I keep buying comics, in spite of the dissatisfaction,
because I’m afraid at some point I’ll have bought my last comic. My desire to put off that day is definitely
driven more by nostalgia than by the product.
New comics are so Agenda-driven in message and production, even the most
ardent fan is forced to dismiss them.
Not to mention the price is far out of line with what you’re
getting. The style format of the modern
comic isn’t breezy entertainment; it’s ephemeral.
The choice may be taken away from me in the near future as
the whole comics industry is truly teetering on the brink. I don’t even know why Marvel and DC are still
publishing floppies. [The current hot
rumor is that DC is about to sell their comic publishing to Marvel.] Other than a few classics, I’m not even sure
trades are worth the effort. Nearly all of
the money their parent companies make off of superheroes is from movies and
merchandising. Perhaps it’s some loyalty
to their downstream distributors and not wanting to dissolve the entire comic
shop segment of the economy. Not only
did they initially create it, they don’t want to be held responsible for
killing it.
Maybe they want something to fall back on when superhero
movies fall out of vogue (later this year), so they keep it around. Maybe they’re awaiting the next general
economic downturn, so they can suffocate it without blame. In any case, there’s no comeback for the
comic book format. It’s done for. There will be words and pictures combined to
make stories in the future and forever, but only for kids’ books. Comics will go back to where they started and
will have to aspire to someday reach other audiences.
So, with that cheery intro, let’s review the comics that
put me in this melancholy mood.
This was the comic that I actually went to the comic book
store for when I saw it solicited. I
wasn’t expecting much story-wise, but a preview of the gorgeous interior art
was enough to motivate me.
I was even hoping to find the first issue, which I had
somehow missed, even though I was looking for it. However, for the first time since going to Zia Comics, a solicited comic wasn’t
there. They’d been very reliable up to
this point. When I asked, they said
they’d only ordered one copy for a box holder.
This put me in a box too, since now I can’t rely on Archie comics I’m
interested in being available there, which is one of the few things that cause
me to go to the comic book shop. I’ll
have to wait for the trade.
What was there was another Archie comic that I was vaguely
interested in. I’m not going to pretend
to be a big B-52’s fan, but I do
like Love Shack, like everybody
else. What I really enjoyed was Archie Meets the Ramones, so I was
hoping for something similar here.
Dan
Parent’s artwork is okay, probably a bit better than usual. The firmly 80’s setting and the stylish
layout are well done. The story is
okay. It’s a typical innocuous Archie
plot, but has a bit a melancholy edge to it.
The story is generally upbeat though.
This was fun, breezy entertainment, but not a classic like
the Ramones story. What I question is the $3.99 price. That’s what Marvel and DC charge. Archie is usually a bit cheaper. Moreover, the rear third of the comic is just
house ads. I really can’t recommend
this, unless you’re a big fan of the band.
True
Believers: X-Men-Kwannon
By the later 90’s, I’d mostly dropped comic book
collecting, particularly the X-Men. All the gimmicks and trying to make all of
the characters “cool warriors” had completely turned me off. I had my doubts that buying up all of those
“collector’s items” was ever going to pay off (which it didn’t).
Still, for a $1, I was willing to pick up this refugee
from about 30 years ago because it might be kind of fun. (I still can’t believe Zia Comics doesn’t
have a Dollar Box of old comics.) The Andy Kubert artwork is good, but of its
time. It’s detailed, though a bit
sketchy, because they were churning X-Men
comics on an accelerated schedule. The
characters are posing like they came straight out of a superhero modeling
agency.
Still, there was no decompressed storytelling here. There’s plenty to read and multiple plot
threads going on. Several of the
characters are working through personal problems, which is what makes them
relatable. The comic is in the tradition
of what made the X-Men the most
popular comic for a couple of decades.
I didn’t know Betsy made a play at Scott. I can see it happening though. Poor Psylocke. Keep in mind, she was a purple-haired white
English girl, related to Captain Britain,
who got turned into an Asian psychic ninja.
I think they would have been better served at the time by just making a
new character, but nobody asked me. (I’m
not saying this change wasn’t an upgrade.)
I’m also a wee miffed that while Illyana is in the comic, she has been
de-aged into a little girl. Magik is one of my favorite
characters. Luckily, she’s later changed
back into a sarcastic, dark teenager at some point.
I like the very lack of Agenda items in this comic, which
makes it so alien to everything new on the comic book racks currently. I sort of recommend this, but be aware that
the whole of it only sets up future issues.
In that, it was disappointing.
So, this is just a slice of a typical 90’s comic, an unfortunately
bygone era of entertaining comics.
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