SHANG-CHI AND THE TEN RINGS #3 hits your local comic book store on September 28th, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: Shang-Chi has lost the Ten Rings! But who stole them? The answer will shock Shang-Chi, as the Rings’ unknown power is about to be unleashed!
The issue is by writer Gene Luen Yang and artist Marcus To, with colors by Erick Arciniega, and letters by Travis Lanham. The main cover is by Dike Ruan and Matthew Wilson.
Check out the SHANG-CHI AND THE TEN RINGS #3 preview below:
Are you reading SHANG-CHI AND THE TEN RINGS? Sound off in the comments!
CHICKEN DEVILS #1 hits your local comic book store October 12th, but thanks to AfterShock Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you.
About the issue: The world’s FIRST (and perhaps only) hot chicken sandwich-inspired vigilante is BACK…and this time he’s not flocking around!
See Mitchell Moss thrust in the middle of a new gang war! Watch Mitch battle his family as they actively thwart his efforts to keep them safe! And let out an exasperated SIGH alongside Mitch as he is forced into teaming up with the kill-crazy bad cops!
Written by Brian Buccellato (Injustice: Gods Among Us, Detective Comics: Endgame) and illustrated by Mattia Monaco (KNOCK ‘EM DEAD), these are the further adventures of a regular guy plucked out of obscurity by destiny to deliver justice with all the fixins.
The series is by writer Brian Buccellato and artist Mattia Monaco, with letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The main cover is by Hayden Sherman, and there is an incentive variant by Francis Manapul.
CHICKEN DEVILS is the second volume of the AfterShock series CHICKEN DEVIL which began last year. It retains the same creative team, except Monaco is taking over interior art duties from Hayden Sherman.
Check out our CHICKEN DEVILS #1 preview below:
Did you read the first volume of CHICKEN DEVIL? Sound off in the comments!
Ultraman: Mystery of Ultraseven #2 continues to unveil the mysteries introduced in the first issue. The questions surrounding what really happened with Dan Moriboshi are addressed. This latest installment in this entertaining mini-series comes thanks to Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom (writing), Davide Tinto (art), Espen Grundetjern (coloring) and VC’s Ariana Maher (lettering).
Shin’s powerless and trapped in the lion’s den. With the walls closing in, all hope rests on unravelling the decades-long mystery that led the USP to this point. How is it related to a galactic conspiracy, how can Dan Moroboshi still be alive…and why is Ultraseven menacing Japan?
Writing
The second issue takes the time to finally show Dan Moroboshi and Ultraseven bond as they try to get through a terrible situation together. Unlike Shin and Ultraman where the relationship was more about the overall mystery of what the Ultras, the relationship between Dan and Ultraseven has less of a hurdle of trust to get over. The pair have no choice but to work together to survive and its a treat to witness.
Kyle Higgins and Mat Groom offer a great tone which offers an atmosphere to address the mysteries but keeps a great sense of suspense. This comes to a head as Shin and Kiki find they have to take drastic measures and face the wrath of Executive Director Morheim. In a way which may cost them much more than their jobs in the USP.
Artwork
The art by Davide Tinto offers some intense action as Ultraseven and Dan work to survive in Kaiju Limbo. It also offers a great flow to the action as the pair fight against various monsters. Unfortunately a few of the panels feature some extreme facial expressions which distract more than they help the flow of the story.
The coloring work by Espen Grundetjern enhances the atmosphere of the issue and helps draw the reader in. It also helps with showing Dan as a projection of himself while he is merged with Ultraseven. It also helps with panels where the power is cut in USP headquarters and everything is shown through night vision.
The lettering by VC’s Ariana Maher helps to direct the story from panel to panel. The attention to placement of the sound effects adds an auditory experience of the issue without distracting from the action scenes. The scenes where the monsters roar but the monsters themselves are still incredibly intimidating are the best example of this.
Conclusion
Ultraman: The Mystery of Ultraseven #2 continues to be a fantastic read thanks to the mystery and suspense. The bond between Ultraseven and Dan proves to be an important and enjoyable aspect of the story. It will be interesting to see where things go from here and due to the overall quality of the book, readers will definitely be coming back for more.
