character and the world she inhibits. This is achieved through a fair amount of exposition hidden within the caption boxes and speech balloons. The world building is layered into the narrative seamlessly with the strong, noir artwork distracting for an overload of information. It has a gothic horror feel to it with its dark atmospheric rooms, scientific paraphernalia, and brooding mansion house. There’s a butler, a dead scientist, and a knife in a brain. I am looking forward to more from this story, and the creators behind it.
I am not a fan of everything in this comic, however. For example, the two comic strips The Further Adventures of Schrodinger’s Cat and Norton the Dragon have basically the same punchline, but there is more than enough to keep me interested. And the stories I’m not a fan of are still well written and illustrated comics that will definitely appeal to other people.
Brynmore #1 Credit: IDW Publishing
Comic Number 178: Brynmore #1
Steve Niles’ new comic for IDW Publishing is a slow-burning, gothic horror with gorgeous artwork by Damien Worm. Each page has a rustic and nostalgic feel to it, but is tainted either by the narrative, with occasions of unexpected violence, or more subtly with encroaching color washes of red or black. As the protagonist begins to build himself a new life, there is an approaching black cloud, threatening the peacefulness of his new start.
I am a fan of Steve Niles. As a writer, he gets to grips with the characters in his stories, making the narrative about them and not the horrors that often engulf the world around them. This first issue of Brynmore is a perfect example of Niles’ work because, with the exception of the final page, this comic is entirely about Mark Turner and his mission to start again, rebuild his life, and reintegrate into his hometown. All of the interactions he has tell the reader something about him, who he is and what he stands for. The artwork focuses on Mark and is shaped by his moods and situations.
This is a character focused comic and because of that, it is a very compelling read. As a reader you become attached to the central character and discover his world as he moves through it. Tensions are built by Mark’s reactions to his surroundings and the opposite is also true. We, as readers, become relaxed when Mark is relaxed.
This comic is not full of gore, violence, or outlandish creatures, yet, but when we get there, we will be so attached to Mark that the journey will be an emotional roller-coaster. How do I know this? Because that’s how Steve Niles works.
The River At Night Credit: Drawn & Quarterly
Comic Number 179, 180, and 181: The River At Night by Kevin Huizenga
Yesterday was New Comic Book Day and I bought nothing. I read Brynmore digitally because I know that, unless I order it, I will not be able to pick up every issue. So I am trade waiting on it, something I’ve never really done before. If we were to look at all of the new comics that I have bought so far this year, it won’t take long. Gone are the days where I’d walk into a comic shop and leave with armfuls of paper pamphlets and hardback books. There is more putting me off buying new comics now than ever before: cost, availability, continuity, an air of blandness, personal disinterest in the mainstream publishers… the list goes on. I look at my local comic shops and realize they are not for me anymore. They’re for new, younger readers getting into the hobby, or for the old stalwarts who are reading the same comics they have read for 40 plus years, moaning at every change to the characters or stories but still picking up each issue.
My taste in new comics has swung away from monthly superhero or science fiction titles towards high end books like The River At Night. Published by Drawn & Quarterly, the hardback book is over 200 pages of exquisite artwork and involved storytelling. Huizenga tells the tale of Glenn Ganges, who suffers from insomnia and, after a night of reading and drinking coffee, the world in which he lives begins to unravel. The character, and the writer, begin to explore consciousness and our perception of reality. It is also a magnificent exploration of what comics are able to do.
The opening chapter is a prime example of Huizenga’s ability to manipulate the comic page in order to discuss abstract topics. Ganges is rushing to the library before it closes, and he becomes lost in thought, questioning his actions as he experiences a moment of deja vu. Huizenga uses the language of comics to represent this uneasy feeling. Captions inform the reader of the time period but they start to become muddled as they form part of Ganges’ thought process, slipping from the caption boxes into thought balloons. The panel frames begin to overlap and Ganges himself is able to walk freely from one time period to another by stepping from one panel to the next. The whole sequence is magical to read as the constrictions of the comics form are used to create an intense, and often uncomfortable, feeling.
The beauty is that this happens again and again throughout this book. Every chapter focuses on something different, time hopping to examine the personal history of Wendy and Glenn Ganges, and each time the format is used in such a way as to enhance the emotional and narrative context. This is a book that embraces the fact it is a comic and celebrates that. Many modern monthly titles are geared towards creating a sense of realism, almost trying to make the reader forget they are reading a comic, but Huizenga leans into the format and makes it an instrumental part of the narrative process. This is a comic and look at what it can do!!
