Best Indie Comics of 2021 (So Far)
On today’s list of the Best Indie Comics of 2021 (So Far), we’ve selected 10 books from a wide variety of publishers, including AfterShock Comics, Vault Comics, BOOM! Studios, Dark Horse, and more…
Read MoreBest Indie Comics of 2020 (So Far)
On this list of the Best Indie Comics of 2020 (so far!), you’ll find titles from rising publishers like BOOM! Studios, Vault Comics, and many more!
Read MoreMeet the Publisher: Talking Mad Cave Studios with CEO/CCO Mark London
By Bo Stewart, Harrison Stewart, and Zack Quaintance — There are an increasing number of startup and independent publishers in comics. So many, in fact, that it can sometimes be hard to keep up with all the great books they’re putting out. Vault Comics, TKO Studios, AfterShock Comics, Ahoy…the list goes on and on. To that end, today we’re launching a new feature called Meet the Publisher.
The concept behind Meet the Publisher is a simple one: we give you a resource to learn more about the publisher, the publisher’s comics, what the company seeks to bring to the industry, and more. This first edition is focused on Miami-based Mad Cave Studios. Below, you’ll find an interview with the rising publisher’s CEO/CCO Mark London. It’s the first of a series of three pieces on the site today, with links for the others below as well. Oh, and practically as I was typing this another new publisher just announced its presence on the market. See? Tough to keep up…
Now let’s get to our interview with Mark!
Check out our other Mad Cave Studios features!
Q&A with Mad Cave CEO/CCO Mark London
Mad Cave Studios CEO/CCO Mark London.
Q: So, let’s start with the basics...who are you folks, where are you from, and how long have you been making comics?
Mad Cave Studios is an independent publisher based in Miami, Florida. We’ve been hard at work since 2014, focused on creating unique, visually-stunning comics across multiple genres that captivate a wide audience. We want our #CaveDwellers not to passively read our comics, but enjoy taking a deep, introspective journey with our characters, environments, and themes. Yes, it may be profound, but it is who we are. You see, the company’s name, Mad Cave Studios, stems from the fact that we harness madness to create uniquely compelling and diverse comic books. We strive to produce quality books, so the reader can expect the best possible products.
Q: What inspired you to start making and publishing your own comics?
For me, it’s all about storytelling. I grew up in the ’80s, a helluva time to be exposed to all sorts of media: Comics, video games, movies, animation, literature; all great platforms for storytelling in their own way. I devoured everything I could get my hands on, but comics have always been dear to me. There is something about sequential art that really connects with me and mesmerizes me at the same time. To some, they are just pictures divided into grids, into panels, into pages, but for me, they’re so much more. So, I guess it was just a matter of time before I put my fascination with storytelling to good use and I chose comics as the medium.
Q: If you had to give an elevator pitch for your brand, how would you describe the comics that Mad Cave makes?
Mad Cave delivers fun, action-packed comics across a variety of genres. It’s Mad Cave’s obsession. World building stories. The hero's journey. Feel good comics. Those are the kinds of stories that I read, saw or interacted with when I was growing up and wanted to write my own versions of, the Mad Cave way.
Q: A somewhat sizable (or at least vocal) segment of our audience consists of aspiring comics writers, and I’m sure they’d like me to ask if Mad Cave has plans to eventually publish work by other writers….
Not at the moment, unfortunately. There are certain stories we are planning to tell in the immediate future. But that could change soon, who knows.
Q: Tell us a little bit about the talent search you recently ran…
Mad Cave’s initial releases of comics are written by me. Since we were starting a publishing /content building company and the writer is also the CEO, things tend to get a little crazy. If you look at Valiant’s inception back in the ’90s, Jim Shooter was writing those books. The Image founders were all writing and drawing their own books, Joe Pruett did the same thing for AfterShock with one of their launch titles (B.E.K.), Pizzolo at Black Mask…I could go on and on. So, since we are past that brutal first phase, and the company has grown substantially, it was a no brainer to acknowledge that we needed more hands on board. Hence the talent search. I’m happy to report that it was a success and we have some very talented artists and writers joining the ranks. I can't wait to show the world all of the new and interesting titles they’ve been working on, but all I can say is that the books, as well as the talent themselves, have heart, they are full of passion, and they are a blast to read.
Q: Can you describe the journey of starting out in comics publishing?
Brutal. It's like eating glass haha. Some might say that there is no right or wrong way to make comics, but in reality, there is. And there are the rules you painfully learn as you go through the learning process. So, yeah, too many missteps to talk about in this interview, but that’s how you get better at something, right? I’m a firm believer that you learn more from your mistakes than from your achievements. Of course, the idea is to improve on those mistakes and never make them again. And if they do happen, just keep pushing forward and never look back.
Q: How difficult is it these days to get the attention of folks who read creator-owned comics and what have you found most useful in doing that?
Word of mouth is critical for the success of your book. You have to go to conventions in order to spread the word, to speak with as many retailers as possible so you can get your books into their stores and therefore reach fans. Have a website and join the different social media channels, so that you can engage with people who want to make comics or enjoy reading them.
Q: Where should an interested reader start if they’re interested in getting into Mad Cave’s comics?
The best way is at www.madavestudios.com and on social media including Facebook on Facebook.com/MadCaveStudios and @MadCaveStudios on Instagram and Twitter.
As far as where you should start reading, Battlecats was our launch title and it is coming back for a second volume in May. There is also cyberpunk, noir thriller, Midnight Task Force. We also have Knights of the Golden Sun, a book that has really done well for us. That story is the original tale of good versus evil. Angels and demons. And our newest series, Honor and Curse, follows a young shinobi haunted by the spirits of his past.
Q: What advice do you have for someone interested in publishing comics, or really just getting into the industry?
Make sure that you love it. Pay attention to the whole industry, not just the comics. Learn the comics craft inside out. Practice as much as you can. Write, show it to friends and family, accept the good, the bad, and the ugly. Then rinse and repeat. There is no middle ground with comics and the learning curve is very steep. Like my wife likes to keep reminding me: “This is not a sprint, it's a marathon.” So keep pushing forward no matter what and if you stick through it long enough, then you have a shot. And never forget why you started making comics in the first place.
Q: What does the immediate future hold for Mad Cave?
Comics, comics, and more comics. We are content builders and we have an aggressive strategy for the next three years that we strongly believe will benefit fans of all genres. Mad stories with mad twists are coming your way from writers and artists that love the medium, love the industry, and are giving it their best so that fans everywhere can have the best time reading comics.
Bo Stewart grinds for the Man by day so he can create comics by night. He is the lesser half of the Stewart Brothers writing team and can be found on Twitter and Instagram @stewart_bros
Harrison Stewart is an aspiring human being whose goals include solving the mathematical equation for love. Follow him on Twitter for more writing stuff.
Zack Quaintance is a tech reporter by day and freelance writer by night/weekend. He Tweets compulsively about storytelling and comics as BatmansBookcase.
ADVANCED REVIEW: Man-Eaters #1 by Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Rachelle Rosenberg, Joe Caramagna, & Lia Miternique
Man-Eaters #1 is out Sept. 26.
By Zack Quaintance — There’s a fantastic sense of freedom in Man-Eaters #1. The book is written by Chelsea Cain and drawn by Kate Niemczyk, a duo that last teamed together for Marvel Comics’ Mockingbird. I really enjoyed that comic, which was an engrossing puzzle box of a superhero story that also hinted (somewhat controversially...but I won’t get into that nonsense) at the themes in this book.
Mockingbird, however, addressed those themes subtly, putting superheroics at its forefront pretty much at all times. Man-Eaters #1, though, has the liberating benefit of being a straight satire. The book has mystery, action, and even a touch of body horror, to be sure, but all of those qualities grow from the story’s foundational poignancy, rather than having it be the other way around. The result is an unencumbered creative team firing with all its strength, and, simply put, it’s fantastic.