If you are here at Monkeys Fighting Robots, it’s probably because you are a fan of comics and read them regularly. Most of you will be used to the antics and principles of modern superhero comics, with a pull list consisting of Marvel or DC monthlies and a generous helping of Image, sci-fi, and fantasy titles. Stories will be built around immediate drama and sudden threats. The threat and danger are immediate. It plays a significant role in the narrative and features front and center in the comic. ‘Here is the drama,’ the narrative screams, ‘Here are the obstacles to be overcome.’
That cannot be said of Sunburn, a new graphic novel due from Image Comics in November. Andi Watson doesn’t write superhero comics; he writes slice-of-life dramas. This allows him to slowly coax out the drama over many pages, building an uncomfortable tension that has the hairs on the back of your neck standing up.
Sunburn Credit: Image Comics
Sunburn, written by Watson and illustrated by Simon Gane, see’s the teenage Rachel accept the holiday of a lifetime from a family friend on an unnamed Greek Island. She is introduced to the islanders and taken under the wing of her host and hostess, The Warners. Sun, sea, and even a little romance await her among the beautiful vistas. However, there are secrets hidden in hushed conversations and sly glances. As the weeks stretch out, Rachel is forced to stand up for herself and confront those closest to her.
Watson’s script is subtle and sublime. He perfectly captures the experience of young adventures in foreign lands through the teenage Rachel’s eyes. The awe-inspiring landscapes, beautifully illustrated by Gane, form the backbone of the book; at first, they are mysterious and full of promise, then they are luxurious and playful, but soon they become foreboding and uncontrollable. The internal emotions seep out into the landscape, altering the reader’s perspective of it, which, in turn, alters the reader’s engagement with the narrative. Watson slowly implies a darker aspect to his story and builds layers of tension and mistrust in the scenes. As the book progresses, the reader, through Rachel, becomes increasingly uncomfortable as we try to guess what secrets the characters are keeping. We stop trusting everyone and begin to think the worst. There are moments in Watson’s superb story where you almost scream at the heroine to pack her bags and leave. Having grown up on tales like the Wicker Man, my fear of a disturbing ending was fueled by Watson’s cheeky warnings and misdirection.
There is no imminent threat in Sunburn. Instead, it is an excellent world-building exercise around a central, empathetic character. The cast swims in and around Rachel’s experiences as she journeys from childhood into adolescence. It is, at its heart, a coming-of-age story, beautifully written and expertly illustrated. There is a softness to much of the lettering, produced by broken speech balloons and a handwritten appearance in the text. This helps to create a pleasing atmosphere which is enhanced by the comforting color pallet. Between them, Watson and Gane present a world that you would like to be a part of, a world that draws you in, just as the Greek island draws in Rachel.
The Spectacular Vistas of Sunburn Credit: Image Comics
Gane’s art style is clean and emotional. He focuses on facial expressions and bodily gestures to enhance the emotional states of the characters and, quite often, contradict the speech. Gane creates complexity in the characters that are important to the narrative flow. Coupled with the outstanding landscapes, the art in this book swings from breathtaking overviews to concise emotional struggles and back again. The graphic novel format allows the narrative to progress naturally, with plenty of space for Gane to take his time over the progressions from scene to scene. One of the overwhelming aspects of Sunburn is the landscape, as it seems to infect not only the panels but the pages and even the book itself. When you open the cover, you are as much a visitor to the island as Rachel, and Gane allows you to experience it in the same way the central character does.
Sunburn is the memory of a perfect holiday crossed with the illusion-crushing reality of life. The book sweeps you away and brings you home a changed person. Awe-inspiring double-page spreads show nature’s beauty, while close, intimate moments help you connect to the characters on a human level. These two aspects of the comic allow the creators to pull at your nerves and your heartstrings. They control your emotions from the opening pages making this a book that is very, very difficult to put down.
Watson and Gane have created a wonderful romance novel. It is packed with emotional connections to people and places. It will move you just like any family drama or teenage coming-of-age story should. You will not find immediacy here, but the narrative is better for its slow, dreamy walk through the lives of its characters. Sunburn hits your local book shop on November 23.
