MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE: MASTERVERSE #4 hits your local comic book shop on May 17th, but thanks to Dark Horse Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has a five-page preview for our readers. The issue tells three tales written by Tim Seeley with art by Eddie Nunez, Daniel Lopez, and Fico Ossio, Rico Renzi drops the color, and you will read the letter work by Deron Bennett.
About the issue: As the deal between the Sorceress and Zodac reaches its tense conclusion, they witness worlds where He-Man’s good heart and strong will have influenced a new generation. In “Unfakeable,” the Masters (featured in the Netflix CG animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe) confront their own doppelgangers, and must figure out the things they dislike most about each other to win, while in “The Megabeast Matrix,” the He-Force is called upon once again to battle a very modular threat to the entire multiverse!
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.
“Look, Chief, you can’t go off half-cocked looking for vengeance against a fish. That shark isn’t evil. It’s not a murderer. It’s just obeying its own instincts.” — Jaws by Peter Benchley
Jaws 2 was on television last night and I watched it yet again (missing only the opening few scenes). I’ve no idea how many times I have watched it — slightly fewer times than the original Jaws, which I’d probably name as my favorite film of all time if I was put on the spot. My enjoyment of both films hasn’t waned, not once, in all these years. In fact, after a revelation about the underlying story a few years ago, my appreciation of them as one continuous narrative actually increased.
And fueled by that human versus nature vibe from the film, I went crawling through my draws for some comics that matched. Hook Jaw was an obvious choice, as it is a comic book reaction to the success of Jaws, however other similar comics with a monster/horror vibe, especially in my collection, were harder to find.
What makes horror stories so endearing, and why do we keep coming back to them in various media? And how do writers and artists continue to instill that sense of fear in us when, as an audience, we are used to the visual horror lexicon?
In his essay The Face of the Beast, Jonathan W. Thurston discusses predators in fiction and the visual signs that writers and artists use to trigger our internal fear responses. He highlights base instincts that horror is aimed at and, by reference to the work of Paul A Trout, lists some of the triggers that literature, movies, and comics use to elicit a response. These triggers include, “staring eyes, an open mouth, flashing sharp teeth, a lollering tongue” along with “menacing movements, blood, bones, certain sounds, tracking signs, and darkness.” Obviously some of these are difficult to represent in comics, especially the sounds and movements, but the others listed are instrumental in building horrific narratives in a visual medium. By using simple visual triggers, creators can produce scary and horrific comics.
This week I’ve selected a number of comics that can be considered horror based on some level, and will use the triggers mentioned above to illustrate how successful the comics are at expressing the horror and initiating a response from the reader.
Hook Jaw Credit: Titan Comics
Comic Number 120: Hook Jaw
The “monster” in Hook Jaw has it all. When the titular shark is finally introduced to the story, it comes with: 1) staring, empty eyes, 2) a gaping, relentless mouth packed with razor sharp teeth, 3) a trail of blood contaminating the ocean around it, and 4) the blackness of the stormy waters. Even the way that Conor Boyle draws the shark in the panels gives the impression of the slow, methodical movement of a beast hunting. You can almost hear the swish of the great white’s tail as it glides through the water. The last page of chapter 1, showing the beast in all her glory, is reminiscent of the opening to Peter Benchley’s novel Jaws: “The great fish moved silently through the night water, propelled by short sweeps of its crescent tail.”
Simon Spurrier’s Hook Jaw works as a horror comic not simply because of the violence and blood that are ever present. Spurrier brings all of the horror tropes into play to unnerve and unsettle the reader. For example, dream sequences quickly shift direction as the dreamer loses control, almost like a scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street. There are also tension-building sequences where a slow burn in a scene allows the reader’s anxiety to take over and skip quickly through the panels, only to be greeted with a sudden image of violence that jolts the reading flow. Instinctively you stop, like a jump scare in a movie, only in comics you linger on the image as it burns itself into your brain.
Hook Jaw gets under your skin. Through the first chapter you might find yourself wincing at some of the two dimensional characters, or even laughing at the stupidity of the situation. However, just like in Jaws, this comforting place at the beginning is eroded by the horror that follows and as your fear responses kick in and you start to retreat, you remind yourself of the safety from the opening, and you convince yourself it can’t be that bad. Can it?
Godzilla Age of Monsters collected edition Credit: Titan Books
Comic Number 121: Godzilla, Age of Monsters
Everyone knows Godzilla. Whether it’s from the original 1950s Japanese movies, the American takes on the creature from 1998 and 2014 onward, or even the 1970s cartoon series with the adorable Godzooky, the giant kaiju has towered over films and comics for decades.
Although Godzilla is the very definition of a monster, very few of the stories containing him could be situated comfortably in the horror genre. Godzilla represents the destructive force of nature, an uncontrollable and unstoppable power that comes from the Earth and is older than humans. It is this representation that stirs any fear within the audience, just as it does in many of the protagonists of the stories themselves.
In Age of Monsters, written by Randy Stradley and Steve Bissette, the central character, Noriko, remembers the traumatizing experience she lived through as a child. The monsters of old woke up and swept towards the city where her father fought to save her and her mother. Initially, artists Steve Bissete and Ron Randell use visual triggers involving Noriko that are usually associated with the monster. A blank expression and staring eyes are the major focus of the first page of the comic. Bissette creates the impression of a slow zoom into Noriko’s face as she stares out, into the rainy city. The final panel contains a close-up of her eyes but the rest of her face has been visually transformed into the destruction wrought by Godzilla many years earlier. The reader is introduced to the concept of the monster, and the horror that comes with it, through the eyes of the victim. When we reach the end of this first chapter, we have a better understanding of the character and what she waits for. This then makes us reassess the opening page and the trauma that she went through.
It is a fascinating way of introducing horror tropes into a narrative, especially in a comic that isn’t necessarily classed as a horror. Bissette has some history with drawing modern horror stories, and corrupting genre, so that as a reader your expectations are shattered and your comfort zone removed. You only need to look at his work on The Saga of the Swamp Thing to see what I mean. (see Comic Number 124)
Aliens: Dust to Dust #1 Credit: Dark Horse Comics
Comic Number 122: Aliens: Dust to Dust
Jonathan W. Thurston states that “the artistic rendering often reduces the predator to a dark shape with glowing eyes and dripping fangs.” This description aptly fits a number of classic horror monsters, from the Vampire and Werewolf to more modern invasion movies such as Attack the Block, which features creatures that were literal black shapes on the screen with wide, drooling mouths visible only because of the glowing teeth.