Visually, this comic is brimming with small details and gags that reward careful readers. Pencil Shoppe...Hand-Sharpened While You Wait!, an unseen kid labeled The Intern In Charge of Social Media., a Bitch Planet poster on the wall in a bedroom, etc. Niemczyk is a big talent, with clean and precise linework on characters and in backgrounds. There’s an eclectic two-page splash early in this book that sets the tone for the strength of the visuals to come, as well as for how much attention should be devoted to each panel, lest readers miss out on the details included for them by the creators.
And these visual gags in the early pages go a long way toward making the hefty amount of exposition we get up front story palatable. It’s not that big of a deal—stories with younger protagonists have a long tradition of heroes talking directly to the audience, introducing readers to the world the same way kids in real life explain things—but it’s still noticeable. The young protagonist and her narrative voice are both immediately likable, and the world and concept of this comic are more than interesting enough to make this comic engaging. In the end, this book is really well-done and smart, ending with a fantastic last page cliffhanger, as all great #1 issues should.
Essentially, Man-Eaters #1 did a fantastic job setting up its characters, world, and plot points, and I’m excited to see what the creative team will do with it all moving forward.
Overall: A smart and searingly clever satire, Man-Eaters #1 is a great setup for a comic that has important things to say. Visually, this book is a total treat, packing rewarding details and entertaining gags for careful readers into most of its panels. This comic gets a full endorsement. 8.5/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
The Saga Re-Read: Saga #4
Lying Cat and his human, The Will.
By Zack Quaintance & Cory Webber — This is it folks, the last issue before we start the final 50-issue home stretch. We're officially within a year of finishing this project! I can't speak for Cory (whom I know is itching to read ahead at a faster pace...and who could blame him?), but I've gotten quite a bit out of this little re-read project so far.
Part of the logic for doing this was to keep the story and the characters fresh in my mind during the one-year hiatus. This series is so well-done, though, that doing a slow re-read is having the added advantage of making me aware of layers and character growth I might have glazed over during my first read, when every time I cracked an issue I was mostly just concerned with what's going to happen?! Essentially, that's all a verbose way of noting that taking Saga at a slow, weekly pace is a new experience for me as a re-reader and I'm noticing things I might have missed the first time.
Onward!
Saga #4
Here's the official preview text from way back when for Saga #4:
Welcome to SEXTILLION, a distant planet where even your darkest fantasies become reality. See why everyone's talking about this hit new ongoing adventure from BRIAN K. VAUGHAN and FIONA STAPLES!
Oooo, that's all a bit more descriptive than the last two weeks. Sextillion! How exciting. The solicit has also segued from touting the book as a controversy to embracing it's roll as a budding mega-hit, the likes of which Image (and, really, the industry) hadn't seen since Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead, which took a few years and a successful TV adaptation to really get rolling. Saga, meanwhile, was a hit right from the start. Now on to your takes!
A Re-Reader’s Perspective by Zack: This issue gives us another of Saga's distinctive intro pages, one of the first of many to come. Really, this whole issue is another pretty slow one, especially as it pertains to our central family with all the main action happening off-panel and the dramatics relying on conversation. It is interesting to look back at, though, because it depicts a desire on Vaughan's part to make even his villainous characters sympathetic right from the start (talking of The Will here). Sometimes I feel like comics writers become enamored with villains and backwards engineer sympathy. Not here, though. This issue also has that panel that I reference in my spoiler heavy Why Saga #54 Hurts So Bad piece. Sigh.
A New Reader’s Perspective by Cory Webber: Well, Sextillion is, umm, interesting. I’ve heard of these unique opening pages that Saga likes to throw our way, and this one was unique, for sure. Moreover, I quite enjoyed the back-and-forth banter between Alana and Izabel. I feel that relationship is going to grow on me. Also, it was nice to see that The Will can be sympathetic, at least as it applies to saving child sex slaves. And, it was nice to see that flat-headed slaver get his comeuppance. We have been getting a lot of great personal, character moments and relationship/world building, but that appears to be changing soon based on the last page. I can’t wait to see how the action and mayhem unfurls.
Cory’s New Reader Predictions: We will be seeing the wrath of Gwendolyn, at some point. And I cannot wait for it!
Thanks for joining us, and be sure to check back next Friday for a discussion of Saga #5! Tweet us @BatmansBookcase with your own thoughts, and we may run them here next week...
Cory Webber is a work-from-home entrepreneur who also reads and reviews comics for fun. Find him on Twitter at @CeeEssWebber. He lives in Lehi, Utah with his wife and three sons.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Beyonders #1 by Paul Jenkins & Wesley St. Claire
Beyonders #1 is out Aug. 29. 2018.
By Zack Quaintance — The opening pages of Paul Jenkins and Wesley St. Claire’s Beyonders #1 are not unlike having a conversation with someone who is really into historical conspiracy theories at a party or a bar: the information comes at you so fast that you can’t make much sense of it...all you know is that there’s something much much larger going on here, something that may or may not be worth going all in on.
In that sense, Beyonders #1 does a great job opening up a new comic, throwing out an intriguing hook that basically encapsulates what this story is about, one that will surely make clear to like-minded readers that they’re in for something worthwhile. For those who are maybe a little overwhelmed with the opening, the creative team does a great job of getting us right to our protagonist, who himself then makes clear that he finds this all a bit overwhelming as well. That he does it with some funny too is another enticing quality laid out early by Beyonders.
That’s all really great on a surface level. What I found more enticing about this book was the hints at bigger questions about conspiracy culture, about how it’s accelerated in odd regions due to the Internet and about how certain types of people are prone to use it as a distraction from more tangible and immediate things in the world around them. It’s all so relevant for this tough year of 2018, and Jenkins and St. Claire do a great job of conveying that without being heavy-handed.
Some of the scenes of Jacob’s real life, however, are just a little too on the nose and convenient, especially one where he’s called into his principal’s office so the man can give him a speech and also inform him he’s been denied...by every college he applied to. That convenience took me out of the story a little bit (just a little), but thankfully the book is never far off from lapsing back into its central concern: conspiracies.
Jenkins and St. Claire are experienced creators who know their craft stuff, and the book reads quickly. Everything here is well-polished and easy to digest. Whether or not is proves to be a lasting series, however, will likely depend on how well it continues to unpack the reasons online culture has accelerated belief in conspiracies.
Overall: There are a lot of surprises in this comic, as one is right to expect from a book about conspiracies, and they’re all well-done. In the end, I’d heartily recommend this comic to anyone who gets lost down conspiratorial rabbit holes on the Internet with any degree of regularity. 7.0/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: Wasted Space #4 by Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, & Jim Campbell
Wasted Space #4 is out Aug. 22, 2018.
By Zack Quaintance — One of the qualities (among many) that has drawn me to Wasted Space is its sheer complexity. This is the series’ fourth issue, and going in I found myself wondering what facet of this story Moreci, Sherman, et al. would explore here in greater depth. Would we finally see Devolous Yam (almost)? Would we learn more about the powers shared by our series leads (almost again)? How about more of Legion, the giant unstoppable force driven to absolutely stomp our heroes (no, but check out #5’s cover)?
The first three issues have just laid so much excellent groundwork, planting tons of compelling seeds for the creators to explore (great news: this book had been granted ongoing status, now likely to run for at least 20 issues). Anyway, we start here with protagonist Billy having his longest conversation yet with The Creator, a robot who appears only to him and is also basically God to the vast majority of the galaxy.
Wasted Space #4, much like preceding issues, doesn’t spoon feed its audience easy answers. Instead, it keeps marching forward, putting characters in deeper jeopardy and revealing info only as it applies to that. What does, however, become clearer in this fourth installment is that Wasted Space likely aspires to be a pretty direct (although not heavy handed) allegory for our current times, one that challenges readers with difficult questions.
There are plenty of interesting questions asked in brief, but the one I see at the heart of this thing is about repercussions. This is a theme hinted at in every issue, and so it’s no surprise it shows up again here, but what this book seems to want its readers to think about is not causes of systematic oppression or tumult, but rather what is the responsibility of individuals to respond to grave trouble, what is the just thing to do and how does one continue doing it after personal losses mount? It’s heady and compelling stuff, at times blurring the troubling line between staying comfortable and embracing outright nihilism.
