MFR Newsletter 8/7/2020 - There is no war in Ba Sing Se.
Hey there, comics fans! EIC Anthony here once again to fill that gaping hole in your life with comic book news and opinions.
I placed an order a couple of weeks ago to snag some new trades and graphic novels, and I tossed in some older stuff that I’ve been wanting to read or re-read while I was at it.
Well, my order arrived this week, and I might have went a little harder than I meant to:
Oops!
Now, I know what you’re going to say: “Wow, Anthony! Buying all of these books must mean that you’ve read through all the books you already own, right?” And to that I say, “shush.” My fiancé has already given me the appropriate amount of judgement for this, thankyouverymuch.
So yea, I have some reading ahead of me. You can see I picked up a few Superman books to try and counteract the doom-and-gloom of 2020, and I’m really excited to dig into the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the first time.
And for an added surprise, I discovered several of these books have blurbs on the back from Monkeys Fighting Robots reviews! Always a pleasant thing seeing our team’s hard work being recognized.
On to the news and reviews of the week!
Monkeys Fighting Robots: The Magazine UPDATE
The inaugural issue of MONKEYS FIGHTING ROBOTS: THE MAGAZINE is out in the wild!!
MFR Publisher Matt Sardo has been a lean, mean shipping machine this week, mailing out copies of the mag to our backers and patrons. And if you live in the St. Pete area, chances are he’s already dropped your copy off with you.
So keep an eye on your mailbox. When you get your copy, let us know @monkeys_robots on Twitter and @monkeysfightingrobots on Instagram!
Review: GIANT-SIZE X-MEN – FANTOMEX #1 – Welcome to the World…Again. And Again.
Fantomex is a fan-favorite X-Man, and here he is receiving his own GIANT SIZE X-MEN special in the Hickman era. Reviewer Matthew Brake says this is a much more personal tale than some of the other recent GIANT SIZE specials, which is a huge selling point for me.
HaKashaph: The Witchy Jewish Potential of BtVS: WILLOW #1
In this review/editorial, writer Elizabeth Buck takes a look at BOOM! Studios’ recent WILLOW #1 and discusses both Willow’s Jewish heritage as it relates to her character, and Jewish representation in media as a whole.
Review: ICE CREAM MAN #20 Embodies An Alternate Dr. Seuss
I know I’ve discussed ICE CREAM MAN in this newsletter before, but a new issue is cause to remind you all that this is a stirring horror anthology series, which means every issue is the perfect jumping-on point. This issue sold out and went to a second printing immediately.
Reviewer Corey Patterson gives you his thoughts on this haunting Dr. Seuss pastiche.
Review: Reformatting Your Consciousness In FAR SECTOR #7
FAR SECTOR is a series that I’m trade-waiting, and it KILLS me to read reviews like this one by Justin Munday because I just want to run out and buy all the singles right now. God, Jamal Campbell’s art is so pretty.
What I’m Currently Reading
First off, I got my copy of HEDRA that I mentioned last week and immediately tore into it. Cartoonist Jesse Lonergan has created a comic the likes of which are rarely seen. It’s this striking, silent, magazine-sized story that you’ll want to stare at and dissect for hours. Lonergan’s use of geometry and grids makes for a unique experience, and the story itself is captivating and easy to follow despite the lack of dialogue.
I knew I had to check this out as soon as I saw someone online compare it to 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY, and I have to say that’s a very apt comparison. It’s high-concept, cerebral storytelling. The first printing sold out fast, but I received a press release while putting together this very newsletter that Image has already greenlit a second printing. So snag HEDRA if and when you find it.
Second, BROKENLAND is a self-published comic from cartoonist Drew Morrison, and I was lucky enough to get to read the first two issues. It’s the story of Meeso, an amorphous being in a world of monsters, creatures, and all sorts of weirdos. Meeso has good intentions, but the world he’s living in is broken and dirty.
There’s a dark sense of realism in Meeso’s world, but also underlying themes of hope and optimism. This is a comic about trying to clean up and fix your broken and dirty world.
And it’s all silent. Morrison does all his storytelling through his art, and he’s damn good at it. The design of BROKENLAND alone is worth the price of admission. I’m a fan of heavily-detailed art. It reminds me of old-school underground comics, and it just shows the amount of love, effort, and craft that the cartoonist put into this work.
You can buy BROKENLAND #1 on its website, and issue #2 is currently funding on Kickstarter. The campaign has less than a week left, and needs just a little more support to reach its goal, so check it out, share it with your friends, and — if you can — back it to help keep indie comics alive and kicking.
COMIC STRIP • TALES OF MFR #65
Zombie Monkey Robots. Thanks for the nightmares, guys! ‘Nuff said.
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.
SUPPORT MFR
I just want to take a minute to say “THANK YOU” to all of you who subscribe to this newsletter, and who take the time to read all of the content our team works on and puts out.
If you like what we do, please consider supporting Monkeys Fighting Robots to help keep us up-and-running. You can show your support by becoming a patron over on Patreon, or by purchasing a shirt from our TeePublic store.
We love what we do, and we really like making MFR an ad-free environment for you all and want to keep it that way. Most of all, we want to get to a place where we can pay our team members, who currently volunteer their time to write about comics purely out of love.
Thanks in advance :)
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
ABOUT US
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CONTACT US
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If you like what we do, please consider becoming a patron on Patreon or buying a shirt from our TeePublic store.