In Ridley Scott’s 1978 movie Alien, the director relied on hiding the black skinned creature in the shadows and only hinted at the creature’s true shape. Although there were no glowing eyes, the mouth within a mouth design highlighted the difference between the creature and the human prey. The Xenomorph is a perfect example of the horrific beast that Thurston was discussing.
Almost from the beginning, the Alien franchise found a home in the pages of comics. In 1979, Alien: The Illustrated Story was released and there have been a string of adaptations and continuations ever since. The franchise works as well in either medium.
Gabriel Hardman’s 2018 standalone mini-series is, on the surface, a pretty standard Aliens story: a planet of colonists are exposed to the alien threat and most do not survive the ensuing onslaught. Where the story differs is in the new take on the Xenomorph/mother connection that grew out of the movie franchise and the visual presentation by Hardman and colorist Rain Beredo.
From the very beginning, the reader is given a very visually driven narrative with details picked out of the darkness and emphasized by unexpected and brief changes to background color. For example a character’s reaction to something disturbing is placed over a background of burgundy for one panel only, before the background returns to the murky teal of the colonists home.
The comic makes the reader uncomfortable through visual tricks, such as shattering a panel into a collection of haphazard smaller panels, or by illustrating a long vista with dark shadows indicating the alien threat. The grainy artwork, calling back to the title of the comic, fills each page with an almost unbreathable atmosphere, heightening the uncomfortable environment the protagonists inhabit. Just like Ridley Scott’s original movie, this comic is about the environment the characters are in and less about the history or motivation of the creature. We fear for the central characters because they already seem lost from the beginning of the story. Our fear responses are then triggered further by the jumps between full illustrations of the aliens and shadow encased mouths, drooling out of the darkness. Just as the reader grows accustomed to the alien, Hardman is able to make them scary again with a change in visual emphasis.
Aliens: Dust to Dust came out towards the end of Dark Horse Comics’ run in the franchise and I personally think it was the best interpretation at the time and hasn’t been topped since.
Creepy #7 Credit: Warren Publishing
Comic Number 123: Creepy #7
In “Duel of the Monsters” from Creepy #7, you have two classic creatures of the night duking it out in a territorial fight for killing rights to a small Spanish village. The script by Archie Goodwin is tongue-in-cheek but still manages to include moments of unnerving horror.
This eight-page, black and white story, illustrated by Angelo Torres is a charming comic that demonstrates how artists can tickle a reader’s fear response in a story that, for the most part, is a supernatural mystery. On the opening page, Torres draws two images of a werewolf stalking the village. The first shows the creature in an almost majestic pose, perched on the top of a house, with its mouth wide open, baring its fangs. The creature is out in the open, well lit, and clearly visible, seemingly in contrast to how a creature should be introduced.
The reader’s fear is provoked not directly by the creature but what the creature represents. By the time this comic was published in 1966, audiences were accustomed to werewolves thanks to the numerous novels, comics, and of course movies, that featured them. Anyone picking up a story featuring a werewolf knows what to expect when the creature goes hunting so, in this opening panel by Torres, the trepidation and fear comes not from the creature but the prey illustrated within the creature’s line of sight. Drawn in darkness, with a small lamp shedding a meager light, the victim is almost an afterthought to the image. His fate is predetermined. This sentiment is reflected in the text written beneath his window: “crouched on a roof top is a figure as much beast as a man… poised and panting as the bloodlust rises… nostrils flared in the cold air, its prey is at hand!”
The second panel on the page contains a perfect example of a beast designed to elicit a fear response. The monstrous beast stares directly towards the reader, its mouth hanging open, its teeth bared, and its body is shrouded in darkness. The face of the villager is a reflection of the readers, aghast in horror.
In contrast, the vampire, Sergeant Vega is depicted as almost human. His introduction shows him with fangs and a dead body by his side but his body language and awkward positioning in the panel do not instill a sense of fear. It is only in the presence of the werewolf where his beast side is revealed and he takes on those tropes of a visual monster, with staring eyes and gaping mouth. Throughout the story the reader is not meant to fear Vega as he is the reluctant hero of the piece.
The cover for Creepy #7 shows two wild animals tearing into each other in the ruins of a church but the story contained within is much more subtle. Goodwin injects the tale with humor, suspense, and some charming characters. This, combined with the visual signifiers for a horror story, leads to a complex, layered comic that is more than the sum of its parts.
The Saga of the Swamp Thing #21 Credit: DC Vertigo
Comic Number 124: The Saga of the Swamp Thing #21
I used to work with someone who would never watch the same film or read a book twice. Once he finished reading a book he would give it away because what is the point in re-reading it when you know what happens at the end?
I’ve watched Jaws at least once every year since I was a teenager. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to immerse yourself in something that you truly enjoy and draw-out every aspect of the film, book, or comic so that you can engage with every facet of it. I guess people are different.
I doubt you’ll find anyone who would argue that Alan Moore’s run on The Saga of the Swamp Thing is anything other than brilliant. Within his run, there are a few issues that go to weird places you were not expecting, and others that tell simple, world building superhero stories. And then there are a few that are the pinnacle of comic book storytelling. The Anatomy Lesson is one such issue.
Its opening page — which bears an uncanny resemblance to another opening page I’ve looked at this week by the same artist, Stephen Bissette — introduces the setting and the situation but it also creates a sense of atmosphere that will permeate the narrative. The relentless rain, feeling of entrapment, and references to blood, set the tone for what the reader is about to read.
Stephen Bissette Comparison Pages
This particular issue of the Swamp Thing is fascinating for so many different reasons, as the writer dissects the central character as a form of meta-fiction, picking apart the history and narrative of the comic. Alan Moore manages to re-write the origin without changing it, and reinvent the character in a natural and logical way.