Hayden Sherman, meanwhile, continues proving himself one of the most versatile sci-fi artists in comics, as capable of nailing scenes entirely reliant upon facial expressions as he is of rendering extreme violence or intricate spaceship interiors. He’s supported here by Jason Wordie’s vibrant colors, and by Jim Campbell’s letters, which do quite a bit, getting across long tracks of whispered conversation seamlessly. When a letterer is at their best, their work breezes by without notice, and that’s certainly the case with Campbell in this issue.
Overall: Wasted Space #4 is rich with both sporadic bursts of idea-heavy conversation as well as with space opera action, which is basically this series’ MO. For those as engaged with this comic as I am, this issue is yet another step forward in one of the most exciting sci-fi epics in comics today. 9.0/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Five Questions with Creators: Charlie Stickney
White Ash #1 by Charlie Stickney and Conor Hughes.
By Zack Quaintance — Charlie Stickney is the comic writer behind White Ash, which just recently completed its third successful Kickstarter. White Ash, as we wrote in our February 2018 New Discoveries, is a compelling and well-done comic that combines bits of classic fantasy stories with a star-crossed lovers conflict and sets the whole thing in rural Pennsylvania—it’s well worth checking out.
Anyway, Charlie was also kind enough to take some time out to talk to us for Five Questions with Creators feature, discussing White Ash, Kickstarter comics versus indie publishing, and advice for comics writers who are just starting out.
Let’s do it!
1. How many Kickstarter campaigns have you done for White Ash?
This is our third Kickstarter for White Ash. We’ve been incredibly fortunate that we’ve been successful on all three outings and that each has progressively built upon the last. If all things continue to go well, a Kickstarter for Chapter Four should be live sometime late in October or early in November.
White Ash #2.
2. What have you learned about how to run a successful Kickstarter campaign in the process?
This is a HUGE topic. There are websites like comixlaunch that devote (really informative) weekly podcasts to the subject. I will say though, for me, the most important lesson I’ve learned is that a big misconception people have about Kickstarter is they think making a great comic and putting it on the platform will be enough. And that’s not the case. You have to understand how the Kickstarter algorithm works. Kickstarter only makes money when your project funds. So projects that are doing well are promoted. Projects that don’t have a surge of backers, don’t get any love…no matter how great they are. So, you need to make sure that to get funded on Kickstarter, that you kickstart your campaign on Kickstarter. That means on day one, you need a bunch of backers lined up. For our most recent campaign, we had a huge surge of returning backers that got us off to an amazing start, which eventually carried us to over $23,000 in funding.
But for our first campaign, when nobody had heard about White Ash, that meant making sure we had enough people lined up who would pledge right off the bat to help create that surge to get the ball rolling. One way or another, you need a big pool of day one backers.
White Ash #3.
3. What are some of the advantages of funding your comic through a Kickstarter campaign?
We use Kickstarter as a pre-sales distributor. So in essence, it’s our version of Previews Catalogue. From that perspective it has a lot of advantages. While the actual Previews has a larger reach, we’re still seen by a huge number of people who buy comics. And the percentage of revenue we give to Kickstarter is only a fraction of what we would give to Diamond (and currently we are self-published so there’s no publisher fee/cut). Which means we’re making more on Kickstarter per issue than we would on the stands in a comic book shop. Plus, we still own all of the intellectual property rights, so if someone wanted to turn White Ash into a TV series or a movie, we’d again be the ones making the money.
4. What advice would you give a would-be creator who has an idea for a book right now on how to go from idea to physical comic?
I think it depends on what the creator’s background is and how much experience they have with the art form. But let’s assume for the sake of this question that they’re a writer with a little experience and a decent understanding of the medium. If that’s the case, there two things they need: a finished script and an artist/team of artists to work with. And they won’t be able to get the second without the first.
So start with the script. Don’t just hash around ideas. If you want another professional to work with you, you need to show them what you’re bringing to the table. So write the entire script out. Once you have a script in hand that you think is ready for prime time, then you can go looking for an artist. Jim Zub has a website with some amazing advice for writers (and comic professionals in general). He devotes an entire post to finding an artist. I recommend reading that, and everything else on his blog. But where I’d personally recommend someone go nowadays to find an artist is Twitch Creative. There you watch them live stream their art, chat with them, and get a sense of what they like to draw. This is important, because finding an artist for your book is a lot like dating, you need to be compatible. Just because you’re both great on your own, doesn’t mean you’re going to be great together. Then once you find that partner, get cracking, because making a comic book is a lot of work.
5. For fans of White Ash, is there anything you can give away about where the story and characters are headed?
One of the nice things about self-publishing is that we get to tell the story at my pace. And I’ve really enjoyed taking my time over the first three, extra-long issues, getting to know the characters and the town of White Ash. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy good action sequences. And without giving too much away, I can say we’re going to get a lot of action in Chapter Four. It’s the climax to our first story arc and we’re wrapping some bits up with a BANG…and some slicing…and skewering…and, well, you get the idea.
Charlie Stickney and Conor Hughes at San Diego Comic Con.
Charlie Stickney is a writer/producer from Los Angeles who has worked in various fields of the entertainment industry (animation, film, television) for close to 20 years. He’s written for companies including: Universal Studios, Sony Pictures, Revolution Studios, and Scholastic Productions, developed and creating shows like Cosmic Quantum Ray and Horrible Histories. Charlie has always had a passion for comics. While in college, he interned in the editorial offices at Marvel Comics. And were it not for a job offer in Los Angeles, the plan after graduation was to move to New York to write comic books. But now, after a longer detour than intended, he’s returned to his roots with the fantasy/romance/horror comic book, White Ash. Billed as Romeo and Juliet meets Lord of the Rings…in rural Pennsylvania, White Ash: Chapter Three just finished an insanely successful run on Kickstarter.
Check out our other Five Questions with Creators pieces and other Comics Lists here!
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
The Eye of the Storm: WildStorm Past and Present
WildStorm is really 25 years old now. Really.
By Taylor Pechter — The 1990s was a consequential decade for comics, a decade of deaths and broken backs, of shoulder pads and huge guns. It was also the decade that gave us WildStorm Productions, an imprint created by then-rising star Jim Lee, who jumped ship from Marvel and DC along with other big-name artists following disputes over creators’ rights. When WildStorm began in 1992, it could have been dismissed as just more large guns, heavily-detailed art, and not much focus on story.
After the company grew in popularity, though, Lee sold it to DC. With this sale, DC editorial took the universe under its watch, ultimately overseeing great experimentation in storytelling spearheaded by writers such as Warren Ellis and Joe Casey and artists such as Bryan Hitch, whose worked helped redefine what comics look like.
Now get ready because today we’re jumping head first into the defining era of WildStorm, looking at the themes and visuals from the imprint that have had such a lasting impact on the comic book industry today.
StormWatch
StormWatch #37 brought Warren Ellis into the WildStorm Universe.
The year is 1997. The comics speculator market bubble has burst and sales of WildStorm books have stagnated. Enter Warren Ellis, a British writer who had done some work at but was not on many fans’ radars. With his run on Stormwatch starting at #37, however, that quickly changed.
Ellis would completely redefine the team, splitting it into three squadrons: Prime (defense against superhuman threats), Red (members with destructive powers for deterrent displays), and Black (undercover black ops). As the run started, Ellis introduced us to his thematic interests via the words of Frederick Nietzsche, I want to teach men the meaning of their existence; which is the Superman, the lightning from the dark cloud that is man.
Ellis’ run incorporated themes of corruption of power, the relationship between man and superhuman, and ultimately how supherhumans change a world. These themes are primarily conveyed through StormWatch leader Henry Bendix (alias The Weatherman), the StormWatch Black Team (Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, and Swift), and The High and his Changers. As the run progressed, StormWatch’s prominence grew while Bendix became madder with power, coming to view his team as the end-all, be-all of planetary surveillance and defense, akin to worldwide secret police. This eventually leads him down a path of murder and a removal from his position, with former field leader Jackson King (alias Battalion) taking over in his stead.
