Category Archives: Underrated

Underrated: A Random Selection Of TPBs

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: a somewhat random selection of trade paperbacks..

This week I wanted to highlight books that have either already appeared in this column, or haven’t appeared yet (but that I plan to cover in more detail in the future). There’ll be no real order here, but each book will be a jumping on point of some kind into a series that are each absolutely worth reading.

Voracious: Diners Dinosaurs and Dives (Action Lab) The elevator pitch for this series is pretty simple and immediately interesting; time travelling chef hunts dinosaurs. But as catchy as that is, it does a disservice to Markisan Naso and Jason Muhr’s series. Across two miniseries (or two trades), the pair have created a story with more flavours than a tyrannosaur steak; there’s a cop drama, genuinely funny and heart warming moments, a deeper exploration of the mechanics of time travel than you’d necessarily expect and some straight up action sequences. This is easily one of the most exciting comic series I’ve read in the last five year (the final part of the trilogy launches in the next couple of months).

God Country (Image) The concept for this story is pretty unique and straight forward; a man with Alzheimer’s regains his memory when holding a mysterious sentient sword. The only problem is, the sword apparently belongs to some space gods… God Country is one of Donny Cates finest stories, and one that has the potential to hit a lot of us who have experienced a loved one suffering with this horrible disease. There’s also an undertone about discovering who you once were, who you are, and the question of whether a sentient sword is a possession or a free being. Plus, with this being made into a movie in the future, you’ll want to read this sooner than later.

Wrath Of The Eternal Warrior: Risen (Valiant) Hardly surprising I’d include a Valiant book, and Risen is the introductory story to one of Valiant’s finest fourteen issue runs in recent memory. This chapter tells the story of how the Eternal Warrior comes back to life each and every time he dies – another simple concept, but one that weighs heavier and heavier each time you see him fall later in the series.

Sex Criminals (Image) Sometimes you just really need a good crime story. And despite the title, this isn’t about sex criminals, but criminals who have sex and then commit a crime. Because every time they orgasm time freezes so they choose to rob a bank (or take a shit in their bosses office). As you do.

Letter 44: Vol I (Oni Press) I had very little idea what this was about when I picked up the first trade, but quickly discovered that it tells the story of humanity’s first contact with extraterrestrial beings, and the president who chose to keep their existence a secret (all the while perpetuating wars to give his soldiers combat experience and developing incredible technology to combat the potential threat). Equal parts political intrigue and science fiction story, I’m still not sure whether the tension is higher in space than it is on Earth, but the story is freaking amazing.

Ether (Dark Horse) A tale about a scientist who can travel inter-dimensionally, Ether explores what would happen if said scientist arrived in a world where magic, not science is the rule of law – but what is magic but as-yet unexplained science?

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: Brit: Old Soldiers

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Brit: Old Soldier.

I’m going to assume you know who Robert Kirkman is, and what his two most well known properties are. But before he became known as the creator of The Walking Dead and Invincible, or even after, Kirkman created comics that haven’t garnered the same raving obsession as TWD. One of these is a comic about an indestructible octogenarian who has been the secret weapon of the US government for decades. Set in the same world as Invincible and Wolfman (though the latter is also an underrated book, and you likely haven’t had chance to read it). I’m talking about Brit: Old Soldier.

I picked up the trade from my LCS on a whim. It looked kinda cool, almost had an Old Man Logan vibe to the character, and I was curious about a guy who may or may not be immortal (whether Brit is or isn’t immortal, he’s certainly indestructible), and seeing how Kirkman handled the guy. Plus, this specific volume looked like it was a standalone story as I flipped through it quickly, which is always a good thing when you’re looking to pick up a trade paperback just for the sake of reading. I’ve since realized that Brit has also seen a continuation of the original miniseries, but that’s not what we’re talking about today.

No today, we’re talking about the first trade, a complete story in and of itself that stands alone as a violently humorous and at time darkly funny comic.

Brit: Old Soldier is a comic set in the same world as another of Kirkman’s creations, but you don’t need to be overly familiar with Invincible to enjoy the subject of today’s column. It’ll give you an additional layer to peel away, but the story doesn’t hinge on you knowing Everything.

Like I said, this is a standalone book. A complete story in and of itself.

Brit: Old Soldier is one of those comics that takes you entirely by surprise. You have reasonable expectations going in based on the creative team and the synopsis, but the end result proves to be a sum greater than its parts. There’s an oddly funny and heartwarming soul to this story that rears its head between the other blood drenched pages depicting Brit in action.

Interestingly, we see Brit use his ability in some unique ways; for despite being indestructible, he doesn’t have super strength (although he isn’t constrained by his muscles or bones tearing if he punches and lifts things). This leads to at least one fight where Brit emerges victorious using some rather unconventional tactics that wouldn’t work for most other comic book characters.