Minor Threats, from Dark Horse Comics, is one of the year’s best new comics. Co-written by comedian Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum (who worked together on Hulu’s excellent M.O.D.O.K series) with pencils by Scott Hepburn (Deadpool/Drax, Spider-man and Deadpool), Minor Threats tells the tale of a bunch of low-level supervillains who in an effort to take the heat off the criminal underworld and themselves, get together to take down another much more dangerous, murderous villain (The Stickman! Great name!) after he has killed one of the cities beloved heroes. The creative team was awesome enough to take some time off their uber-busy schedule to talk to us at Monkeys Fighting Robots. So check out the chat below and make sure you add Minor Threats to your pull list. Special thanks to series editor Daniel Chabon and Anthony Mauro from Dark Horse PR for making this interview possible.
Monkeys Fighting Robots: Guys, for our readers who haven’t had the pleasure of reading this book, can you give us a classic elevator pitch? Patton Oswalt: Low-level costumed villains try to take down a high-level villain to score points with the high-level heroes.
MFR: What’s everyone’s comic book origin? How did you get into comics? PO: Comics were always just…there. Spider-man on The Electric Company and then the animated show, and all of my friends read them every week. I kind of fell out of comics for a while in middle school — Dungeons and Dragons and just sci-fi, in general, came along, and then of course, girls. But by the end of high school, you had Watchmen and Dark Knight Returns and Alan Moore’s Swamp Thing. And by the time I got to college, there was Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and that was it. I was back in for life.
Jordan Blum: My dad learned to speak English by reading comics. They were always just there. Like a pile on my highchair. I also came up during prominent toy tie-ins so I’d read Super Powers and Secret Wars and then go buy the action figures. I grew up loving Superman, Batman and Captain America but I think it was X-Men in the late 80s early 90s that made something more – where it went from hobby to lifelong obsession.
SH:I’ve been a comic book collector from a young age. At 8 or 9 I was arranging my bagged books like art on my bedroom walls. By college, the animation industry was in a full resurgence and one of the very few schools offering animation was up here just outside Toronto. So I cut my teeth drawing, designing and storytelling at entry-level tv animation gigs but always with the intention of drawing comics once I had built up my skill set. And then a quick decade or so later I was a regular artist for the Big Two.
MFR: Is this the first comic you have written? PO: I’ve done work for DC, Marvel and Dark Horse, but this is my first creator-owned title.
JB: I’ve written a few projects for the Spidey office and have some other Marvel work coming down the pipeline. This is [also] my first creator-owned book.
MFR: Did you learn anything about comics by writing your first comic? PO: Yeah — don’t be so wordy. Give the artist room to show, rather than you telling.
JB: World building is intoxicating and also a trap. We worked really hard to make the first issue focus on Frankie and lead us through Twilight City from her perspective. There’s so much history we want to cover but luckily Scott’s art did most of the heavy lifting so our words could be about Frankie.
MFR: I know this was based on a pitch you did for DC Comics using some of Batman’s Rogues Gallery. So when you changed it did that change anything in the story or narrative? Did anything new come from having to create the characters?PO: Oh absolutely. With their different backgrounds, and being able to build them from the ground up, we were able to expand this entire universe, instead of just keeping it Gotham-centric. Twilight City is the setting but we were able to add hints of much larger things that were going on in the world itself.
MFR:As a punk rock fan, I gotta ask; is the title Minor Threats a nod in any way to the great 1980s DC hardcore band Minor Threat? PO: We ran through a LOT of possible titles but when we landed on that it felt so right.. I’m a huge fan of the band so I was very aware of the comparison.
MFR: When you had to retool this by creating your own characters, where and how did you start that process? How did you start creating the themes and concepts for each character? And what made you choose those particular themes, costumes and personalities? Was there a first character creation that set a tone? PO: I think the themes are more or less universal when you’re talking about crime, privilege, class structure and poverty. We just had way more fun smuggling all of that into a superhero narrative.
JB: I had written a screenplay many years ago about super villains so I pulled some elements from that to create the dynamic of Frankie, her relationship to her mother Loretta, their legacy of villainy and wanting to protect her daughter Maggie from a similar fate. We wanted to bridge the silver age into the modern age so we landed on toys as a gimmick for Frankie. We discussed with Scott that the toys could lose a little of their innocence, be half-built little Terminator-looking teddy bears and he ran with that. The rest of the characters sort of fell into place. Patton had a great take on a low-rent Riddler-type that has succumbed to his own personal demons so we ended up with Brain Tease. We knew we wanted a muscle character who felt more 90s so Snakestalker came from that. In wanting to explore the culture of blue-collar villainy we started asking where they get treated for bullet wounds and broken bones and Scalpel was born out of that conversation. In discussing the code of villainy and some of our crooks holding onto the “good old days” we started to talk about an older villain refusing to let go like Pigeon Pete. I think the biggest thing was giving them really different voices, voices that would clash and fight with each other. This led to us switching narrators every issue to let those voices come through
MFR: Scott, Did you have a favorite sequence or character to draw? SH: I mean… all of them? It’s really about treating everyone in the crowd like a full character. And every location is like a place that’s been around and changing for a long time.