Meanwhile, the members of StormWatch Black personified rebellion, especially their leader, Jenny Sparks. As one of the proclaimed century babies, Sparks lived through the highs and lows of the 1900s, coming to be known as The Spirit of 20th Century. She’s also seen firsthand how superpowers changed society, with adventures through the decades as a solider in the wars and later a member of the shady Royal Space Program. This history also informs her relationship with John Cumberland (alias The High). The High is the main ideological lynchpin of the run, with his actions in the story Change or Die reflect the theme of the run, as The High actually says, We are Superhumans, just as your modern crimefighters and Covert Action teams. However, we feel a different responsibility than they do… They try to save the world, but make no effort to change it. This speaks to the somewhat hypocritical nature of the modern superhero. As time passed, StormWatch dissolved due to infighting, Bendix succumbing to insanity, and SkyWatch (the team’s satellite command center) being set upon by alien infestation. With most of the team dead, field commander Nikolas Kamarov (alias Winter) made the final decision to the throw the station into the sun. StormWatch was dead, but from its ashes rose a new force, an Authority that would either save the world, or rule it with an iron fist.
The Authority
Out of the ashes of StormWatch rose The Authority, a team formed by former StormWatch Black operatives Jenny Sparks, Jack Hawksmoor, and Swift. It also included Apollo and Midnighter, The Engineer, and The Doctor. The Authority’s story is broken up into three four-issue arcs, which focus on innate fears with society: the fear of terrorism, the fear of foreign invasion, and the fear of the unknown. Through The Authority, Ellis wove a tale of a team of powerhouses trying to save the world and to also change it for the better. However, their goals came at a cost.
What Ellis also did was break down the glitz and glamour of a superhero team. The Authority is brash, arrogant, and—most of all—violent. Cities were leveled and an entire alternate Earth was destroyed. The Authority, however, considered it just part of the job, losses to make the world a better place. Toward the book’s end, the team eventually faced an alien entity that was blocking out the sun. Jenny Sparks shocked its brain and the day was won, but at a cost that shook the team to its core. As the century wound down, so did the life of Jenny Sparks. After 100 years of being a planetary defense mechanism, she died at the stroke of midnight January 1, 2000, in the arms of Jack Hawksmoor. With a new century, however, came a new generation of defenders.
The Art: While Ellis’ scripts were certainly groundbreaking, so too was the artwork of Bryan Hitch, inker Paul Neary, and colorist Laura Depuy (later Martin). With wide panels, splash pages galore, and cinematic action, Hitch was, and still is, the main purveyor of widescreen comics art. With Neary’s clean inks and Martin’s luscious colors, The Authority is still one of the most visually influential books in modern comics.
Wildcats
Casey and Phillips WildCats run was short but excellent.
What happens to covert teams that don’t have a war to fight? What happens when a teammate dies, splintering the rest of the team? Or, when a team’s leader wants to transcend to a higher level of living, one that requires he be killed?
In 1999, writer Joe Casey and artist Sean Phillips took over Wildcats and set out to answer these questions. After a mission gone wrong, Zealot is killed and Grifter is left reeling. Grifter has become a washed-up shell of his former self, trying to find answers about Zealot’s death. On the other end, Lord Emp (known to Earth as Jacob Marlowe, leader of the Wildcats), is asking his long-time rival Kenyan to kill him so he can ascend. Kenyan, however, instead kills himself, and Spartan is forced to kill Emp. In the aftermath, posing as Emp’s great-nephew Jack Marlowe, he is bequeathed HALO Industries and inherits Emp’s fortune. Meanwhile, Priscilla Kitaen (alias Voodoo) and Doctor Jeremy Stone (alias Maul) are living together. Jeremy has locked himself in his lab to to find a cure for a disease.
That’s a lot, to be sure, but overall Casey tells a story about destiny and legacy. Spartan has to deal with running HALO and guilt for killing Emp, which is easy enough because as a synthetic humanoid, he feels no emotion. This, however, conflicts with Grifter mourning the loss of his trainer and lover. Spartan also has to deal with having the Marlowe name, a target since Emp had many enemies. After Pris is nearly murdered by superhuman serial killer Samuel Slaughterhouse Smith, she is visited by a Daemonite, of which she is a half-breed. With that meeting she fully comes to terms with her heritage. Optimism reenergized, she then looks to a brighter future, alongside Jeremy.
The Art: Joining Casey on this book is noir art master Sean Phillips. With deep shadows, imposing figures, and brutal action, Phillips creates a foreboding tone to perfectly match Casey’s script. Sadly, the book only lasted two years before being cancelled but returning a year later as Wildcats Version 3.0. In a short time, however, Casey and Phillips crafted one of, if not the defining runs on Wildcats.
Planetary
It’s a strange world. Let’s keep it that way. This is the mantra for Warren Ellis’s magnum opus, Planetary. A decade in the making, Planetary revolves around a four-person team of mystery archaeologists who explore the world. This team consists of Elijah Snow, our ride along character Jakita Wagner, The Drummer, and Ambrose Chase.
With Planetary, Ellis constructs a story that revolves around genre and—more importantly—pop culture. This journey through 20th century pop culture is seen through the eyes of Elijah, who like Jenny Sparks is one of the century babies. The series has one main through line, but each issue also tackles a certain genre, breaking it down and showing how it has changed the world. These stories included a ghost cop out for revenge in Hong Kong (Dead Gunfighter); the somber Vertigo-tinged To Be In England, In The Summertime; the hypocrisy of vigilantism in The Torture of William Leather, and the metaphysics of superheroes in Zero Point.
In them all, Ellis demonstrates how the aspects of various genres has affected society through use in pop culture. While the macro exploration of genre and pop culture is the book’s driving force, the heart of Planetary is the micro exploration of Elijah Snow as a character, as well as how he becomes more in tune with the world. Snow’s motives, while staying somewhat consistent throughout the first half of the series, shift as we approach the final act. As readers, we are Elijah, not just in terms of the world Ellis is crafting but also the world outside our window. There is so much to explore here, and we’ve barely scratched the surface.
The Art: Not to be outdone by Ellis’ deft scripting are John Cassaday’s art and Laura Martin’s colors. Cassaday shifts his style throughout each chapter to capture the tone. This can mean changing panel sizes, borders, shadows, or expressions. It’s commendable how much work he put into each page, and it’s made even better by Martin’s amazing colors, with bright reds and blues making the art pop. This book was subject to many delays, attributed to both Ellis and Cassaday, but Planetary eventually ended with its 27th issue, becoming one of the most celebrated comic books of all time
The Wild Storm
Twenty years after he helped redefine the WildStorm Universe with StormWatch, Warren Ellis is doing it again with The Wild Storm, which just released issue #16 this week. This time, Ellis is writing a stripped down, no frills, corporate espionage tale focused on three organizations: tech giant HALO (run by Jacob Marlowe), black ops intelligence agency International Operations or IO (run by Miles Craven), and secret space program Skywatch (led by Henry Bendix). This is an entirely new story, rather than a continuation of past titles.
The main conflict in this series is rivalries between organizations, with the story asking how Earth would react if it was ruled by these power structures. There is, of course, a twist. While IO is interested in Earth and its resources, Skywach is more interested in ruling space, even going as far as colonizing other planets. After Bendix starts getting a vested interest in Earth’s resources, IO starts to retaliate. Caught in between this corporate battle is a team of rogue IO and Skwatch agents who have formed their own covert action team, a Wild CAT. Their objective is to stop this war, fearing it will tear the planet apart.
The Art: Joining Ellis on art duties is Jon Davis-Hunt, whose simple yet dynamic style lends to the gritty espionage themes and to the frenetic action that is wonderfully brutal. His linework combines with the gorgeous colors of Steve Buccellatto. With stripping down the universe and giving it a more modern feel, this creative team has given new life to characters Ellis made his name writing.