However, our focus here is on horror, and what Moore, Bissette, and Totleben achieve in this comic is to create a scary, intimidating anti-hero with the title character. The villain, Jason Woodrue, plays the role of facilitator, allowing the evil of one character, the General, to become the victim to a monster he helped to create, the titular Swamp Thing. The artwork focuses on the horrific elements of the plant creature and, once again, uses the fear response triggers to make the reader, and the General, retreat from the character. The Swamp Thing is drawn with wild, staring eyes, gritted teeth, and an imposing shape that looms out of the darkness.
Moore gives us nothing but monsters in this issue. The obvious one, with all the traits I’ve been looking at this week, is the Swamp Thing himself, but the other two characters are also monsters in their own way. Doctor Woodrue transforms himself as we watch, with his skin crawling from his body. Parts of him dissolve and become misshapen representing an other, something different than ourselves. Coupled with his glee in death and destruction the impression we get of him is more monstrous than human.
The “Old Man” is a different kind of beast, he represents the worst part of humankind. He is master and king in his glass tower with complete control over the building, lording it over his subordinates that are never seen. He raves about his power and control but he is alone, living a solitude life within his office. Comparing him to the Swamp Thing, he is very similar as he is no more than a husk of a man. The difference is that he enjoys the lack of humanity that the Swamp Thing is clinging onto. In the final scenes Swamp Thing kills the general in an emotional rage spurred by the fact he has just learned that Alec Holland, the man he believes himself to be, is dead. A soulless monster kills for a humanity he has lost and the human he kills was fighting to keep a soulless existence alive.
Crypt of Shadows #1 cover Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 125: Crypt of Shadows #1
Marvel Comics enjoy toying with horror and have wonderful series with some classic monsters such as Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, etc. They even include a number of ghoulish characters in the main Marvel Comic Universe, but the less said about Franken-Castle, the better.
When the Crypt of Shadows was released in 2019, I was sold on it because of writer Al Ewing and artist Garry Brown. Both creators have produced work I have enjoyed previously, plus I love a good horror comic. Crypt of Shadows takes a standard approach to a horror anthology with a framing story that allows the other tales to be told. And this comic is a lot of fun.
However, what I really want to talk about is the very first page. It is a simple nine panel grid with a central focus panel and two word balloons that set the tone. The central panel is a head and shoulders image of a woman with no background. There is no setting and at this point you have no idea who she is or what she’s doing. In essence she is talking directly to the reader and she is saying “Cynophobia. Fear of Dogs” The remaining eight panels contain images of a snarling, yellow eyed, blood thirsty dogs. Cynophobia? You can see why.
Crypt of Shadows #1 Interior art work Credit: Marvel
Brown has captured the trigger images for a fear response perfectly. Each panel contains “staring eyes, an open mouth, flashing sharp teeth,” and each image of a dog has a pitch black background. There is no grounding here for the reader to hold on to except in the central panel. Try as you might you end up focusing your attention directly on the woman because she is the only safety. As it turns out, she is a therapist and on that first page the reader is her patient.
It sets up the story by, in a small way, inflicting you with the fear of dogs so that you instantly have sympathy for Mr. Radley, the therapist’s patient. Ewing plants the seed early and the first page introduces a horror that waits in the background as the other two stories are told. And as it lingers, the horror grows, which in turn allows for a terrifying payoff.
Big Girls #1 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 126: Big Girls #1
I found something fun to end the week with. I love Jason Howard’s artwork. It’s raw and emotional, and captures the energy of the characters perfectly. With Big Girls, Howard is also the writer, weaving a wonderful tale of giant against giant.
Remember I said it was fun? Well, I’ll take that back. The first issue is harrowing, and when I first read it in 2020, it knocked the breath out of my body.
Big Girls #1 Interior art Credit: Image Comics
The opening two pages introduce the monsters of the series in a way that sows the seeds of apprehension. A voiceover explains that something bad happened, without going into detail, while the images show people running in fear through streets of debris. Glimpses of the monstrous creatures can be seen and many of the panels are soaked in a dark blood red color. In these opening pages, Howard sets a typical monster horror scene, falsely preparing the reader for what is about to happen. The reader’s expectations are immediately contradicted over the next two pages where we are introduced to the central character, Ember, who towers above a city street. Is she the consequence of the mistake referred to in the opening? Are these the monsters that we should expect throughout the series?
Howard plays with his readers, using unreliable narrators and contradictory sequences. He promises horrific giant monsters and then gives us a giant child, playful and inherently child-like. What happens next shifts the focus of the monster away from the giants and onto the humans.
There are traditional monsters in this comic, creatures of unnatural size, deformed and violent but even those are an enigma that Howard solves over the course of the six issues. With Big Girls, Howard adopts the history and traits of classic monsters, especially the Japanese Kaiju, and twists them to create a narrative that contains as much mystery as it does the expected violence.
I feel as though I have only just begun to look at the representation of monsters in comics, especially as it is something that crosses genres and can take on many different meanings. I opened with a list of traits that trigger the fear response within us and throughout this week I have found those traits in very different comics and used to tell very different stories. Putting the fear of the unknown or uncontrollable into the reader can serve a number of different purposes, and such a strong emotional reaction can have a lasting effect on you. Out of all of Alan Moore’s Saga of the Swamp Thing run, The Anatomy Lesson is one of the few that really sticks with me, despite enjoying them all. This is because it elicits the strongest reaction in me. I am equally drawn to and repulsed by the monsters that inhabit the pages.
Maybe my love of horror comics is more than a simple enjoyment of the narratives and actually comes from a deeper seated emotional response to the material.
From Dark Horse and 12 Gauge Comics comes Survival, a tale of military survivalists in the remote woods of Alaska on their own against a vampire invasion.
I got to talk to writer Sean Lewis ask him about his influences, creative process, and how political tension snuck its way into this comic about fighting Russian bloodsuckers.
MFR: Vampire stories have always been a hit, especially here in the comics industry. What struck you guys to make this sort of survivalist take on the genre?