Villains Unite!
MFR: As much as this is a pretty dark story you guys are telling, there are a lot of moments of levity and humor. You both obviously come from a comedy background, but what made you want to inject that into the story? Why was adding humor so important? PO: I think even in real life, in real life “dark” situations, fate or the human psyche reacts with humor. Otherwise, I think the overall fabric of reality would have been torn to bits decades ago.
JB: I think the comedy comes out of character. These aren’t hardened a-list criminals, their c-listers who want to be taken seriously which in itself is inherently funny, especially when they’re dressed in snake costumes.
MFR: Does either of you have a favorite character? Is there one you loved to write more than the others? PO: I have this weird affection for Pigeon Pete. I mean, Playtime is obviously charismatic and fascinating and is our protagonist, but someone who’s kind of their own ghost always lands with me.
JB: I mean Frankie is such a classic noir character and a blast to write but Scalpel really emerged as a favorite for me. I think Scott’s art and acting for the character really influenced how we wrote her. Once we cracked her origin I really fell for her complexities.
MFR: Are there any specific comics you looked to for inspiration for Minor Threats? Any story arcs or creative teams you had in the back of your heads? PO: Astro City, for me, obviously.
JB:Yeah, Astro City. Spider-Man and his Superior Foes. In general, for me it’s always been the Rogues from Flash.
MFR: What made you go with Dark Horse as the publisher? PO: It was such a no-brainer. They’re this wonderful combination of tight storytelling within expanded universes — Black Hammer and Hellboy and The Umbrella Academy and especially Mind Mgmt, which I’m now re-reading.
JB: They have an amazing track record for building universes from scratch and successfully launching them. Especially our editor Daniel Chabon who edits the Black Hammer line.
MFR: Did you guys ever work together before the M.O.D.O.K. show (which was amazing!) and Minor Threats? PO: We did a pilot together for FOX that didn’t go — more of a working-class superhero rather than a villain. But imaginary realms are where we operate the best.We worked with Scott on our M.O.D.O.K. comic and the way we were fighting over who’d get to own certain pages, just the way we were instantly fan-boys of his look and style. Again, another no-brainer.
JB: Patton and I met years ago on a [that pilot]. It was the first thing I ever sold and I was absolutely fan-boying out when Patton came aboard. We realized very early that we speak the same geek language and our ideas mesh perfectly together. We fell in love with Scott’s talents in our M.O.D.O.K. book so we knew we wanted to create something new with him. Scott had worked with our colorist Ian and Nate came through Dark Horse and we had been fans of his work. It’s an absolute dream team top to bottom. Every choice they make just elevates the book.
SH: I really lucked out and got connected to Patton and Jordan early [with that] M.O.D.O.K mini-series. We just fit well together as a team. I think we all have a shared love for the range of craziness that comic book stories carry so well.
MFR: Scott, A series like this, which includes so many analogue characters and references to other well-known pop-culture stores presents some challenges. But you certainly nailed it. How do you and did you go about creating something that will remind readers of a character they know, yet still keep it wholly its own unique thing? SH: Yeah we are creating a lot of new worlds, but the depth of inspiration is so deep. It’s really about treating everyone in the crowd like a full character. And every location is like a place that’s been around and changing for a long time.
MFR: What was the creative process like? Patton and Jordan did you write a traditional script first or did you maybe use something like the Marvel method or any other more comic book style writing? PO: We’d get together and hash out the overall story and then start writing script pages. A lot of times I’d overwrite stuff and Jordan, who’s so good at character and focus, would tighten things up.
JB: We tend to break the story and heavily outline together. Then we’ll sometimes break up scenes, pass them back and forth or write specific ones together. It’s always just suggestions for Scott, just to get him thinking. He’s such a genius and we absolutely trust him to build off the script and make it better.