In conclusion, following its start in the ‘90s, WildStorm went grew from the typical extreme fare of the decade into one of the most fertile grounds for storytelling in all of superhero comics, doing everything from looking at how superheroes have changed the world to how a team can survive in a world that doesn’t accept them. WildStorm also has a history of art that has redefined the style of comics, from the widescreen destruction of The Authority by Hitch, to the noir stylings of Wildcats by Sean Phillips, or the versatility of John Cassaday in Planetary. These artists helped raise a new generation, also contributing to the creation of the modern comics event.
Thank you all for joining me on this journey—hopefully you too will now jump into the eye of the storm.
Taylor Pechter is a passionate comic book fan and nerd. Find him on Twitter @TheInspecter.
REVIEW: Ice Cream Man #6 by W. Maxwell Prince, Martin Morazzo, Chris O’Halloran, & Good Old Neon
This titular Ice Cream Man is a real piece of work...
By Zack Quaintance — Ice Cream Man #6 is yet another nasty (in a good way) read from one of the most bleak-yet-mesmerizing comics of all-time. In broad strokes, this series is about a sinister Ice Cream Man who serves as the only throughline in a series of disparate tales that add up to one of the most unflinching looks at the everyday lives of modern Americans...in any storytelling medium. Abandon hope all ye who open this book, for sure, yet also know that it will somehow never cross the line into sensationalism. In other words, start reading this and you probably won’t give it up.
I know I won’t any time soon. Ice Cream Man #6 is yet another great issue. In many ways, this is the book’s most experimental story yet, following one character through three divergent life paths, all of which are depicted in near-total silence (and are also depressing as all hell). The reason why the story fractures into three (and gets the name/flavor of Strange Neapolitan) becomes clear near the end, when (no spoilers) the script comes out and just basically states its central conceit.
Like all issues of this book, this one starts out idyllic before descending into horrors both real and existential.
This is, to be blunt, is a story structure that on the surface seems like it shouldn’t work, should instead tip into feeling too gimmicky. It is, however, pulled off expertly by the creative team. Let’s talk first about the work Chris O’Halloran does with his colors, utilizing three distinct palettes to separate the alternate futures of the nameless hero. This is challenging in itself, but O’Halloran also makes it work while sticking to the general strawberry-vanilla-chocolate color scheme of neapolitan ice creams. It had a high potential to look goofy, but O’Halloran nailed it, using his shades to perfectly compliment Morazzo’s artwork.
Perhaps the most impressive feat in this book is the triply (mostly) silent script, which tells three distinct stories that hit complimentary beats almost always at the same time, even while moving at different speeds through the protagonist’s lifetime to basically end at the same haunting spot. Thematically, this story is somewhat one sizable note, but in terms of craft, it’s easily one of the most impressive feats I’ve seen a writer pull off with structure in some time, possibly since Eric Heisserer’s vignette tapestry in the Valiant book Secret Weapons.
Overall: Ice Cream Man #6 is another astoundingly well-done comic that scares you as you read and then lingers with you existentially for days after you finish. This series continues to be one of the most unflinching looks at everyday lives in modern American...in any storytelling medium. 8.5/10
For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: Crude #5 by Steve Orlando, Garry Brown, Lee Loughridge, & Thomas Mauer
By Zack Quaintance — I’d like to start today by discussing Crude #5’s artwork. Garry Brown is a doing yeoman-like work on this book, creating panel after panel that brims with exactly what this story calls for in any given moment, be it a kinetic and violent pastiche or quiet emotional impact of our hero learning something heartbreaking and new about how he failed his son. Brown has been putting out killer work for a while now—from Black Road with Brian Wood to Babyteeth with Donny Cates—but, simply put, Crude is his best book to date.
Phew, now on to the story. Crude #5 is the penultimate issue of the first arc, the place traditionally reserved for the steepest escalation in both action and consequence, and in that regard it certainly doesn’t disappoint. This is easily the best issue of Crude yet. What is perhaps most interesting about it is how much we learn about Piotr’s relationship with his murdered son, Kirilchik, which so far has been shown in brief, often only through a father’s mourning lens.
I once had a writing teacher who stressed what he called The Rate of Revelation. It’s a simple enough concept: stories live and die by how much new information we’re getting at any given moment. That’s not to say writers have to be telling us what our hero’s favorite food is all the time or something, but rather that a writer’s job is to find compelling ways to continually show an audience who these people they’ve invented are, what they’re made of, and why they matter.
And that’s exactly what Orlando’s script excels at in Crude #5: it finds new and compelling ways to constantly give us revelations about our hero, this time having the thoughts and feelings of his murdered son quoted back to him by someone who knew his son while he was alive. Our protagonist thus far has been nigh-invincible (thus far), at least when things devolve into violence, to the point I find myself unconcerned about his physical well-being. When he starts to learn key details (no spoilers!) about his son’s life—and the next panel pulls away to show how small he is in the room at that moment? Ho man, was I on the proverbial edge of my seat, and it just got more tense from there.
Another thing Crude #5 does well is deepen its shady corporate culture plot, showing the exploitation of real people, which is thematically so relevant right now that it hurts. To say anything more would be to risk giving too much away. Lastly, I just want to note that this script has a wealth of really impactful lines, including one of my favorites: But there’s no self-respect in living just under people’s noses. Great stuff.
Overall: Crude #5 is the best issue of this book yet. More than a stage-setter for next month’s first arc conclusion, this comic is rich with revelations about its lead character and the world he’s beaten his way into. This series is career-best work for both Brown and Orlando, must-read comics. 9.5/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
ADVANCED REVIEW: Bully Wars #1 by Skottie Young & Aaron Conley, Jean-Francois Beaulieu, & Nate Piekos
For Bully Wars, Skottie Young teams with Aaron Conley, a Skottie Young-esque artist.
By Zack Quaintance — I heard writer Skottie Young on the Word Balloon Podcast a few weeks ago talking about his new book, Bully Wars, saying the aim was to make an Image comic that was accessible for all ages but didn’t exactly feel like a story strictly for kids, a challenge for creatives in any field or medium. It’s that sweet spot that made Pixar films so vibrant in the studio’s early years. They hit the mark repeatedly then, and continue to do so with relatively high frequency to this day. Call it broadly safe but smart appeal.
Well, Young and his Bully Wars collaborators—artists Aaron Conley and Jean-Francois Beaulieu—however, have come pretty close to finding that sweet spot in this first issue. There’s not even close to anything in this book that would ring as inappropriate for young readers, and, despite my obvious disadvantage of being a kind of old guy (I will only ever admit to being somewhat older than 22), I’m fairly certain the bright colors, exaggerated and cartoony character designs, and classroom setting will be a big draw for all ages of kids, likely up through high school. I know I certainly would have dug this in my day of angsty (but improving!) late ‘90s comics.
When it comes to appeal for adults, Bully Wars #1 is slightly more of a mixed effort. The twists in how characters are perceived are interesting, but the book will likely need more substance to hold older readers’ interests long-term. There are, however, plenty of signs in this first issue that that substance is coming. This brings me to the other goal Young mentioned for Bully Wars on Word Balloon: incorporating more understanding into the standard school narrative of bully bad and mean. The book definitely has hints of an aspiration to humanize its bullies, although at this point those aspirations are still in nascent stages.
Young’s interests as a writer, though, are fairly subversive (see the recently-concluded I Hate Fairyland), and so I think it’s safe to assume he’ll get where he’s aiming for. I know that I’ll at least be following this book for the entirety of its first arc. Really, the background sight gags (an athletic apparel company called Sike got a little chuckle out of me) and excellent cartooning on par with some of my favorite animation is enough to seal its appeal for me.
