Lately I’ve been shifting around my comic book buying/reading habits after how much DC’s 2011 hard reboot fizzled out. One major reason is how the clueless Hollywood division is now meddling with the editorial staff on what to publish and with their recent relocation to LA after being based in NYC for 80 years, I think the future looks grim. The trailer for the upcoming Batman v. Superman smells terrible.
Another factor is how poorly DC has embraced contemporary technologies while Marvel has ensnared me. Over 90 percent of Marvel’s stuff I score (mostly the new Star Wars) comes with a code to download an electronic copy to read on a computer/tablet. Sure it makes the title cost an extra dollar but it’s a perfect arrangement.
- I pay for the comic book.
- This supports my local store (Rogues Gallery).
- I download the comic to re-read when enough of the title is there as a sequence.
- I give away the physical book to a kid who likes superheroes/Star Wars.
- Less clutter in my house.
Then comes the crux of the article, my shop’s podcast plugging stuff. What Nick, Dave and Randy convinced me about was how Image is no longer the long-underwear company in which the creators own the characters despite how derivative they were of the Big Two. To the general public, Image is the company responsible for The Walking Dead. No. Image has impressively succeeded in a space I think comics have traditionally been weak at, Science Fiction. It began with checking out Black Science and Sex Criminals. Now they’ve hooked me on the numerous titles below. This will be just part one though.
Speaking of Sex Criminals, one half of that title’s creative team kicks off my story with Kaptara, an adult He-Man parody. Astronaut Keith Kanga was just minding his own business as a passenger heading to Mars when the ship is pulled through a mysterious portal and crashes on an alien planet. Against his better judgment, Keith must team up with this world’s odd heroes to stop the evil Skullthor from conquering Earth. Along the way he encounters a missing crew member living with bee people, a cantankerous wizard who gripes like most Vietnam vets and a Smurf-like village of misogynistic brohs.
The major story arc is still coming together after five issues but I recommend Kaptara for its humor.
We Stand on Guard is based upon a real-world premise I learned about in a book covering what’s in other countries’ history texts. The Great White North has been our friendly neighbor ever since the War of 1812’s conclusion but secretly, Canadians remain paranoid of the US invading them. It’s why they finally consolidated the former British colonies into Canada around 1863. You think I’m kidding? The MacKenzie Brothers’ skits were written by the SCTV gang to mock the Canadian content law, a law passed to slow down their cultural absorption by America.
In the comic, what we today consider an absurd idea comes true in the near future. Sometime in the 22nd Century, the White House is destroyed by a pre-emptive strike and Canada is the culprit or conveniently blamed. Fast forward about a decade where Canadian resistance fighters are giving the US forces a hard time in the Northwest Territories. The Americans have all this high tech (mechs, robots) yet they’re picked off by crafty people who just know the woods better. Behind the scenes, you get a sense that the war’s casus belli may have been fictionalized by the US in order to confiscate Canada’s natural resources, namely water.
Southern Cross is a mystery involving possible corporate wrong-doing and/or a mystical-like power reaching across space. I’m not completely sure yet because the last issue hit a stopping point and I think the story will be shifting over to the next arc in the overall story. I do enjoy it immensely. The protagonist is a woman, something Image is better at doing than the Big Two. The style and look is akin to the Scott Ridley films too; Alien, Blade Runner.
It all begins with ex-con Alex Braith boarding the Southern Cross, a tanker bound for the Titan colony. She’s heading there to collect her estranged sister’s belongings and to find out how her sibling died. While the ship is traveling, odd things begin to happen; Alex’s cabin mate goes missing (there’s nowhere to hide) and something akin to ghosts appear before the antagonist. Adding to her difficulty, several passengers and crew members knew Alex’s sister. What their relationships were, none are very forthcoming. I like how each issue is one day of the voyage.
I want to wrap up with these three for now. There are many more Image titles my store got me hooked on. This took almost a week to write thanks to writer’s block. One title I had to put aside because I was having difficulty describing the plot without going in a circle. Fear not, it will be coming for it’s one of my favorites.