I can’t recommend this book enough.
And that’s half way through the year. 26 weeks of reading comics and, if we count individual issues, I’m actually well ahead of the game. I have some great comics lined up to read in the second half of the year, and there are a few new titles that I’m hoping to get to. I am also looking for recommendations, so, please comment below with some of your favorite comics.
Late last year, DC Studios’ newly minted Co-CEOs and Co-Chairmen — James Gunn and Peter Safran — announced their upcoming slate of DCU movies and TV shows. The first project on their list is none other than Creature Commandos, an animated TV show that will pull from the Weird War Tales stories by writer J.M. DeMatteis, artist Pat Broderick, and artist Fred Carrillo. Mr. DeMatteis, also one of the creative minds behind classics like Justice League International, Kraven’s Last Hunt, and episodes of Justice League Unlimited, was kind enough to answer some of our questions about what it was like to see his weird creations pop back up after all this time.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: When you heard that James Gunn was starting the DCU off with Creature Commandos, what was your reaction?
J.M. DeMatteis: Absolute astonishment. This was an idea I cooked up at the very beginning of my career—and to have it resurface in such a big way, all these years later, was a complete surprise.
MFR: Where did the idea of the Creature Commandos come from? Do you remember how much of it came straight from you versus editorial or from your partners like artists Pat Broderick and Fred Carrillo?
JMD: When I started at DC, new writers broke in on the so-called “mystery” books (they weren’t allowed to say “horror” back then): five-to-eight-page stories for titles like House of Mystery, House of Secrets, Weird War Tales, etc. I was selling stories to Paul Levitz—who edited most of those books (Paul was around twenty at the time and already one of the smartest, most skilled editors in the business)—and always scrambling for the next idea. It was about six months into my DC career when I came up with the Creature Commandos idea (although I didn’t have the title, that came later). For a book called Weird War, it seemed like a no-brainer to have classic monsters fighting in World War II. Looking back, I’m amazed no one else thought of it. I wrote up some notes but, before I could pitch it to Paul, the infamous DC implosion happened and I was out of work for something like ten months. After the DC doors reopened, I began working with the late, great Len Wein—who became both my mentor and good friend. Len was looking for ongoing series for both House of Mystery and Weird War. For HoM, Len gave me a title—I…Vampire—and I created the saga of Andrew Bennett. For Weird War I dusted off the “monsters in WW II” idea I’d hatched the year before and he loved it. I think we came up with the name Creature Commandos together, but it’s been so long that I honestly don’t recall.
MFR: Are you or were you a big fan of Universal Monster movies/Hammer Horror flicks and how much of an influence were they on Creature Commandos?
JMD: When I was growing up, those classic Universal monster movies were always on television. Dracula, Frankenstein, Wolf Man… they were part of the pop culture fabric. I wasn’t a fanatic about them… I was more into science-fiction and fantasy than horror—but I did enjoy them all and watched them whenever they were on. (I have a special fondness for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, still my favorite horror-comedy ever.)
MFR:I could go through each character — Vincent Velcro the vampire, Warren Griffith the Werewolf, “Lucky” Taylor the Frankenstein-esque Patchwork Man, and Lieutenant Shrieve, the most monstrous of them all (yet the only true “human”) — and talk about what each of them brings to the group. Each really represents a response to war – selling your soul but hating that you had to (Velcro), becoming an animal and reveling in the bloodshed (Griffith), or being utterly traumatized by everything around you (Taylor). Did you have a favorite to write, or one you resonated with the most?
JMD: If memory serves, it was “Lucky” Taylor I connected with the most: he was the classic monster with a heart of gold. The disconnect between the grotesque exterior and the sensitive interior made for a fascinating character. I was also fascinated with Shrieve, because he really was the true monster on the team: brutal, cold-hearted. But even he had a deep well of humanity, it was just hidden beneath layers of war-born trauma. Truth is, I enjoyed writing them all. I was a young writer just starting out and there I was, working with, and learning from, Len Wein, creating my own characters. It was a great time.
