More Comic Reviews: B&V, D&D, and Swamp Thing

Well, this was certainly a grab bag that I picked up last week. 

Betty and Veronica Friends Forever #1: Supernatural Stories

I have bought Classic Archie Comics at comic book stores before.  While the main line Archie has gone away from the classic look, they are still using it in digests and the Your Pal Archie title.  It’s meant for kids with the friendly artwork and reduced price.  I suspect Zia Comics was okay with me picking it up anyway.

There are four short stories inside.  They fill up the entire interior.  There were no ads, so you’re getting your money’s worth.  It’s also printed on thick, bright, slick paper, so it’s physically of better quality than Marvel or DC comics.  The stories are silly and cute.  The artwork is functional.  I’ve seen Dan Parent do better work on covers and pinups.  I wish could see that in his stories work. 

I’m not going to say this was a great comic, but I was grinning the whole time I was reading it.  Maybe it was nostalgia or the innocence of the setting.  I enjoyed it.

The next issue might be interesting whenever it comes out.

           

DC Dollar Comics: Swamp Thing

This is DC’s analog to Marvel’s True Believers $1 reprints.  I think this was to promote the new Swamp Thing DC streaming service TV show, which was canceled right after its first episode debuted (too high production costs).  I decided to pick this up instead of the $5 Swamp Thing 100-page Giant that was also just released.  While the Giant had a Zantana story listed, I went with the cheaper option.  I was also interested in the Bernie Wrightson artwork.  I seem to recall this character and Marvel’s swamp creature, Man-Thing, were introduced within a month of each other.  Weird that only one of them caught on.  Perhaps it was the art and Len Wein story made the difference.

I’ve only ever read one other Swamp Thing comic.  It was part of a DC anthology.  He was sort of a low-key supernatural hero.  This issue featured Swamp Thing’s origin.  All I’ve really known about the character came from the 80’s movie.  (I think Adrienne Barbeau’s “performance” in that movie may have introduced more young boys to puberty than even Slave Leia from Return of the Jedi.)  The comic book story is sort of like it basically, but definitely different in execution. 

It’s certainly a horror comic and more hardcore than the movie, but not that scary.  It was set up as a continuing series, which probably took some bite out of the horror element.  I’m not sure if any of this ties into Alan Moore’s famous run with Swamp Thing being some kind of nature avatar.  This was okay for what it was, but suffers from being too functional as it was an origin story.

Dungeons & Dragons: Baldur’s Gate

This was actually the issue I’d gone to the store to get from seeing this week’s solicitations.  I don’t know why other than the “100 pages of D&D for $6,” it was advertised as.  That’s kind of irresistible to me at least.  On the other hand, I’d had plenty of warnings that this was going to disappoint me.  Why didn’t I listen?

First, it features Boo on the cover.  What’s wrong with the miniature giant space hamster?  One A, it’s a dumb concept creature from Spelljammer made worse in miniature.  Two B, it meant his even dumber master, Minsc, would be in this.  I’d already been exposed to these ridiculous gag characters in a giveaway comic, which I think I no longer have.  We’ll make that point #2, as said comic is reprinted here right at the beginning.  Worse still, the fourth story just features Minsc.  The first story mostly features Minsc.  The second and third use the other characters in the group, but they suck, so that doesn’t help.

Point #3, I could have figured out beforehand this going to be a bunch of reprints.  What I should have figured out was that it was just going to be the first issues the various Baldur’s Gate limited series.  It was going to be a teasing disappointment that would dissuade me from buying the trades (even if I’d liked the comics), since I’d just bought the first issue of each right here.

You’d think after my last IDW D&D comic purchase, I would have learned my lesson.  Make that point #4.  Fifth, IDW did an excellent D&D comic for fourth edition, so it’s not like they’re incapable to putting out a good genre comic.  It was clever, adventurous, and the characters were sharply well-drawn in their personalities.  These Baldur’s Gate stories have none of that.  I doubt any group of players would do the injustice of playing characters be so bland or foolish, no matter how tactically-minded they were.  I could see a bad DM setting up these stories though.  

Sub-point 5 A, one of these stories has Dragonborn character in it.  What dumbass DM allowed this character race into the game?  What were you thinking?  Why is this a part of the published game?  Well, Jdh417, this just adds more choices to the game to make it more fun and acceptable to modern audiences.  Shut up!  Shut up!  Shut up!  You deviant heretic, shut up!  You and your kind are banned from D&D.  That’s right.  I’m gatekeeping and you’re on the outside looking in for your unnatural half-dragon-luvin’ ways.  Pervert. 

     

The first and last issues reprinted have the best artwork.  The first one features Delina, the pretty Elf mage.  She looks good, but isn’t much of a character.  The second issue is more cartoony, while the third tries to be more realistic (and fails).  I just don’t have anything good to say here.  Don’t buy this or any of the current IDW D&D comics.

So surprisingly, Betty and Veronica win the smackdown here, if this was an actual comic book review fight.  It does occur to me that a bunch of reprints and gimmicks are the only thing enticing me to go to the comic book store.  I don’t think this is going to last for me much longer.