Overall: Bully Wars #1 is a vibrant all ages comic with a lot of promise and potentially even an important lesson about labels. This comic does more than enough with its first issue to pique my interest in where it’s headed. 7.5/10
For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
Five Questions with Creators: Zack Kaplan
Zack Kaplan
By Zack Quaintance — Writer Zack Kaplan is on the rise in comics. He’s currently writing three new and exciting series: Eclipse and Port of Earth for Image’s Top Cow imprint, and Lost City Explorers for AfterShock Comics. Both Eclipse and Lost City Explorers have also been optioned for TV, with the latter getting the call pretty quick after its first issue. It’s impressive stuff, and as fans of his work, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more success coming Kaplan’s way soon.
With that in mind, we recently talked to Kaplan for a new feature we’re launching on the site: Five Questions with Creators. It’s exactly what it sounds like. No more explaining needed...so, let’s get right to it!
1. I’ve seen in other interviews and your own notes with Eclipse that you’ve had some pretty interesting jobs...so, what are the most interesting jobs you’ve had (aside from creating comics)?
I mean, people may know I was a poker dealer and a SAT tutor, but I’ll tell you, one of the most interesting jobs I had was a movie trailer surveyor. I did temp work for a data entry company and they would input surveys measuring audience reaction to movie trailers. I punched in thousands of these surveys, and then I asked, hey, who does this? Someone goes to movie theaters and watches how the audience reacts to each trailer and gives it an “Okay” or “Good” or “Great”, and sure enough, there were a ton of people doing this around the country and sending in their data. So I said, “Can I do that?” and they said sure. For about two months, I went and watched movies and before the movie started, I would go to the different theaters and showtimes and gauge audience reaction, which was a completely subjective and random measurement. My own personal evaluation of whether people thought that Mission Impossible movie trailer looked good or great. It was a very random guess, but they reported this data to the studios, and they probably made pivotal decisions based on my keen insights. And I got to tell people I get paid to go watch movies. That was pretty interesting!
2. How do things like having been a poker dealer on the graveyard shirt or having taught screenwriting in the Philippines inform your stories?
I’m a big people watcher. I’ve always enjoyed jobs that allow me to watch and interact with people. Characters in stories are three dimensions, but people are like eight dimensions, and I’ve always found that fascinating. Being a poker dealer, I got to see a lot of interesting people and how they handle the challenges of an involved game like poker, but that was mostly people-watching. Teaching writing is a far more interactive practice, where you have to not just communicate the principles of the craft, but in a workshop setting, identify each student’s needs and address them in a way that helps that student improve. At the end of the day, I think all those experiences help me better understand that people are complex, and I try to capture those complexities and nuances in my writing.
Port of Earth #8 came out this Wednesday.
3. When and how did you first become interested in writing comics?
It began in 2002 when I came back to comics. I had read superheroes growing up, but when I discovered Brian K Vaughn’s Y THE LAST MAN or Greg Rucka’s QUEEN AND COUNTRY or everything Warren Ellis, I realized how diverse and multi-faceted the medium was. I got to see it through adult eyes and gained a whole new appreciation for it. I began reading and collecting a lot of creator-owned comics. I was already pursuing writing in film and TV, but I think that was when the seed was planted: cool writers write cool and original stories in comics. From then, whenever I thought of a story idea, and wondered if it would make a good movie or TV show, I started to wonder about comics. And finally, I took the plunge and decided I wanted to write a comic series too. I spent years trying to land a pitch. When I finally landed ECLIPSE, I still thought I was writing a comic, and it wasn’t until it came out that I realized I was becoming a comic book creator.
4. Your career trajectory has been really cool to watch...what’s the most important piece of advice you’d give to someone who is where you were years ago and would love to eventually be where you are now?
When I finally landed ECLIPSE, I was very nervous. I’m a perfectionist and I wanted it to be great. And that’s simply too much pressure. So, I had to tell myself, Zack, this is not the one. This series, it can be good, you can do your best, but in your life, this one isn’t the one. This is the one that leads to the one. And that allowed me to do two things. Write without such pressure. And realize another important lesson. If I’m just writing good stuff until I get to the one, and none of these are the one, then I’m the one. I’m the product. And as a writer, or an artist, or any creative, I think if you realize that you are building a career of many projects and stories, and some will be good, and some will not, but overall, you are building a long career of creating, that thinking helps. It helps new creators to think small and create a lot of short content to get their names out, it helps inspire creators to work on lots of projects, because you never know which one will be the one. Who knows, maybe ECLIPSE will actually be the one, after all. Maybe not. I’m just busy writing lots of stories now, I can’t think about which one is the one.
5. Lost City Explorers seems to me like a classic teen adventure story for 2018...what are some of your favorite classic teen adventure movies?
Oh, where to begin! GOONIES! INDIANA JONES! Is ET an adventure movie? I think so! How about NEVER ENDING STORY or EXPLORERS? LABYRINTH or BACK TO THE FUTURE? I loved all of that fun, maybe campy stuff from the ‘80s. But I think what inspired THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS was wanting to have my version of those stories but without the 1980s nostalgia. It seemed like whenever people made those stories, they always had a nostalgia to them. I wondered what would a teen adventure look like in modern times. I’ve seen teen dramas. I’ve seen big world teen stories like HARRY POTTER or HUNGER GAMES, but those aren’t our world. So yes, THE LOST CITY EXPLORERS is my teen adventure but in our very own modern times!
+1. Do you remember the worst sunburn you’ve ever had...and do you ever think about it while you’re writing Eclipse?
When I was growing up, I went on a ski trip and got my face so burned, the skin was peeling off. My nose was a mess, and, of course, I came back to high school and they were taking the class pictures. Ugh! But this was years and years ago. The crazy thing is nowadays, it’s not even enough to put on sunscreen once for a day at the beach or a day outside. You have to reapply. The sun is becoming more and more deadly to us. This is happening, and 50 years from now, who knows how bad it will be. That’s what I love about the concept behind ECLIPSE. The sun is supposed to be this positive, happy, plant-growing force in our lives, but everyone secretly harbors a hatred to the sun and the one time it totally burned them. Screw you sun, we never forget!
Click here for a review of Eclipse #9 and here for a review of Lost City Explorers #1.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: Black Badge #1 by Matt Kindt, Tyler Jenkins, Hilary Jenkins, & Jim Campbell
Black Badge #1 is a polished and confident debut from the same team behind Grass Kings.
By Zack Quaintance — Black Badge #1 is writer Matt Kindt and artist Tyler Jenkins follow up to Grass Kings, and, at first glance, it seems to be a gentler story, one about a group of scouts on a special trip to faraway South Korea. Like its predecessor (and like most comics, really), however, there is also a darker complexity at work here.
There are a few layers to this book. There’s the premise: our heroes are part of an elite troop of boy scouts that the U.S. government sends on covert missions, kind of like green berets with a deceptive and innocent veneer. There’s the thematic interests: merit badges here seem to be standing in for ornamental and ultimately meaningless life achievements, things we convince ourselves we must obtain because we’re told that’s what we should want. And there’s an examination of what it means to be the good scout, or in this case, soldier.
Black Badges #1 is very much a straightforward and well-done introduction to this story. It’s an engaging read, a polished #1 comic that never stumbles by over-explaining who are heroes are, which does the double work here of leaving room for the creators to later build in secrets. We get a four panel grid in which a bully underestimates each of them, saying things like, You brought everything you need? Your tedd bear in there? And, Willy. Dude. you need to lay off the scout snacks. Typical bully snark that shows us how our elite team will be both perceived and underestimated.
This excellent four-panel grid does a great job telling us about our protagonists without feeling like an info dump.
This first issue is well-told, an effective and entertaining means of learning who are heroes are, what they do, and, in part, why they do it. It works well as a hook, although the exact direction of the plot is still fuzzy. There definitely seems to be an exploration of morality in the offing, one that might use the age of the characters to explore idealism as well as the way children are often treated as invisible non-actors (our team’s secret weapon). Previews of future issues also hint at the book taking a look at foreign policy, and they've definitely set up a great lens to do just that. I certainly trust Kindt and Jenkins too, especially after the success they had with Grass Kings, which had a less engaging premise, at least on its surface.