SL: (12-Gauge President) Keven (Gardner) had reached out to me. He was interested in militaristic vampires and asked if I could come up with a take. Now, this was pre-Covid. Pre-Ukraine. I was interested in survivalists. I had read an article about groups of ex soldiers living off the grid who would have convention-style gatherings in Alaska. So I thought, what if these vampires landed there? They start in Russia but travel.
The vampires are captives. They’ve been found in the GATE OF WOLVES, a mountain pass that exists in Chechnya. And the Russians are trying to make them into an army. But they escape, take a plane, and crash here in Alaska. But these vampires are different. The ones who keep up in blood supply to their diet are humanoid. Those who don’t become like feral animals.
MFR: What has your creative process together been like? How much of the story develops through the script, and how much of it happens incidentally through the visuals?
SL: I had written a large bible of the entire series before Bryndon came on. AND I THINK I had already scripted half or more of the series. Of course once the visuals come in they always shift the script, if not the plot.
MFR: You noted that this story was already written long before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and therefore also the public response to that ongoing event. How has the current social and political landscape around this war changed your own view of this story, if at all?
SL: I guess it gives a right now feel to it. I won’t lie, my goal wasn’t to write a “political” book. I wanted to write an entertaining book. I think we succeeded on the latter. What’s amazing right now is you can create a wild fiction and then two years later a bunch of it comes true. Russia, when I started, seemed like a cool place to start a big military experiment because of our history with them and because they seemed desperate in real life to try and rise to prior glory.
MFR: Like all great genre stories, Survival is planted in the portrayal of its human characters as well as its monsters. How did you guys approach portraying the intricacies of your main cast – and their traumas?
SL: I just liked the idea of a single dad raising his kids in the woods. A guy whose decisions make him see the world as a very scary place. So he tries to prepare his kids for a world he knows but they don’t. I also wanted him to be complicit in this horrible world he sees for them. He is becoming a better man but only because he has a lot to answer for.
MFR: How did the folks at Dark Horse and 12 Gauge help in supporting your vision for Survival?
SL: Keven has dealt more with Dark Horse than me. So he can answer that. For 12-Gauge-, Keven built and found the rest of the team. I just write, Keven found and hired the artist, colorist, and letterer. He and I also went back and forth on multiple drafts too, so he operated as an editor too.
MFR: This first issue of Survival feels like a mix of influences ranging from 30 Days of Night to Red Dawn. What were some of your own unique influences you brought into the creation of this comic?
SL: I don’t really think of influences while I’m writing. They just live in you. I really like B Movies from the ’80s and character driven movies from the ’70s. So yeah, Red Dawn, but also Near Dark by Bigelow. I love Southern Comfort. And Deliverance. I like when people enter a forest- figuratively or literally and in its grasp become someone else.
Be sure to grab Survival #1 from your local comic shop, on sale now!
From writer and generally funny guy Kyle Starks (I Hate This Place; Rick and Morty) and veteran artist Steve Pugh (The Flintstones; Animal Man) comes a new chapter of goofy, righteous bloodshed in Peacemaker Tries Hard #1. Featuring colors by Jordie Bellaire and lettering from Becca Carey, this first issue is 22-pages of the exact sort of absurdity you’d expect from a Peacemaker comic post James Gunn. With a delightfully hilarious script and outstanding character art, this first chapter is certainly a book worth picking up for fans of the HBO Max series.
“Having earned his release from the Suicide Squad, Peacemaker wants to try and do normal superhero stuff for a change. Unfortunately everyone, including the bad guys, thinks he sucks at superhero stuff. But when busting up a terrorist ring introduces Christopher Smith to the cutest thing to ever walk (awkwardly) on four legs, he finds the unconditional love he’s been denied his whole life. That is, until the dog is kidnapped right out from under him by a super-villain who has some very un-super-heroic plans for Peacemaker’s brand of ultraviolence. Will he help an infamously unstable super-powered criminal steal the world’s most valuable-and dangerous-DNA? Honestly, Christopher’s pretty lonely, so it probably just depends on how nicely they ask..”
Writing & Plot
In true Kyle Starks/James Gunn fashion, Peacemaker Tries Hard #1 is 22 pages of irreverent and inane humor with a surprising amount of heart. Christopher Smith, our titular lover of peace, has recently been relieved of duty from Task Force X (aka the Suicide Squad), and is now carving out an existence by taking solo gigs and trying to make friends. Unfortunately, social skills aren’t a part of Peacemaker’s skill set, so forming bonds seems a little out of the question – until he meets the fanciest little Frenchie in all of comics. Naturally, Smith’s handsome new friend becomes a victim of villainous shenanigans, and Peacemaker will have to cut a deal with some criminal maniacs in order to save his new four-legged friend.
Starks’ writing carries an undeniable charm along with his humor in this first chapter of Peacemaker. All of his jokes land in that “everyone is an idiot, but Peacemaker is an idiot and a loser” kind of way. The secret to Smith being so likeable is that he’s so naively pure. He’s driven by one motivation and almost never deviates from that goal, but he’s also just good enough not to be a total psychopath. Starks takes Peacemaker’s oddly well-meaning nature and total doofus-ness and pens a comic with inane charm and a ton of heart. The dialogue is basically one joke or one-liner after another, which may wear on some but is a real treat for those who know exactly what they’re getting into. Starks cleverly uses other DC universe characters to make this sort of feel like an ensemble effort – one that feels very much akin to what James Gunn has been doing in his DC films and television shows. Make no mistake, Peacemaker Tries Hard is very much a grab for the Gunn-era fanbase and his recent work with the Peacemaker character. Those who aren’t a fan of Gunn’s approach to humor will probably want to steer clear of this opening issue as well. For those wanting that exact brand of nonstop, well-intentioned jokes and gags though, Peacemaker Tries Hard is absolutely a read for you.
