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Comic Reviews- Inside Jokes edition
Jun. 25th, 2015 06:07 pmAirboy (Image)- by James Robinson - Airboy may be genius
![Image result for airboy image comics robinson]()
I have to admit that I picked this up partially because it looks like a great indie comics like Minimum Wage. Indeed, this is the most sex and drugs I have seen in a mainstreamish comic since Minimum Wage. It also may be genius.
Image asks Robinson to take a long forgotten comic now in Public Domain called Airboy and turn it into a million selling book. If this kind of sounds like the thing DC and others have been trying to pull, that's probably not a coincidence.
There's plenty of jokes at DCs and other's expense.
So Robinson and artist Greg Hinkle look for inspiration, and when Robinson doesn't find it, he goes on a sex and drugs spree.
What makes it extra special is that I haven't really seen Robinson do anything like this. His reputation is that he is the guy DC calls to work on Golden Age characters like Starman and JSA. So he is the guy you precisely would call in to make hit out of Airboy.
There's a lot of great inside jokes. Still, it's a riotous read without that, and everyone should appreciate the satire. It reads like a great indie comic from the days of Bagge, Clowes and Fingerman.
It's also the most obscene and profane book I have read in a while. Still, it's an act of artistic genius. Mark Millar, Garth Ennis and others have done shocking, but this is a bit of a different take than all of that, and brings up some issues of artistry that probably would not be expected in a comic, let alone a comic with a menage a trois.
Insufferable (IDW) by Mark Waid- This is a superhero type of book of the kind Waid seems to excel at lately, in which he has a big DC/Golden Age-ish Superhero story to tell, but tells it in a way that would appeal to non-comic fans. In short, less flash and confusing backstory and more intimate storytelling.
![Image result for insufferable idw]()
In this case, he is taking on a superhero duo, which will likely bring certain comic duos to mind. The lets-face-it Batmanish mentor is run down relying on painkillers to make it through the day, whilst it is the Robin-ish youngster who is what one would expect in 2015- a gloryhound, trumpeting his achievements on social media, living the good life.
Waid really nails a good dynamic between the two and Peter Krause is an appropriate choice to illustrate the story. It wasn't that long ago that they collaborated on Irredeemable, and told a similarly themed story- bringing typical Superhero stories but telling them with a modern feel. Yet one thing Waid does well, is that he keeps a superhero integrity, telling a different type of story than say Mark Millar would do with the same characters.
It's a great take and knowing Waid it will be a rewarding journey. Of course, said this after reading it, before I discovered this Bombshell. in which case, the genesis of this idea of cranky old mentor and ungrateful protege is based on the 90s' relationship of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I suspect comic fans will at least be generally familiar with the fact that Morrison was becoming well established when he helped Mark Millar break into comics. This mainly happened at DC on titles like Aztek, the Flash and JLA where they co-wrote with Morrison being the recognizable name and Millar finally making a name for himself with Superman:Red Son,
So there's that.
But either way, it's a pretty solid superhero story.
I have to admit that I picked this up partially because it looks like a great indie comics like Minimum Wage. Indeed, this is the most sex and drugs I have seen in a mainstreamish comic since Minimum Wage. It also may be genius.
Image asks Robinson to take a long forgotten comic now in Public Domain called Airboy and turn it into a million selling book. If this kind of sounds like the thing DC and others have been trying to pull, that's probably not a coincidence.
There's plenty of jokes at DCs and other's expense.
So Robinson and artist Greg Hinkle look for inspiration, and when Robinson doesn't find it, he goes on a sex and drugs spree.
What makes it extra special is that I haven't really seen Robinson do anything like this. His reputation is that he is the guy DC calls to work on Golden Age characters like Starman and JSA. So he is the guy you precisely would call in to make hit out of Airboy.
There's a lot of great inside jokes. Still, it's a riotous read without that, and everyone should appreciate the satire. It reads like a great indie comic from the days of Bagge, Clowes and Fingerman.
It's also the most obscene and profane book I have read in a while. Still, it's an act of artistic genius. Mark Millar, Garth Ennis and others have done shocking, but this is a bit of a different take than all of that, and brings up some issues of artistry that probably would not be expected in a comic, let alone a comic with a menage a trois.
Insufferable (IDW) by Mark Waid- This is a superhero type of book of the kind Waid seems to excel at lately, in which he has a big DC/Golden Age-ish Superhero story to tell, but tells it in a way that would appeal to non-comic fans. In short, less flash and confusing backstory and more intimate storytelling.
In this case, he is taking on a superhero duo, which will likely bring certain comic duos to mind. The lets-face-it Batmanish mentor is run down relying on painkillers to make it through the day, whilst it is the Robin-ish youngster who is what one would expect in 2015- a gloryhound, trumpeting his achievements on social media, living the good life.
Waid really nails a good dynamic between the two and Peter Krause is an appropriate choice to illustrate the story. It wasn't that long ago that they collaborated on Irredeemable, and told a similarly themed story- bringing typical Superhero stories but telling them with a modern feel. Yet one thing Waid does well, is that he keeps a superhero integrity, telling a different type of story than say Mark Millar would do with the same characters.
It's a great take and knowing Waid it will be a rewarding journey. Of course, said this after reading it, before I discovered this Bombshell. in which case, the genesis of this idea of cranky old mentor and ungrateful protege is based on the 90s' relationship of Grant Morrison and Mark Millar. I suspect comic fans will at least be generally familiar with the fact that Morrison was becoming well established when he helped Mark Millar break into comics. This mainly happened at DC on titles like Aztek, the Flash and JLA where they co-wrote with Morrison being the recognizable name and Millar finally making a name for himself with Superman:Red Son,
So there's that.
But either way, it's a pretty solid superhero story.