SH:The three of us are in a pretty constant state of communication, with text threads and emails and the odd zoom meeting to go over scripts
MFR: Any consideration of further exploring this world? PO: Oh my goodness yes. And that’s all I’m gonna say.
JB: We have SOOOOOO many stories to tell within this universe. Every time we get a new character design back from Scott, no matter how insignificant the character, we start hashing out entire arcs for these bit players.
Scott Hepburn: I like to think of Minor Threats as a rapidly expanding world like Marvel in the sixties but seen from the gutter!
MFR: Minor Threats#2 starts to delve more into the past and motivations of some of the characters, like Brain Tease. What makes villains so captivating to explore and read in more detail?
PO:Well, every villain’s origin is about how does someone react to trauma, abuse or insult? Do you rise above or decide to become a bigger abuser? And who’s to say that a hero, given a slightly different set of circumstances, wouldn’t have become a villain?
JB: We want to subvert expectations. Here’s a disturbed maniac in a brain helmet obsessing over puzzles, how do we make you care about him? I think all of these characters are born out of tragedy, why else would they end up at that bar. Brain Tease is also a bit of an unreliable narrator so it’s fun to write voice-over for him as it conflicts with the flashback moments Scott is drawing.
MFR: So what can readers expect in the rest of the series? Wanna drop some juicy teases without spoiling the fun? PO:I’m keeping my lip ZIPPED!
JB: Issue #3 has the craziest chase scene we’ve ever written which allows us to see more of Twilight City, specifically the effect 60 years of superhero continuity has had on it. Eventually, our heroes will find the Stickman and they will absolutely come to regret that decision. The death count in this book gets quite high. Also, The Insomniac is still out there, I wonder if he’ll come back?
Minor Threats #2 is scheduled to be released on October 5th, 2022, and is available at your local LCS!
The Woman King is the latest film to demonstrate why Viola Davis is one of the greatest. While the narrative is historically inaccurate, a twisted history resulted in an empowering movie. Davis shines as the film’s lead while almost being outdone by her tremendous co-stars. The Woman King will go down as one of the most epic films this decade has to offer. Some viewers might be turned off by the dishonest presentation, but this is a true work of art.
Basing a film on true events is nothing new, but this has already drawn a lot of attention to The Woman King. Viewers have noticed the trailer isn’t telling the whole truth about its characters. The story centers on Amazon warriors that represent the Kingdom of Dahomey, which has a dark history related to slave trades. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and writer Dana Stevens have crafted a story that doesn’t overlook the dark history. Instead, that history is converted into this inspiring theatrical accomplishment.
Davis is joined by Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega. The Woman King takes place during the 1820s. A group of warriors led by general Nanisca (Davis) train in preparation to fight off their enemy to protect the kingdom. Stevens’ screenplay works for many reasons, but the most profound reason is that it focuses on two people seeking their purpose in life. Nanisca might be their general, but she’s had to make a lot of unfortunate sacrifices along the way. Audiences will instantly feel connected to Nanisca due to the character’s traumatic background that Davis is able to make so compelling.
As mentioned, Stevens’ doesn’t shy away from the entire truth about the Kingdom of Dahomey. Glimpses of their slave dealings are present, and we’re even shown a few questionable scenes. While this is from a heroic lens, Dahomey isn’t portrayed as an innocent kingdom. Stevens incorporates enough to allow this progressive spin to feel rewarding. One major aspect this film excels at is its fighting sequences that never disappoint. The choreography was mesmerizing, and when accompanied by the score it becomes a gripping sequence of events.
Our cast of warriors is impressive in their roles, with Lynch being the standout as Izogie. A character that has been hardened by her abusive past yet refuses to let that define who she is. Lynch emphasizes this character’s resolve through an emotional performance that left me wanting to learn more about Izogie. Mbedu is another outstanding talent, as this is deemed her breakout performance. Starring as Nawi, a young woman with several similarities to Nanisca. The Woman King doesn’t always have the best pacing, and this is most evident with certain relationships and battle sequences.
Despite that, enough is established to grow invested in the narrative and the journey these characters embark on. The screenplay does have an unnecessary Romeo and Juliet subplot that isn’t engaging when it unfolds. If this wasn’t included then certain action sequences could have been allowed time to breathe. The Woman King does feel restricted by its rating, which makes some sequences unconvincing than others. That’s why the performances are crucial as well because they make you feel attached to everything on screen.