Art Direction
There is likely no better artist imaginable for the absurd comedy and mild satire in Peacemaker Tries Hard #1 than Steve Pugh. The Flintstones artist brings his eye for character animation and comedic pacing to possibly his goofiest project yet. Every character Pugh draws is alive with personality, with a wide range of facial features to display emotion. Christopher Smith’s face and features scream “dumb jock with a heart of blood-soaked gold,” and it creates both a stellar comedic effect and gives Peacemaker a lot of room for empathy. Pugh’s other great design accomplishment is the French Bulldog. I’m not sure a more well-drawn and personality-filled dog exists in the comics medium. Pugh’s sequential direction nails down both the story’s pacing and the comedic timing. Every moment of visual humor lands thanks to how Pugh focuses in on the physical comedy. My favorite part of the comic in terms of the visual is the dig’s introduction. All of the panels separate with Pugh’s delightful rendering of the pup in the center, and it’s gold. The pencils are really brought to life by the color art of industry veteran Jordie Bellaire, whose work adds a tremendous amount of texture along with the varied tones. Her color work in this comic is dense and vivid, utilizing lighting for a range of aesthetic touches from page to page. Becca Carey’s lettering finishes off the experience with some stellar work. Her dialogue lettering is reflexive and adapts to tone with subtle bolds and font changes. Her SFX work is a real treat here as well, with huge, often comedic letters that fit right in with the utter silliness this book has on offer. Overall, this new Peacemaker story is off to a fantastic start on the visual end.
Verdict
Peacemaker Tries Hard #1 is a delightful and hilarious start to this new series from DC’s Black Label lineup. Kyle Starks pens a laugh-a-panel script with a ton of heart and charm that, while definitely riffing on what James Gunn has brought to the character, is still plenty of fun on its own. The visuals from Steve Pugh and Jordie Bellaire are brilliantly animated and vibrant, making for a reading experience that nails the comedy of this opening chapter. Be sure to grab this first issue, on sale now!
Free Comic Book Day is just around the corner on Saturday, May 6th, and we’re thrilled to announce that 3000 copies of Monkeys Fighting Robots #1 have been sent to comic book shops all over the United States. Check out the list below. As comic book fans ourselves, we know how vital FCBD is to the community, and we’re dedicated to making it an even better event for everyone involved.
We understand that FCBD can be a costly expense for retailers, which is why our mission is to get our book out to readers and give a boost to the hard-working comic book shops that make FCBD possible. We want to show our support for these dedicated and passionate retailers who work tirelessly to bring the joy of comics to fans all year round.
So mark your calendars for FCBD and head to one of the shops below to pick up your copy of Monkeys Fighting Robots #1. And while you’re there, take the time to show your support for these incredible retailers who keep the comic book community thriving. Let’s make this year’s FCBD the best one yet!
FCBD Shops With Monkeys Fighting Robots #1:
THIRD EYE COMICS (Annapolis, Maryland)
Vault of Midnight (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
Dragon’s Lair Austin (Austin, Texas)
Drawn To Comics (Glendale, Arizona)
The Comic Bug(Manhattan Beach, California)
Brave New Worlds – Old City (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Mission: Comics & Art (San Francisco, California)
Laughing Ogre Comics (Columbus, Ohio)
Space Cadets Collection Collection (Oak Ridge North, TX)
Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find(Charlotte, North Carolina)
Comicazii (Somerville, Massachusetts)
FIRST AID COMICS (Chicago, Illinois)
MaximuM Comics (Las Vegas, Nevada)
COSMIC GHOST RIDER #3 hits your local comic book store on May 10th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: VALKYRIE VS. COSMIC GHOST RIDER!
It’s the mighty Valkyrie versus Cosmic Ghost Rider – but which of the now TWO Riders is she facing?! As the mystery deepens, the two Cosmic Ghost Riders draw closer to one another for a final confrontation in the depths of space. But first, they both must survive the bevy of bounty hunters, heroes and villains in hot pursuit!
The issue is by writer Stephanie Phillips and artist Guiu Vilanova, with colors by Espen Grundetjern, and letters by Travis Lanham. The main cover is by Valerio Giangiordano and Morry Hollowell.
Check out the COSMIC GHOST RIDER #3 preview below:
Are you reading the current COSMIC GHOST RIDER run? Sound off in the comments!
A super-smart young woman opens a portal to another world where she gains a new friend in the form of a hungry dinosaur. Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is a Disney animated series based on the Marvel comic brought to life by artists and producers Steve Loter and Rodney Clouden.
Lunella Lafayette (Diamond White) is a 13-year-old genius living on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Lunella loves to skate around and help at the roller rink her family runs. At school, she gets perfect grades, and at home, she tinkers in her secret laboratory built beneath the apartment building where she lives. Lunella makes things like jetpacks to nuclear-powered popcorn machines, and, for the most part, they work spectacularly well. However, when Lunella attempts to recreate an experiment conceived by her idol, things go awry. Lunella summons a red tyrannosaurus rex from the past. But the hulking creature and Lunella form a bond, and they fight crime as Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
PopAxiom spoke with producers Steve Loter and Rodney Clouden as season one ends on Disney Channel on Saturday (May 6th, 2023). The series is also available on Disney+.
Absolutely Magic
Rodney Clouden is a longtime storyboard artist who’s worked on projects like The Wild Thornberrys, American Dad, and won an Emmy for his work on Futurama. His desire to be a working artist started when he was young. “I like cartoons. I was always drawing. I would make comic books of the cartoons that I liked or music videos. I made Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” into a comic book.”
“Animation was something I gravitated to,” he continues, “but I didn’t know how it could be a career. But unfortunately, there were no resources to help with that. So at a certain point, I thought maybe I’d do comic books.”
After school, Rodney began life as a freelance illustrator. But that came with a frustrating reality. “I had to chase people down for a hundred dollars. It wasn’t worth it.” Ultimately, Rodney “met with someone looking for a character designer, and that revitalized my desire to get into animation.”
“I’ve been fortunate to be a working professional cartoonist right out of high school.” That’s how Steve Loter’s story begins. “I worked with Disney’s consumer products and at Jim Henson Productions, but the draw was animation. I love the art of moving drawings. I knew I had to do it, and I’ve been doing it for many years.” Steve’s career includes the Clerks animated series and all things Kim Possible. Plus, an Emmy award for producing The Penguins of Madagascar.
To this day, Steve’s amazed by animation’s connection with an audience. “It’s something you’ve drawn and brought to life through illustration to tell a story and create emotions and connections. To me, that’s absolutely magic.”
About Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur
As the story goes, Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur development began when Marvel Studios president Louis D’Esposito showed legendary actor, writer, and producer Laurence Fishburne the Marvel Comic Book. Steve explains, “Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur is an incredible Marvel comic book and loved by Laurence Fishburne. His company with Helen Sugland, Cinema Gypsy Productions, began the process.”
“They realized the potential of what an animated version of this could be,” Steve adds, propelling this dynamic duo to television. “Everyone knew this was a special comic book. Lunella Lafayette is an incredible character. Her story needed to be told in animation.”
Laurence was familiar with Steve’s work on Kim Possible. “We met and hit it off immediately. We had a shared vision of what this story could look like. We talked about our inspirations and all the things we had in common growing up in New York City.”
“Steve brought me in,” Rodney shares, noting it was a reasonably straightforward but exciting and unexpected project. Stave and Rodney worked together a decade prior on Duckman. “I got a text about a producer looking for an artist. I asked who the producer was, and it was Steve. I was like, ‘Oh my god, I haven’t heard that name in forever!”
Rodney and Steve met at the studio, where Rodney saw the artwork and learned about the process behind the vision. “I could just feel the passion in the pitch. This comic book about a young black girl who is a super genius sounded dope. I saw the animatic and the Gambino clip and was like, ‘Wow.’ It was also a show that my son can watch.”
The process for creating the visual spectacle that is Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur began with the script. Steve explains, “Even before pencil to paper, we started writing. I’m fortunate to have been in TV for a while and done features, then back to TV. What’s wonderful about that experience are the different working methodologies.”
“I was able to bring the best of TV into features and the best of features into TV,” he continues, detailing that “part of that is the time you spend in writing and developing the characters; who they are, what they need, and what they really need.”
Steve brought in feature writers Kate Kondell and Jeff Howard to help develop the show. “We started with nearly hour-long descriptions of these characters. We’d pitch that to Marvel to make sure we’re on the right track. We wanted to make sure we had a really strong foundation for the storytelling. We knew the style and feeling … but wanted to ensure it wasn’t style over substance.”
“After that, we brought in some incredible visual artists,” Steve adds, revealing the next step in bringing the show to life. “The writing allowed [artists] to blossom and for the artists to take ownership of these characters. Animation can sometimes feel assignment-driven. But we’re just going to provide [our artists] a bunch of inspiration and give you a whole room to breathe.”
Rodney is one of those artists. What’s his take on this process? “The inspiration and the ability for inspiration; the freedom to explore. The idea was to do something different visually. Something even different from what Disney typically produces. I saw the lean into the idea that this is a comic book and the graphic nature of it.”
“You’re looking at the overall vision. It’s a first-season show, so you’re finding the legs, look, and process.” Rodney says about the team’s journey to solidifying the exhilarating visual nature of the series. “It’s experimentation. You see what works and what doesn’t work. It’s a lot of shaping and molding to find the process and style of the show. The style has a certain look that we start with, but then it’s discovering the show’s proper style.”
Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur have a recurring sequence within the series known as the mixtape, where things get even wilder. But it’s an opportunity, says Rodney. “You can go wild visually. You can take it and do whatever you want because it’s a separate narrative from what the show proper is. So, to play around with that, you can have a blast.”
Wrapping Up
As animation professionals with combined many decades of experience, Steve and Rodney still face creative dry spells. So what gets those creative rivers flowing? Steve turns to music. “I’m a huge music fan and collector. It’s music for me. I feel like music is a great mood equalizer. You can always find a song that gets you to the mood you want.”
“I must admit that our music executive producer Raphael Saadiq, I’ve been a fan of his music since Tony! Toni! Toné! to today,” he shares, saying about the longtime musician, “he’s one of those artists that can do that for me and feel something through his music. So I’m thrilled to be working with him because he’s given me a whole new set of songs to make me feel good.”
Rodney’s immediate answer sparks laughter. “Naps.” But he adds a second word that sort of makes everything more profound. “Dreams.” But Rodney’s a huge music fan too and draws inspiration from songs; I start to visualize how I would approach that [song] if it were a music video.”
“Comic books” joins his answers, naturally, since he’s loved them his entire life. “I get my pull from the shop.” Rodney also adds a modern source of creative magic. “Instagram. I follow many people and look at their art and what they’re doing, pushing the envelope of illustration and design.”
Fans of the series will be happy to know that Steve says, “We are working on season two of the show.”
“Season two is fantastic!” Rodney proclaims.
Steve finishes us off. “We left off season one in a precarious position, but we come back strong. Season two has more music, more humor, a lot more Marvel, and heart. I can’t wait for people to see what we’ve cooked up for season two!”
Is Moon Girl And Devil Dinosaur on your watch list?
Thanks to Steve Loter, Rodney Clouden, and Metro PR
for making this interview possible.
SAMURAI DOGGY #6 hits your local comic book store May 10th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive five-page preview for you.
About the issue: After a long and tiring search, Doggy has finally found one of his siblings, but after so much time apart, can Doggy trust him?
The series is by writer Chris Tex and artist Santtos; the cover is by Santtos.
Check out our SAMURAI DOGGY #6 preview below:
Are you reading SAMURAI DOGGY? Sound off in the comments!
We are here to tell you what trades and collections you should be looking out for this month from Marvel Comics!
1. She-Hulk Volume 2: Jen of Hearts
The second volume of writer Rainbow Rowell’s She-Hulk is out at the end of the month, and this series continues to be a delight.
Rowell seamlessly blends slice-of-life with superhero antics and legal drama. You get romance, comedy, action, and more with this series, as She-Hulk’s relationship with Jack of Hearts blossoms while she tries to re-establish her law career.
This volume is illustrated by Luca Maresca and Takeshi Miyazawa, with colors by Rico Renzi and letters by Joe Caramagna, and it’s a visual treat. A story like this requires art that can balance big action with small character moments, and this team does just that.
She-Hulk: Jen ofHearts is an overall fun read that will put a smile on your face right before it punches you in the heart (in a good way).