Overall: Black Badge #1 seems to be the start of another great series by Matt Kindt and Tyler Jenkins. This first issue has all the exposition we need plus some intriguing hints into its thematic interests, yet it never feels like an info dump. This is a confident and polished debut issue, one that hints at big things in store. 8.0/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: Relay #2 by Zac Thompson, Andy Clarke, Jose Villarrubia, & Charles Pritchett
The Relay features a story conceived by Zac Thompson, Eric Broomberg, & Donny Cates.
By Zack Quaintance — The Relay, as those who read the first issue are aware, is an epic science fiction story about messiah figures, the evolution of ideals, the safety of conforming, and colonization. In issue one, we glimpsed daily life on Earth—complete with dissident unrest. In issue two, the focus shifts to how denizens of powerful Earth interact with colonial worlds. The Relay #2, however, is far more than just a statement about imperialism, which has been done often in modern sci-fi.
No, in this issue the book places a welcome and heavy emphasis on ideological debate. It’s nearly impossible to go into specifics without tipping the twists—of which there are nearly half a dozen—but I’ll try my best now to discuss what this story is about and why I found it so engaging.
Essentially, The Relay #2 examines what happens when a dissident’s original teachings evolve into dominant rule, inherently turning them against the values of the dissident who created them. If it sounds familiar, that’s because it’s likely intended to be. There’s a Jesus allegory at work here. Historically, Christianity in its earliest throes was subversive, a loving approach to life under Roman oppression. Christianity ultimately won, of course, and so the society we live in now is shaped by its rule. Basically, the same teachings that were once subversive have assumed power, gaining the ability to do the oppressing or to grant rationale for colonization (it’s all a good deal more complex, but that’s my own abbreviate, comic book review take).
In The Relay #2, this allegory is clearly tipped when one character is surprised to meet another, blurting Jesus, you’re really him, to which the subject character responds, I’ve been called many things, but never Jesus...as Christ-like a line as one could conceive of. It’s all very complex, and this is a text-heavy issue, to be sure, but the team has done such great foundational work establishing mystery and stakes (what’s more important than the fragility of a protagonist with a beloved and deeply-held world view?) that simple conversations in this issue are as tense and compelling as any laser battle or lightsaber duel could ever be.
In my The Relay #1 review, I drew comparisons between that comic and the writing of Ursula K. Le Guin or Philip K. Dick. This second issue re-enforces that comparison, especially to Le Guin, whose own anthropological sci-fi is such a clear influence. Le Guin is my favorite science fiction writer, as well as one of my favorite writers period, which is perhaps why I’m loving this comic so much. Simply put, for fans of hard sci-fi or complex societal explorations in comics, this series is not to be missed.
Overall: The Relay #2 continues establishing this series as one of the smartest comics today, diving deeper into the anthropological concerns of the debut. Heady and dense, the stakes here involve our perception of reality itself. Is there anything more consequential? This book makes readers work hard, to be sure, but the intellectual payoff is well-worth the effort. 9.5/10
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
ADVANCED REVIEW: Fearscape #1 by Ryan O’Sullivan, Andrea Mutti, & Vladimir Popov
Fearscape #1 is out Sept. 26, 2018.
By Zack Quaintance — Fearscape #1 is the latest new series from fast-rising indie publisher Vault Comics, with hints of a diverse range of stories about stories, from movies like Midnight in Paris to famous cartoon shorts like Looney Tunes: Duck Amuck (Google it, you’re likely familiar…). This comic is smart and unique, and it pushes the limits of the sequential graphic storytelling medium, deploying a strong literary voice along with a concept that ranks among the best of today’s creator-owned comic wave.
It’s one part Saga, Monstress, or Wic + Div, and it’s one part that killer short story you read in The New Yorker, maybe by Zadie Smith, T.C. Boyle, or Lauren Groff. It’s an amalgam of your favorite graphic novels and that conversation you had last week with that annoying guy in tweed at your friend’s dinner party, the one who kept referencing his MFA.
Phew. That’s an onslaught of gimmicky descriptors, but this book grows from, speaks to, and stands upon mankind’s storytelling traditions. As such, references are perhaps the best means of giving readers an idea of what they’re in for when they open this comic. Now then, let’s get granular and go into Fearscapes’ plot, strengths, and best lines, shall we?
Plot: An otherworldly being called The Muse comes to take humanity’s greatest storyteller to The Fearscape, a realm of dark magic where human fears exist as living creatures. That storyteller is tasked with overcoming the greatest of all fears, thereby freeing humanity from them. The Muse comes for a venerable fantasy writer and instead finds Henry Henry (perfect failed author name, btw), a fraud who is busy stealing a manuscript from the home of the aforementioned famous writer, who is Henry’s friend/benefactor and is also sick and dying. It’s a lot, but Andrea Mutti’s artwork is clear and imaginative, and it orients the reader, while writer Ryan O’Sullivan makes excellent use of authoritive narration, which brings us to Fearscape #1’s single greatest strength...
...its voice, which is just pretentious enough to remind us what type of guy Henry Henry is (seriously, perfect name) without making us totally hate him, although holy wow is it close. Voice does so much work in this story, conveying that our main dude is a personification of imposter syndrome, oozing insecurity with his pretentiousness cranked to 11. It remains to be seen if the creators can emotionally vest us in the guy, but for now the intrigue and imagination is so compelling it doesn’t matter.
So, let’s get into some of best lines, including: All authors are ultimately translators; endlessly rewording stories and ideas we’ve heard countless times before.
And this resentful take on genre writing: Twenty-seven novels. All of them fantasy. All of them set in the same trope-ridden dragon-infested world.
Finally, this shot at a particularly loathsome subclass of human: Yet, despite this, we shall still find ourselves opposed by the casual reader and, even worse, its mutated older sibling, the critic.
Overall: A nigh-perfect debut, a unique comic that pushes the boundaries of sequential graphic storytelling. Fearscape #1 is one part killer creator-owned comic, one part famous literary short story, and 100 percent not to be missed. 10/10
Fearscape #1 is available Sept. 26, 2018.
For more comic book reviews, check out our review archives.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: The Seeds #1 by Ann Nocenti & David Aja
The Seeds debuts Aug. 1.
By Zack Quaintance — I’ve hoped for a while that a book would examine some of the themes in The Seeds #1. I’ve wanted a story (one with a smarter concept than I could casually drum up) that takes a hard and knowledgeable look at our current media landscape, how it got this way, where it’s going, and what stands to happen to society as a result. That’s quite a big ask, I know, but, hey, I can hope.
With The Seeds #1, it seems my hopes have been at least partially satisfied. This comic is definitely concerned with media (also sexual dynamics and the environment), and in its first issue (of four) media is an interesting and prominent theme, especially throughout a pair of nine-panel grids wherein our protagonist Astra talks indirectly about the state of the media with her editor Gabrielle.
Gabrielle discusses how rumors and falsehoods that get repeated become true, how sometimes it’s what people want, how truth seeming pliant is a fine justification for inventing stories, and how—more than anything—their outlet needs a scoop. The takeaway, as I read it, is that when you call the media fake long enough, the media eventually bends to that perception. It’s to the book’s credit that this is conveyed via such a well-done, smart, and natural interaction, one that simultaneously raises questions about our own society while establishing baseline facts about the dystopian world of this story. I liked it.
And, really, I liked The Seeds quite a bit. The book is part of former Vertigo editor Karen Berger’s Dark Horse imprint Berger Books, and like other entries in that line, it features veteran creators playing out intricate and literary ideas with little regard for accessibility. The book is written by journalist/documentarian/comic writer Ann Nocenti and drawn by David Aja (Hawkeye), a powerful creative team with powerful aspirations.
It's also a team one can trust to tell a satisfying story. Atop its underlying complexity this book has many great understated character moments. There’s a love story afoot, one in which one party is duty-bound to refrain while the other is hesitant because the first party says their leaving—it’s a story to which many readers will relate.
