There are different themes and moods associated with each season that, aside from the weather, make them remarkably different from one another. Summer in particular is associated with vitality, energy, and joy, while winter, in contrast, is most linked to death, lethargy, and hopelessness. These seasonal moods extend to all aspects of pop culture like …
Even if the narrative gets darker around the edges with the introduction of Mrs. Jones’ connection to a probably evil Siberian scientist and the general media storm, Huck #2 continues to be a study in optimism for Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque. Huck continues to help ordinary people in extraordinary ways even if he is surrounded by news choppers and random people. At this point, Orlov doesn’t quite fit into the story and is a throwback to Russian villain trope, but Huck #2 more than makes up for this slight hiccup with evocative storytelling, a hopeful tone, and the introduction of tension in the plot for this exemplary hero.
Not only does Steve Orlando’s Midnighter comic star a gay man, it tells blunt, sex-positive stories about that character. The main cast of characters in the upcoming main Avengers comic All-New, All-Different Avengers has a small minority of white dudes.
While there is still a lot of work on the road to a utopia of complete social justice, there is a trend of progressivism in some of today’s superhero comics that is impossible to ignore.
Huck, an Image Comics series starting on Nov. 18, is very different in tone compared to much of their past work, but that just means more excitement for writer Mark Millar and artist Rafael Albuquerque. “I like doing different things,” said Millar via Skype interview today. “In the past two, three years I have tried …
Huck #1 is wholesome like a Red Delicious Apple and not saccharine like whatever chemicals they put in diet soda. It’s all-American like the smell of your favorite pie or sweet baked like your grandma or freshly mowed grass on a Friday morning before the first high school football game of the season without the jingoism or exceptionalism that has marred this country. (The fact that it was written by a Scottish person and drawn by a Brazilian definitely helps in that category.) Basically, Huck #1 is the most hopeful and uplifting comic that has come out in 2015 so far with a good hearted and admirable main character, a setting that lets Rafael Albuquerque show off the softer side of his watercolor style, and a compelling final page cliffhanger plotted by Mark Millar.
Ultimate X-Men #7-9 goes for a more political look at the well-worn “mutant as a metaphor for oppressed minorities” story by making the formerly shady Weapon X folks completely aligned with the US government even if members of the government and military want to shut them down.
With a dose of political satire, some soaring team-up action grounded in character moments (Storm struggling with her power; Quicksilver’s daddy issues; Wolverine the reformed assassin), and a robust arc for Cyclops, Ultimate X-Men #4-6 is definitely an improvement over the preceding three issues. The “death” of Beast is a cheap storytelling ploy, and I am still skeezed out from Wolverine’s sexual liaison with Jean Grey, but Millar and the Kuberts end this first arc on a triumphant, if dark note albeit with some skeletons in the closet waiting to be brought out for the following “Return to Weapon X” storyline.
Mark Millar and Adam Kubert’s work on Ultimate X-Men #1-3 really is the blockbuster action take on the X-Men, but there is enough flashes of characterization, pretty layouts (Not so much those ugly leather costumes.), and clever twists like Wolverine being a bona fide villain and Colossus’ old crime boss supplying Magneto with a nuke. It’s not a particularly deep comic and scratches the surface of the idea of “post-humanism”, but Ultimate X-Men #1-3 is adequate popcorn entertainment, which led to it selling like hotcakes. (Ultimate X-Men #1 was the number one book in December 2000 with 117,085 copies, and issues 2 and 3 stayed in the top 3 with numbers around the 90,000 range.)
Civil War was a massive Marvel crossover event running from 2006 to 2007 and tied into virtually every Marvel comic including cosmic ones, like Nova, and quirky teen ones, like Runaways. The comic begins with the New Warriors (a team of perpetually C-Listers) fighting a group of supervillains to garner better ratings for their reality TV show, which leads to the villain Nitro blowing up a school in Stamford, Connecticut leading to many civilian casualties. This leads to Tony Stark, Reed Richards, the Avengers, and SHIELD supporting the Superhuman Registration Act, which bans secret identities, implements mandatory training for young heroes, and makes superheroes agents of SHIELD. This is opposed by Captain America, who doesn’t want to hunt down his fellow heroes, and the conflict begins as all the heroes of the Marvel Universe must either choose the Pro-Reg or Anti-Reg side.
Even if Jupiter’s Circle #3 doesn’t go into the overall conspiracy plot, Mark Millar and Wilfredo Torres demonstrate that married superheroes’ stories don’t have to be boring while developing the character of The Flare and April Kelly in a comic that has a nostalgic superhero aesthetic, but is really about people with actual problems that don’t involve supervillains or alien invasions.