Release date: May 30th, 2023
2. Peter Parker & Miles Morales: Spider-Men Double Trouble
We have a new digest-sized Double Trouble book out this month, this one featuring both infamous wall-crawlers, written by Mariko Tamaki and Vita Ayala, with art by Gurihiru, and letters by Cory Petit.
Miles Morales shadows Peter Parker on “Take Your Sidekick to Work Day” (despite his vocal protests) and the two end up battling just about every supervillain in Spider-Man’s rogue gallery. This all-ages romp is a blast for Spider-Fans of any age, full of jokes, Looney Tunes antics, and some legitimate superhero action sequences.
Gurihiru is the perfect choice for art on these Double Trouble books. Their work is whimsical and cartoony, and overall just delightful — a perfect match for Tamaki and Ayala’s lighthearted and witty script.
Release date: May 23rd, 2023
3. She-Hulk Epic Collection: The Cosmic Squish Principle
Marvel is releasing their second She-Hulk Epic Collection this month, this one collecting Sensational She-Hulk #13-30, featuring work by Steve Gerber, Simon Furman, Bryan Hitch, and many more!
She may have started out “Savage,” but She-Hulk’s “Sensational” period is where she came into her own as a character. If you’re looking to see where many of Jen Walters’ modern character traits come from, simply pick up her two Epic Collections that will be available by the end of the month, compiling the first half of Sensational She-Hulk‘s run.
This volume features cameos from a large chunk of Marvel’s great pantheon of characters, and also includes Jen’s very brief stint as the more savage-minded Grey She-Hulk.
Release date: May 31st, 2023
4. Sgt. Fury Epic Collection: Berlin Breakout
It’s been a few years, but we’re finally getting the second volume of Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos in Marvel’s Epic Collection series, gathering issues #20-36 and Annuals #1 and 2, by writers Stan Lee and Roy Thomas, and penciller Dick Ayers.
Celebrate Nick Fury’s 60th anniversary this year by going back to where his adventures began: World War II. If you ever wanted to check out what classic Marvel had to offer outside of superhero shenanigans, here is your chance. This title follows Sgt. Fury and his elite squad as they take on the Axis of Evil — and in this volume, you’ll even get to see the origin of Fury’s iconic eyepatch (spoiler-alert, it does not include a scratch from an alien cat).
Release date: May 31st, 2023
What trades and collections are you planning to pick up this month from Marvel Comics? Sound off in the comments, and we’ll see you back here in a month!
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.
I’ve seen a post doing the rounds of Twitter asking people to post the comic that got them into the medium. Not necessarily the first comic that people read, but the one that was their gateway into the world of sequential art. If you’ve been reading this column for a while, it’ll come as no surprise that The Transformers was instrumental in my early comic addiction. However, I have been reading comics for as long as I can remember, and there are a number of other comics from the same time that helped nurture my love of the medium.
I remember that I had a large collection of Beano comics dating from 1984 to the end of the 1980s. This collection included a long running mystery that involved the disappearance of Dennis the Menace’s pet dog Gnasher. Gnasher went missing for 7 whole weeks (a long time for a young reader). Reading about the growing distress of the central character as he searched for his best friend must have made an emotional impact, because I couldn’t tell you what happened in any of the other 200 issues that I kept until my late teens. However, I can still remember aspects of that particular story.
I also remember reading Scouse Mouse Presents ACE, a comic featuring a Liverpudlian cartoon mouse and his friends. Again, I don’t remember much that happened in the actual stories but I do remember copying the characters onto my school books and even cutting out the artwork to stick on my wall and on folders. Luckily, I didn’t do that with any of the Amazing Spider-Man comics I had at the time (at least not that I will admit to).
The point is, I find it difficult to pinpoint one comic that started my obsession; it was a multitude of comics, bought and read over a period of years. Like a chain reaction, leading from one creative product to the next. One aspect of comic publishing (in the UK at least) that was instrumental to my early reading was the Annual. Long running, popular comics released a hardback book each year full of comic strips, text stories, and other paraphernalia. The most famous are probably Beano and Dandy, but there were so many others. And it is a tradition that is still going on today. There is a lot of excitement every year for the release of the Doctor Who and Beano Annuals, so hopefully these books are inspiring the comics fans of the future.
Transformers Annual 1990 Credit: Marvel Comics UK
Comic Number 113: Transformers Annual 1990
Obviously, I have a number of Transformers Annuals, from the first one in 1985 through to this one from 1990. I only missed out on two that were published in 1991 and 1992. I picked the wrong one to read this week though, because this came out after the weeklies I’m currently reading. Luckily, nothing gets spoiled…
The book contains a mix of comic strips, text stories, a history so far (which I skipped), and a collection of quizzes and fact-files. It’s a treasure trove for young Transformers fans. The stories are entertaining and the comics are wonderfully drawn. The best part of this book is checking out the British talent involved in putting it together. Names like Dan Abnett, Dan Reed, Andy Wildman, and Ian Rimmer, are all creators recognizable from the weekly comics but also from a host of other comics published at the time and in the 30 years since this annual was released.
The Empire Strikes Back Annual Number 2 Credit: Marvel Comics
Comic Number 114: The Empire Strikes Backs Annual 2 1981
Another Marvel offering, this time reprinting issues #50 and #46 of the Star Wars comic (I’ve numbered them that way around because that’s the way they have been printed in the book).
Set after The Empire Strikes Back , these stories fill in some of the story between Empire and Return of the Jedi, but still manage to use all of the popular characters. The Crimson Forever employs the story within a story literary technique to include the popular, scruffy looking scoundrel Han Solo, and an expressive dream sequence allows Luke to interact with Darth Vader.
Archie Goodwin writes a compelling narrative that incorporates movie and comic continuity in a stand alone story. The artwork is intricate but it is the coloring by Don Warfield that makes the visuals stand out in this reprint.
There’s nothing else in this book beside the two comic stories. There isn’t even an introduction page, which, compared to the other annuals I used to read growing up, seems a bit content stingy. I nearly wrote that it might have something to do with the date of publication, as most of the annuals I read were from the later half of the 1980’s but then I remembered the next book I’ve got out to read…
Dalek Annual 1978 Credit: World Distributors
Comic Number 115: Dalek Annual 1978
What a wonderful piece of children’s entertainment this book is. Fact based trivia sits side-by-side with science-fiction fantasy. The life and times of Davros, creator of the Daleks, is presented as a historical examination of the fall of a genius and asks the question: was he a madman?
