MFR Newsletter 8/29/2020 — Wakanda forever.
Good morning, comics people — hope you’re all doing well.
All of us at MFR want to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Chadwick Boseman. The fact that Chadwick did all that he did — making movies that were physically, mentally, and emotionally draining, along with the training, press tours, and events that went along with them — all while battling his illness in private is a testament to his strength and character. He was a king on screen and off, and he will be missed.
Be good to one another — provide patience, dignity, and respect — because you never know what struggles and pain someone else is going through.
Review: BATMAN: THREE JOKERS #1 Rallies In The Ninth
Publisher Matt Sardo reviewed the long-awaited THREE JOKERS #1 this week. Most of the MFR editorial staff felt the same way about this one: It’s a fine comic that ends stronger than it starts, but after all the waiting and all the hype, we expected more.
Review: LOCKE & KEY: IN PALE BATTALIONS GO #1 Welcomes Us Home
LOCKE & KEY is one of my all-time favorite series, and I am seriously PUMPED for all of the new comics we’re going to be getting. Zac Owens reviewed the first issue of the new miniseries, “…In Pale Battalions Go…”, and now I’m even more pumped. From what Zac says, these guys haven’t missed a beat. If anything, they’ve gotten better.
Review: WE ONLY FIND THEM WHEN THEY’RE DEAD #1 — Scavenging For Gods
Another one that I’ve been crazy excited for. A space crew that harvests the bodies of dead gods? To quote Kite Man, “hell yea.” Jake Palermo reviewed the first issue, which comes out this Wednesday.
How The Past Catches Up In MIRKA ANDOLFO’S MERCY #5
Cat Wyatt has been reviewing Mirka Andolfo’s MERCY since it started, and this week she took a look at the penultimate issue, calling it “disturbing” and “unforgettable.”
KICKSTARTER NOOK
Last week I mentioned how we are in something of a Golden Age for Kickstarter comics right now — there are just a ton of great campaigns going on from brilliant creators. I named a few previously, but I thought it might be cool to keep a running tally of what ongoing campaigns I’ve backed so you all can check them out too! So welcome… to our KICKSTARTER NOOK! (“Kickstarter Korner” has been done to death. I was going to call this “Kickstarter Knook” for alliterative purposes, but apparently “knook” is an actual word in the world of knitting. #themoreyouknow)
THE O.Z. #1 — A reimagining of The Wizard of Oz. After Dorothy defeated the Wicked Witch and liberated Oz, the resulting power vacuum sent the wonderful land spiraling into decades of civil war. Now, decades later, Dorothy’s Iraq War veteran granddaughter must restore peace to the Occupied Zone. (Read my interview with writer David Pepose here.)
GOD-PUNCHER VOL. 1 — One of the coolest, most fun, and most original comics in recent memory. After being betrayed by the gods, Tim Finnly seeks revenge with his magical talking fists. Cartoonist Lane Lloyd has been self-publishing GOD-PUNCHER as a digital comic for the last two years, and he’s now collecting the first five issues (plus a “zero issue”) into a trade.
TALES FROM THE QUARANTINE — An anthology full of one-page comics created during the coronavirus pandemic. 200+ pages of comics capturing the feelings and imaginations of 400 creators from around the world during an unprecedented time in history.
DON’T EVER BLINK #1 — A serial killer who sews victims’ eyes shut is tormenting a small town. Writer Brian Hawkins says it’s perfect for fans of slasher/thrillers, which is 100% me. Not to be missed by horror fans.
NEXT DOOR — A one-shot written by fellow comics journalist Zack Quaintance. It’s a neo-noir set around the housing crisis, and it’s being compared to THE DREGS, BTTM FDRS, and STRAY BULLETS.
HALF PAST DANGER CHRISTMAS SPECIAL — Just a few days left on this campaign. HALF PAST DANGER is an action-adventure pulp series billed as “Raiders of The Lost Ark meets Jurassic Park.” There are currently two trade paperbacks out for the series, and this campaign is for the new Christmas special, due to hit your doorstep right around the holidays.
What I’m Currently Reading
I read SUPERMAN: KRYPTONITE by Darwyn Cooke, Tim Sale, Dave Stewart, and Richard Starkings this week. And look, I know I just said a few weeks ago that I want to reserve this space for lesser-known works, and I know that Superman is probably the highest profile character ever, but this is a Superman book that I haven’t really heard many people talk about so I’m going to count it!
What really stood out to me about this comic is how vulnerable Superman is portrayed. The comic revolves around Big Blue’s first encounter with Kryptonite, so it takes place very early in his career when he’s still not sure just how invulnerable he really is. Every time he goes into the field, he’s wondering, “is this what finally kills me?” I just don’t remember ever reading a Superman story like this that explores a young Clark Kent’s fears about death and what it means to be “Super.” It’s beautiful. And Tim Sale draws perhaps the most vulnerable and fragile image of Superman ever put to paper, which I would share with you but I can’t seem to find it online. Just read the comic and you’ll know it when you see it.
(Giving credit where it’s due, I only heard about this comic myself thanks to Comics Bookcase’s Coronavirus Reading List.)
CUT MAN, meanwhile, is a “superhero” story like you haven’t seen before. Hank Kelly is a troubled and lonely man who learns he’s immortal the hard way. He doesn’t get to deal with his new power in privacy though; instead, he’s instantly thrown into a media circus. What Hank doesn’t realize, though, is that his immortality comes with a cost at the expense of others.
It’s by writer Alexander Banks-Jongman, artist Robert Ahmad, and letterer DC Hopkins, and published by Action Lab Danger Zone. I dig this whole package, but the big selling point for me is Ahmad’s art. His minimalist style strikes me in a very good place. He doesn’t color his art so much as he shades it with flat, monochromatic colors. That, combined with his “camera angles” and establishing shots, gives his work a very noir tone that I love. You can get the first three issues on Comixology right now for $2 a pop.
Also reading: TMNT ULTIMATE COLLECTION Vol. 1
Monkeys Fighting Robots Store!
We now have a webstore where you can buy our publications! Our current editions of MONKEYS FIGHTING ROBOTS: THE MAGAZINE and TALES OF MFR #1 are both up for sale right now if you missed out on the Kickstarters.
Click here to check out our store!
COMIC STRIP • TALES OF MFR #68
I am the monkey in the final panel of this week’s strip.
Catch up on the series here: TALES OF MFR
The war between monkeys and robots has raged on for eons; these are the stories that have survived. With art by Jamie Jones and the occasional words by Matt Sardo, Tales of MFR hits the web every Sunday.
For more reviews, interviews, and “Legends of the Longbox”, head over to the website to see what the team’s been working on this week:
That’s all for now! Remember: Darkseid is… but so are we.
Until next week,
Anthony Composto
@The_Great_Ace
@monkeys_robots
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