MFR: If the Creature Commandos stories had been written in the last few years, I would have thought this is a great spiritual successor to something like Inglourious Basterds. But instead, I’d almost think Tarantino had gotten ahold of your comics. You, Broderick and Carrillo use violence in such an effectively satirical way. (I think of Griffith and the pack of wolves.) What do you think makes for effective satire?
JMD: I honestly wasn’t thinking of the Commandos as satire—although it clearly works that way. And maybe that answers your question: To do effective satire, you have to take the subject matter seriously, but just… tilt it a little. The very premise of the Commandos was absurd… and yet it works as a powerful metaphor for the experience of war. Both those elements pull at each other and create something heightened and yet, I hope, grounded in emotional reality.
MFR: You have written screenplays where you hold source material lightly, in things like DC’s Red Son movie or some of your episodes for Justice League Unlimited, being willing to change things up for an adaptation – which I love. It means this iteration isn’t just a carbon copy for a new medium, it’s something new. How do you feel about the changes you can already see in this upcoming adaptation of Creature Commandos? It’s a new cast of characters for the most part. Are you excited to see changes? Is there something you hope those adapting it don’t miss from your comics?
JMD: It’s an adaptation, so they should feel free to adapt! As I’ve learned from working in television and film, you can’t translate these things directly, there are always changes that need to be made for another medium. That said, I hope we get to see the originals in Gunn’s series… perhaps in flashbacks… and that some nod is made to the origins and history of the characters. I also want to add that I never hold the source material “lightly”; you have to have a deep respect for, and understanding of, the source material before you can even think about making changes to it.
MFR: You’re one of the creators behind such amazing teams and characters as the Justice League International, I… Vampire, Maxwell Lord, Frog-Man, and the White Rabbit. You redefined characters like Kraven and the Spectre. What other characters or works would you like to see adapted?
JMD: I’d love to see an adaptation of Kraven’s Last Hunt. Our Justice League International run would make for a wonderful TV series or film. And I’d love to see any of my creator- owned material—from Moonshadow to the recent DeMultiverse titles—make the jump to the screen.
MFR: Your writing creates such an interesting dynamic between levity/silliness and introspective depth. JLI threw the grimdark landscape of the 80s on its head, while something like Creature Commandos takes the campy monster movie characters and adds in a layer of humanity and philosophizing about death. How do you strike that balance? Is there an extreme you feel most comfortable in?
JMD: No, not really. I just follow the story and the characters where they lead. In the end, it doesn’t matter what the tone or genre of the story is, you have to believe in the characters, in the world you’re creating. The more the story takes on a life of its own, the better the story will be. Also, working in diverse genres—as well as jumping from comics to TV to film to prose—keeps my perspective fresh and keeps me interested. If I was locked into one genre or medium, I would get very bored very quickly.
MFR: You’ve co-created classic works like Kraven’s Last Hunt, Justice League International, Batman: Going Sane, and Superman: Speeding Bullets, and you’re still very much involved in comics. Among the works you’re doing for the Big Two, you have also launched the DeMultiverse. Can you tell us more about that and what your plans are for it?
JMD: The DeMultiverse is one of the most exciting creative endeavors of my entire career. Late last year, via Kickstarter and my pal David Baldy of Spellbound Comics, we launched five new titles (four core titles and a bonus book): five first issues, each one in a different style and genre, with five of my favorite artists. These were ideas I’d been nursing for years and it was a real joy to unleash them all on the world simultaneously. The Kickstarter was a huge success and, as a result, I’m already at work on volume two of the DeMultiverse, creating second chapters of Anyman (with David Baldeon), Godsend (with Matthew Dow Smith), Layla in the Lands of After (with Shawn McManus), and Wisdom (with Tom Mandrake). With a little luck, next year will also see the continuation of our bonus book, The Edward Gloom Mysteries (with Vassilis Gogtzilas). Very exciting projects and I hope to keep working on all these titles for a long time to come.
Check Out Creature Commandos and J.M. DeMatteis’ Other Works!
If you haven’t read any of the Creature Commandos stories, DC has collected all of the old Weird War Tales chapters into one volume, available at some comic shops and through Amazon. DeMatteis is also hard at work on his DeMultiverse books. Check out Spellbound’s website on how you can get ahold of those! There’s still no firm release date for the DCU’s Creature Commandos show, but it’s set to come out some time in 2024. If it’s anything like the strange comics that it’s based on, you don’t want to miss it.