The Woman King is a movie that might upset some people, but if given a chance, you’ll see this isn’t a glorification of Dahomey’s slave trading practices. Elements of their history are changed to present this stellar action drama film. Davis is a true pleasure to witness in any role, and she doesn’t disappoint here as Nanisca. This is an emotional, action-packed, and inspiring tale about a group of women discovering themselves and defending their kingdom.
Anytime I see the name Cullen Bunn attached to a comic book, my interest is immediately piqued. Bunn has earned credit in the industry with his work on Uncanny X-Men and his horror work on Harrow County. On October 5, his newest book, A Legacy ofViolence, hits your local comic book store from Mad Cave Studios. Joined by Andrea Mutti on pencils and colors with Russ Wooton on letters, ALegacy of Violence seems like a sure-fire hit.
WRITING
A Legacy of Violence split the issue between 1966 and 1985. This gives us some background on the main protagonist, Dr. Nick Shaw. Bunn uses the time spent in 1966 to show Dr. Shaw’s past. He is staying with his grandparents, who seem to be in some moral dilemma regarding unit 731. As a reader, we don’t know what that is yet, which is something Bunn will build on in future issues. In 1985, Dr. Shaw is grown up and made an impression on his staff at the hospital. Horror is about surprise and the unknown happening on a whim. Bunn gives us a well-planted seed as Dr. Shaw is attacked by a crazed patient. We want to know all the reasons for this attack. Unit 731 gets brought up again as well. This is an important piece of the puzzle between the past and the future. Bunn has planted enough mystery and horror seeds to make this an interesting read with a spooky concept.
ART
The pencils and colors by Andrea Mutti work well for this story. Mutti uses a minimalist approach when it comes to characters. The detail on faces is not overly done, and his work feels like an 80’s horror comic. For as sinister as some of the horror pages look, Mutti draws the panels from the past to look wholesome. The 1966 part of the story resembles something you would see from a Leave It To Beaver episode. Mutti does draw these wholesome pages with a bit of a dark side as well. There is a lot of shading and darker images allowing the reader to see that 1966 is not as good-natured as it seems to be.
The colors are also handled by Andrea Mutti, and they go hand in hand with his pencils. Mutti’s color palette is light in the present (1985) and black and white in the past (1966). There is a lot of blood in the present, and Mutti uses a lighter red that fits well with the color scheme. Nothing in the present is overly done or too dark. For the pages that take place in the past, the black and white coloring is a little unsettling. It’s supposed to feel safe, but Mutti gives us enough shade and dark panels to make it feel like something is off.
The letters are done by Russ Wooton. Wooton opens up the issue with some distorted letter bubbles that indicate a character is in pain. As an ill patient attacks a doctor, Wooton uses sound effects like “SHHHK” as a patient breaks his restraints. Wooton also utilizes good word placement. When a page is full of action, Wooton places all dialogue above the characters, so it doesn’t interfere with the image.
CONCLUSION
A Legacy Of Violence is a fun and creepy little book. I honestly have no idea where things will go, and that’s a good thing. Cullen Bunn continues his hit streak with A Legacyof Violence. The pencils and art completely fit the story and work well with the horror genre. Check out A Legacy Of Violence on October 5.
Out this week from Boom! Studios, Flavor Girls #3 by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky and colorist Eros de Santiago brings the first series barreling to a conclusion and answers the pressing question: what can a pineapple wand do in a fight? Having only recently come together as a complete unit, the Flavor Girls are forced to confront their first real test – one of the Agarthians’ four generals. Between Sara’s inexperience and Naoko’s ties to the villain, things promise to escalate quickly.
Flavor Girls team leader Naoko has been holding in a lot. The final issue of the miniseries starts with a look into her past, focusing on a lingering sense of survivor’s guilt she has after the death of her best friend. Those feelings dovetail into the present, where the Flavor Girls face off against alien general Troezen. A vain warlord who killed Naoko’s friend all those years ago. New member Sara manages to wield new powers during the brawl, but they might not be enough to ensure victory. An epilogue delves into the ranks of the mysterious Agarthians and the single human who’s chosen to help them. The final story is a short conclusion to the previous issue’s haunted house story. Naoko again faces her guilt, and the team adopts a new pet.