Jupiter’s Circle #1 is a prequel to Mark Millar and Frank Quitely’s Jupiter’s Legacy, a superhero family saga with an epic sociopolitical scope. It shows what Utopian, Walter, and their friends in the Union were up to in the late-1950s during the time of Eisenhower, the early seasons of Mad Men, and the Silver Age of Comics when superheroes returned to prominence. Artist Wilfredo Torres captures the bright, cheery, and yes, cheesy feel of this era with the characters’ garish costumes, wacky gadgets, and the giant space squid (colored in an electric blue from Ive Svorcina) the team fights. However, writer Mark Millar goes beneath the lantern jawed faces, form-fitting tights, and fisticuffs to explore the heroes’ personalities. There are six members of Union, and there simply isn’t enough time to develop each character in a single issue, but Millar wisely spends most of his time focusing on Blue Bolt, a Starman-like superhero with a power rod, who happens to be a closeted gay man.
In MPH #5, Mark Millar and Duncan Fegredo turn to time travel to fix everyone’s problems and give every semi-likable character some semblance of a happy ending
What is it? Civil War is a 7 part major cross-over event and tie-in series that was first published in 2006 and written by Mark Millar with Steve McNiven on pencils. One Sentence Description: Iron Man wants order and Captain America wants freedom, but what they both get is a fist fight. What’s it all …
In case Mark Millar didn’t already have a tight grip on the nexus of Hollywood and comics, his new five issue miniseries MPH is already getting its own movie – (and just one week after Fox bought the rights to Millar and Leinil Francis Yu’s Superior). Unfortunately this new series from the mastermind of Kick Ass elicits but a shrug.
MPH #2 Written by Mark Millar Art by Duncan Fegredo Published by Image Comics This was a middling issue, which is to be expected as it’s mostly about setting up the subsequent action. We get a bit more background on Rosa and some fun shots of the characters enjoying their newfound abilities. Duncan Fegredo’s artwork looks …
Mark Millar seems to live just to subvert superhero tropes. Kick-Ass and Nemesis were both comic books that wanted to deconstruct the motivations of people who become superheroes and supervillains, depicting egotism and boredom as motivations alongside greed or altruism. MPH is sort of another book in this vein, with a person suddenly gaining access to super-speed. Guess what happens? Crime spree and, we can only assume a quest for revenge.
Jupiter’s Legacy #3 Writer: Mark Millar Artist: Frank Quitely Colorist: Peter Doherty Publisher: Image Comics After a three month absence, an issue of Jupiter’s Legacy comes out, and it doesn’t disappoint. Mark Millar throws decompression to the wind and instantly delivers on the plot developments he teased in the last issue. The ideological conflict between Utopian, who …
Kick-Ass 2 is a rare film, one that is so messy and unpleasant that it makes one wonder if its predecessor was actually any good. The cast has, mostly, returned, but director Matthew Vaughn has stepped back into the producer’s chair. Maybe that’s the issue, or maybe the graphic novel series on which this sequel is based is just too mean-spirited and nasty to make a satisfying transition to the big screen. Whatever the case, Kick-Ass 2 is a misguided, uncomfortable, cartoonish, and gratuitously violent affair that’s best ignored.
Kick-Ass, based on Mark Millar’s hilarious-but-brutal comic book, turns the superhero genre on its head. Nobody in Kick-Ass is technically a ‘super’ hero because it’s set in our world. Therefore the ‘super’ heroes are nothing more than costumed vigilantes who withstand a bullet as well as a bowl of fruit. It’s great to see …
Jupiter’s Legacy #2 Writer: Mark Millar Artist: Frank Quitely Colors/Letters: Peter Doherty Publisher: Image So Jupiter’s Legacy is basically Game of Thrones with superheroes. There is conflict between members of different families who have power through their superhuman abilities, celebrity status, or political cunning. Each member has superpowers, but has varying degrees of the other powers. Jupiter’s Legacy might not have a …
Jupiter’s Legacy 1 Writer: Mark Millar Artist/Cover: Frank Quitely Colors: Peter Doherty Published by Image Comics In Jupiter’s Legacy, two legendary comics creators come together to tell a multi-generational superhero epic for the 21st century. The story isn’t as dark and dystopian as Watchmen or Dark Knight Returns, and it’s not as sentimental as Kingdom Come. It is also is a …
Tales From Beyond Science Written by Mark Millar, Alan McKenzie, John Smith Art by Rian Hughes Published by Image Comics “You are about to enter another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, the Twilight Zone!” -Rod Serling The above …
Comic books are like wine, there is a bottle out there for everyone. The comic book medium has been around for over seventy years and is home to some of the most original and ground-breaking stories the world has ever seen. But knowing where to start is daunting, and jumping in blind can have some …