Moreover, this is a comic that rarely goes page without a really freaking cool ideas of imagery: a nightlife venue called Club Death that simulates dying, a naked figure in a gas mask beneath a giant American flag with a shotgun and an old TV, a lunch of deep fried bugs. Casually bizarre and fantastic. Basically, if you’re into stuff like pop art or pleasantly-abstract indie filmmaking, chances are you’ll dig this.
Overall: The Seeds #1 is the work of veteran and ambitious creators. It uses complex ideas, commentary, and imagery to create a world and themes that linger with readers. The full scope of the story is not yet clear, but there is every reason to believe Nocenti and Aja can be trusted to deliver a satisfying execution. 8.5/10
For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
ADVANCED REVIEW: Hot Lunch Special #1 by Eliot Rahal, Jorge Fornes, & Taylor Esposito
There is a very personal feel to this story about mafia debts and severed appendages.
By Zack Quaintance — To join in on the food motif of Hot Lunch Special #1, let me start by saying this comic book feels like a main course of generational immigrant success story with a healthy side of Fargo-esque Midwestern crime noir, plus just a taste of a cautionary mafia power struggle. That’s a big meal (end of the food references, I swear), but it’s one that writer Eliot Rahal and artist Jorge Fornes serve up (damn it) expertly.
I liked Hot Lunch Special #1 quite a bit, and the main reason why is that there was a compelling level of realism here, one that at times made it feel almost like a memoir, although not quite because readers are never that far removed from a cops or crooks scene, or gasp a severed finger in a sandwich (that’s page 1, actually). Credit for this realism is, of course, due in large part to Rahal’s script, which I’m fairly certain was heavily informed by his familial history, but it’s also due to Fornes artwork, which strives for and achieves an immersive and intricate level of detail in even the book’s quietest moments—especially in the book’s quietest moments.
Fornes also does some great work with his colors, using them as so many masters have to make clear which scenes were set in the distant past for an older generation (one word: sepia) and which are in modern times.
There’s certainly a lot to pack into this debut, yet the book doesn’t fall victim to a frequent first issue pet peeve of mine: over exposition. No, there are no lengthy exchanges between two talking heads filling in how grandma met grandpa or how the family business first became entangled with organized crime (not a spoiler...all of that was in the solicit). Instead, Rahal and Fornes expertly careen this story through space and time, sparing us any over-inflation and keeping the narrative tight. It works so effectively that I halfway wondered if this was an oversized issued as I read. Put simply, a lot goes down.
But it’s all manageable and the hands of the creators go largely unnoticed. By the time the third act here came to its excellent cliffhanger of a conclusion, I felt like I knew who our main stakeholders were (especially the fantastic antagonist) and, more importantly, I felt like I had a reason to care about the story’s central family. I am—groan—ready for a second helping.
Overall: Hot Lunch Special #1 takes a very personal generational story and mashes it up with Fargo-esque Midwestern crime noir. It’s a quiet and grounded comic mostly, one that also feels taut and dangerous by its end. This first issue is promising, an excellent start for what may prove to be a unique book. 9.0/10
For more comic book and movie reviews, check out our review archives here.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: The Weatherman #2 by Jody LeHeup, Nathan Fox, Dave Stewart, & Steve Wands
The Weatherman #2 drops on July 18.
By Zack Quaintance — The Weatherman #1 was a pretty impressive debut comic, one that I like even more after getting some additional context from this second issue. In the first issue, there’s a montage in which it’s established that the titular Weatherman is painfully earnest, an irreverent entertainer who is blatant about his thoughts, feelings, desires, and corny jokes. I wasn’t sure last issue if these qualities were established for laughs, or if there was a greater narrative function for them.
After reading The Weatherman #2, it’s now clear it was the latter. Not to give too much away (ahem, spoilers!), but the central conceit of this series is that our protagonist at some point had his mind wiped. This plays to one of the comic book medium’s greatest strengths: the ability of drawings to create rough approximations for readers to envision themselves in characters better than they can in movies or on TV. Working a hero’s innocence into the plot plays to that strength, engendering a powerful amount of sympathy for our lead, feckless and crude as he may sometimes be. He’s basically a man who likely committed a horrific crime but has been more or less good ever since, cleansed of that memory and persona, turned into an utter innocent.
So, that’s all really strong, and the art in #2 is as captivating as it was in the first issue. The third act also expertly rushes toward a searing cliffhanger, much like the first issue again. Between this book and another new favorite of mine, Skyward, Image Comics is putting out some really fundamentally sound books that incentivize reading monthly versus waiting for a trade. There’s something very endearing and old school about that, and I’m loving it.
Before I give this book my full-on, must-read glowing mega endorsement, however, I should note there’s a scene with some pretty gruesome animal cruelty. This is an adult comic, and violence is to be expected—hell, elsewhere it’s established that seven years ago one of our characters maybe aided a terrorist attack that killed 18 billion people—but there’s imagery in The Weatherman #2 that crosses some usual lines. I cringed. So, be warned that you might, too.
Overall: The Weatherman continues to establish itself as yet another must-read science fiction comic in a banner year for that genre. The art, pacing, and concept are confident and complex, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the best of this book is still yet to come. 8.0/10
SPECIAL NOTE: For more thoughts about The Weatherman, see our Best Debut Comics of June 2018.
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.
REVIEW: Wasted Space #3 by Michael Moreci, Hayden Sherman, Jason Wordie, & Jim Campbell
Wasted Space #3 is this book's best issue yet.
By Zack Quaintance — As Wasted Space progresses, it’s becoming clear galactic dictator Devolous Yam (fantastic galactic dictator name, btw) is a MacGuffin, a writerly term for a plot device many characters pursue with borderline thin motivations. Our heroes want to destroy Yam, our villains want to destroy Yam plus also a planet because anarchy, and an unstoppable otherworldly force wants to destroy our heroes so they cannot destroy Yam because...well, we don’t exactly know yet.
Yam Yam Yam and more Yam. I’m not entirely certain we’ve even seen the guy’s face, but he's all anyone wants to kill or not kill here. We just know Yam eliminated democracy and one of our protagonists—Billy—helped enable his rise, earning great shame and infamy (plus another really painful cost we learn about via incredibly well-done flashbacks in this issue).
And that’s fine, really. It makes for an exciting romp of a third issue wherein various actors intersect after much setup. In #3, writer Michael Moreci, artist Hayden Sherman, and colorist Jason Wordie show themselves just as adept at action storytelling as they’ve been previously at exposition, heady ideas, and character development. Moreci’s sense of humor is on point, too, and Sherman once again makes a strong case for best dystopian action artist in comics.
Yes, as much as I liked Wasted Space #1 and Wasted Space #2, this issue reached a more entertaining level without sacrificing any themes or thoughtfulness. I could get into the weeds about all that I liked, but I don’t want to spoil even small moments. I will say if you’re a new reader, don't be discouraged—reading all three issues consecutively will actually help you appreciate how the various character journeys are being laid out. I certainly know re-reading from the start this time was helpful (if not vital) for me.
Writer Michael Moreci, an avowed Star Wars fan, is clearly having a blast working in homages to his favorite movie franchise.
This book has some of the best side characters in comics, specifically Dust, Billy’s Fuq/Qil Bot best friend who is often comic relief. I’m also a big fan of Legion, the aforementioned unstoppable otherworldly force, who crushes everything and sometimes doles out routine life advice, like, You should take more pride in your work. It leads to a healthier existence.
Lastly, I want to note that there are sneakily relevant bits of ethos and commentary throughout Wasted Space, with Billy flashingback in this issue to himself urging normalcy in the face of dictatorship, an attitude that cost him dearly and sent him into the spiral we find him in when the book begins. I'm curious to see the full scope of the progress he makes as the book continues.
Overall: Wasted Space #3 is this comic’s best issue yet. The creators have built a solid foundation of character and plot, and they’re now clearly having a blast smashing it all together. I have every reason to believe the next issue will be even better as things continue to converge. 9.0/10
Zack Quaintance is a journalist who also writes fiction and makes comics. Find him on Twitter at @zackquaintance. He lives in Sacramento, California.