The Flavor Girls miniseries’ climax brings a more serious tone and a lot of life-or-death fighting. The first pages set the stage for the whole issue, starting with Naoko amid a vicious fight and transitioning to silent images of her tragic past. However, it’s not all doom-and-gloom. Sara’s inexperience brings a lot of comic relief, especially when she starts naming her attacks or takes short breaks from the battle to geek out over her new powers.
It’s a glimpse at the hierarchy of the Agarthians that makes for the most exciting moment of the issue. Until now, the aliens have mostly been portrayed as silent and enigmatic. But now, they don’t only have voices but strong, defined personalities. For example, Troezen is a vain Lord who lives for the approval of his peers, serving under King Monarkh, who comes off as a drunk, disinterested ruler. Other characters hint at infighting among Agartha’s higher ranks, and Monarkh gives a glimpse into his ultimate goals. It’s a big shift, but one that promises more involved villains who can inject personality into whatever fight they’re involved in. Assuming the Flavor Girls eventually return, it’s a choice that could give the series a lot more longevity.
Locatelli-Kournwsky gets to show off his action chops throughout the issue, and he manages to create exciting scenes that still show his more methodical approach to storytelling. Panel grids are used for more mundane or slower-paced scenes, while more frantic action gets similarly laid-out panels but with diagonal, sloping borders. It keeps the storytelling calm and controlled, but with a slightly off-kilter feeling that fits the desperate scramble, the climactic fight becomes. Panels-within-panels are also often used to either highlight an impact or show a cutaway reaction shot from one of the characters. These little tricks keep Locatelli-Kournwsky’s use of many small, strictly laid-out panels from feeling stiff or static. His use of manga-style motion lines that blur characters and backgrounds into arcs of motion also helps. However, the smaller panels keep these feeling like more contained moments than similar manga pages that might make an entire page into a flurry of motion. For all the choices taken to keep things exciting, it’s Clarity that’s king here.
Eros de Santiago and Locatelli-Kournwsky collaborate to bring their brightest palette yet, backgrounds fading away to be dominated by pinks, yellows, and blues. But the vibrancy of the early fight slowly gives way to menacing reds and blacks as things go south, culminating in the sickly reds and yellows used on the Agarthian’s planet.
The lettering retains its handwritten charm, though the more serious tone of the issue leaves less room for small doodles in the margins of speech bubbles. There are still loosely scribbled sound effects, from an excited “WOOOOO!” to a cat’s irritated “Maw!”
VERDICT
Flavor Girls #3 is an action-packed conclusion to the first story arc, which sets up many future plot points that are begging to be explored. Hopefully, this isn’t the last we see of the girls.
JANE FOSTER & THE MIGHTY THOR #4 hits your local comic book store on September 21st, but thanks to Marvel Comics, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for you!
About the issue: Asgard’s defenses have been breached, its warriors battered and still more legions are unleashed against them! The chaos and destruction seem to be fueling some great, dark power…but to what end? Before she can find what lurks in the shadows and save the Golden Realm, Jane Foster must first save Thor!
The issue is by writer Torunn Grønbekk and artist Michael Dowling, with colors by Jesus Aburtov, and letters by Joe Sabino. The main cover is by Ryan Stegman, JP Mayer, and Romulo Fajardo Jr.
Check out the JANE FOSTER & THE MIGHTY THOR #4 preview below:
Are you reading JANE FOSTER & THE MIGHTY THOR? Sound off in the comments!
DOGS OF LONDON #5 hist your local comic book hop on September 28, but thanks to AfterShock, Monkeys Fighting Robots has an exclusive four-page preview for our reads. The issue is written by Peter Milligan, with art by Artecida, Valentina Bianconi drops the colors, and you will read Rob Steen’s letter work. In addition, Andy Clarke and Jose Villarrubia worked on the cover.
About the issue: Sir Frank Babbs is finally reunited with the childhood friends he thought he’d killed and buried long ago. But who’s going to end up top dog? Will Frank find out the real reason why Danny Vince killed his beloved Audrey? Can The Dogs forgive Danny for what he did to them? In the fifth and final issue of DOGS OF LONDON, there’s the romance of young love. A dark old family secret. A right old tear-up between a lot of old men who should know better. And an unexpected declaration of love. Woof woof!