The text stories are accompanied with beautiful illustrations by… who knows? There are no credits in this book, aside from Terry Nation’s name as creator, which is a shame because there is some outstanding work in this book. The Dalek comic strips are sublime. The page layouts are truly adventurous with barely a stable grid pattern to be seen. The standard layout is obscured by odd shaped panels that lack uniformity, page after page. The opening and closing panels of each page are the only regularly shaped panels and hint at the fact they have been resourced from a weekly format. I love the expansive and elaborate Dalek comic strips and the range of design for the characters and creatures that inhabit the worlds.
Dalek Comics Strip reprinted in the 1978 Dalek Annual
There is something joyful about the comic strips in this book and the fun factor spreads to the rest of the annual. Yes, this is for children, but it does not speak down to anyone and therefore becomes a pleasure to read, even as an adult.
Dead Romans #2 Credit: Image Comics
Comic Number 116: Dead Romans #2
All stop for the new issue of Dead Romans. I’m loving this comic and don’t have much more to say about it.
I mean, the artwork by Nick Marinkovich is outstanding. It captures the desperation of the Roman Legion lost in the Teutoburg swamp lands, hounded by the combined forces of local tribes. The violence of the narrative — written superbly by Fred Kennedy — is there in every panel, accentuated by Jose Villarrubia’s coloring. Even the word balloons by Andrew Thomas are smudged, illustrating the rain and mud that traps the soldiers in the forest.
It is an absolute visual treat and easily one of the best new comics I have read this year.
Star Trek Annual 1977 Credit: World Distributors
Comic Number 117: Star Trek Annual 1977
This is the oldest annual I am reading this week (but not the oldest I own, as I have some Doctor Who annuals from a few years earlier) but it isn’t much different from any of the others. The paratext has an educational leaning and the comic stories feel as though they could be set on the same back lots where the original series was filmed. The narratives are more elaborate but the design and setting is not too outlandish, almost a contrast to the Star Wars comics from the same period.
The most fascinating thing about this book is that, once again, there are no credits inside. Even the creators’ names have been removed from the re-printed comic strips. In today’s internet world, it is relatively easy to track down the original comics and the creators, but when this comic came out, especially in the UK, finding out who wrote or illustrated any of this book would have been extremely difficult. Even into the late 1980s, creator credit was not given to the people who worked on British comics. I remember meeting Dan Abnett and finding out that one of the text sections in the Real Ghostbusters comic was written by him. Each issue had a page of Egon Spengler’s Spirit Guide, so over the years, it amounted to a significant number of pages and not once was Abnett credited. A number of creators who I have spoken to who worked in British Comics publishing, especially Marvel UK, have indicated that a lot of the filler work in the comics were produced by whoever happened to be in the office at the time. It’s an interesting way of working and one that would not be tolerated today. Probably…
Breakthrough Credit: Titan Books
Comic Number 118: Breakthrough
Published by Titan Books in 1990, this book edited by P Christin and AC Knigge collects a selection of stories all written as a reaction to the fall of the Berlin Wall. It has work by some of the biggest comic book creators from the last 50 years and is a thought provoking, moving examination of an important historical event. Unfortunately, some of the stories are still relevant to today’s world and a cynic may say that we haven’t learned a thing.
Writers and artists such as Bill Sienkiewicz, Neil Gaiman, Milo Manara, Dave Gibbons, and the outstanding Moebius contributed to this book. There are science fiction stories, superhero tales, and moving life dramas, all that have a common theme derived from the fall of the Berlin Wall. Some of the work is cynical, some heartbreaking, but there is an overriding feeling of hope emanating from the collection. It is a stunning book and one that I would recommend to people. Stories such as Matthias Schultheiss’ Them are subtle social commentaries whereas Zeljko Pahek’s The Black Scar is a little more on the nose. But all are compelling reads.
As a way of commemorating an event, producing a book like Breakthrough is a wonderful idea. The fact that the editors used writers and artists from a range of countries and backgrounds also adds to the excitement of the book. Each comic has a different perspective of the same event and, as a reader, you can’t help but compare and contrast.
Quantum #1 Credit: Time Bomb Comics
Comic Number 119: Quantum #1
The final entry for this week is a bit different. It is a new anthology comic from British publishers Time Bomb Comics. The aim of the comic is to recapture some of the newsagent sales that were the backbone of British comics for decades. When I was young, all of my comics came from newsagents and I didn’t go to a specialist comic shop until I was a teenager — however the range of comics that I could buy and read was immense. Children’s titles such as The Beano sat on the shelf with The Transformers, The Punisher,Aliens, and, of course, 2000AD. There were even a selection of adult humor comics such as Viz and Electric Soup that were available on the shelf every month without having to travel to a city or a specialist shop.
I’m not sure at what point the newsagent sales died out but it was definitely in the last 25 years. I worked for WH Smiths (one of the biggest stationary and magazine shops in the country), and in my time there I saw a decline in the comic titles that we stocked. Randomly, I saw the number of boating magazines increase. I don’t think the two were related.
The point is, these days buying comics is no longer a simple, impulsive thing to do, especially if you are younger. You have to go out of your way to find and buy comics. Time Bomb Comics are wanting to change that, just a little bit, with this new title Quantum. It is a kind of rival title to 2000AD but with a more historical edge, rather than straight sci-fi. Quantum features alternative realities of the British Empire, Supernatural Westerns, and modern day Superhero-esq stories. All are fascinating as first parts, but “WesterNoir” by Dave West and Gary Crutchley and “Whatever Happened to the World’s Fastest Man?” by West (again) and Marleen Starksfield Lowe are the standout comics for me. I have already built up a love for “WesterNoir” as for a number of years I’ve been buying the comics from the Thought Bubble convention whenever I’ve been there, but the latter comic also has an interesting premise and well structured gray scale artwork.
I’m not sure if this comic has the strength to reignite the newsagent market for comics, but it has got off to a good start and I will be checking out issue two.