Brit is the subject of this weeks’ Underrated because when stacked next to The Walking Dead and Invincible it’s easy to overlook this book on the shelves of your LCS. If it’s even there. Do yourself a favour, the next time you’re looking for a popcorn action comic with heart, look for Brit.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: Warhammer: Crown Of Destruction

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Warhammer: Crown Of Destruction.

It’s often easy to discount Games Workshop based comics as little more than a generic cash in with little appeal beyond those who already play Games Workshop games such as Warhammer. As you may have guessed by this collection featuring in Underrated, that’s not always the case. 

Although I found this in a thrift shop for $2, I was utterly captivated by it from start to finish. I tell you the price I paid more to give an indication of what I was willing to pay based on the cover and blurb on the back, not because I want to brag about my find. Any higher a price and I probably would have left it on the shelf – though seeing as how it was with the kids books I may have at least moved it to the adult section. 

As I may have indicated, I went into this book with pretty low expectations on the story (though oddly I would have been surprised if the art wasn’t at the very least “pretty damn good”). But given that this four issue collection was written by Kieron Gillen, I probably should have had higher expectations than I did. Yes, it’s the third book in the series, no that didn’t bother me any.

Gillen’s story about disgrace, honour and cowardice is pure escapist fantasy, but it is solid and more than enjoyable. I loved the artistic direction of the book. Dwayne Harris, while not to everybody’s taste, encapsulates the visual feel I expected from a gritty comic that had some very loud 2000AD  echoes.

A lot of the folks I talk to at my LCS generally discount these comics as not being worth reading; and while they may not always be the best things you’ll ever read, they’re far better than most (including myself) give them credit for. That’s why I think these stories are Underrated. Next time a Warhammer comic looks interesting to you, check it out. You may find yourself enjoying it more than expected.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: Super Heroes Saving Regular People

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Super Heroes Saving Regular People

I recently picked up the X-Men graphic novel With Great Power that also features (you guessed it) Spider-Man, and collects X-Men #7-11 (the 2011 volume). Within the first dozen or so pages were three really short mini-stories, perhaps a page or two each, in which three member of the X-Men intervene in some comparatively simple situations where they save a person falling from a bridge, stop a robbery and solve a hostage situation. Angel, Colossus and Wolverine are shown individually as the prevent the negative results of the aforementioned situations, and I honestly enjoyed the opening pages far more than the rest of the story.

I think that’s because I love watching heroes that may not often be in street level situations react to them. Superman stopping a bank robbery isn’t shown as much in comics as the occurrences of Spider-Man doing the same; heroes that are frequently seen stopping world ending threats aren’t often seen stopping the corner store from being robbed. So when these moments happen in comics, I get stupidly excited (it’s also why I’m drawn toward heroes that don’t tend to be overly powerful, either).

Characters who are often seen as, or are, gods (Superman, Thor or the Hulk) being seen helping, or having an impact upon the common man often serves as a reminder of why the world sees them as heroes. Sure, Thor can go and save one of the other realms, but the postmen and women doing their regular jobs will never know about it. So it’s those rare moments that we get when we see a hero stepping out of their regularly scheduled programming to stop a robbery that are what I wanted to highlight today in a truncated column.

Saving the world, galaxy or universe stories are great, but sometimes I want to be reminded of the fact the Superman could casually save my life as I plummet to my impending doom as a result of the cable snapping when I wash a skyscraper’s windows. I want to think that Colossus will stop a taxi because someone’s ankle is caught in a drain. In short, I want to be reminded that superheroes will actually save regular people in between stopping Darksied and Apocalypse.

That’s why I think these stories are Underrated.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: Harbinger

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: the comic book publisher Harbinger

When Valiant Entertainment relaunched in 2012, one of the four books that the publisher started with was Harbinger. Arguably one of Valiant’s signature books, the original series launched in the 90’s with the publisher’s first incarnation. I have never read the 90’s series in full, but have dabbled in an issue here or there (specifically the two that contained chapters of the multi-book crossover Unity). I have, however, read the entirety of the modern Harbinger run, and own a smattering of individual comics and the three deluxe hardcovers containing the story; Harbinger Deluxe Edition One, Harbinger  Deluxe Edition  Two and Harbinger Wars 
Deluxe Edition. The latter also contains four issues of Bloodshot that tie into the Harbinger Wars miniseries – also four issues. The series is also collected in trade paperback as well (though I have no idea how many volumes). I realize I’m rambling at this point, so I’ll get back on to the subject at hand.

It would be easy to compare Harbinger to the various X-Men comics Marvel has released through the years; both feature teenagers with powers originating from a a genetic difference (although Valiant’s psiots need to be activated through risky painful procedures or times of extreme stress whereas Marvel’s mutants just need to hit puberty), and both have a villain character who is more complicated than you would initially expect. While the comparison is justified, it also does a disservice to the Harbinger comics to write them off as another publisher’s X-Men imitation.

Especially because Joshua Dysart’s run on the series (which also include Imperium, which I have inexplicably not finished yet) deals with some really interesting concepts that you don’t often find elsewhere. It’s for this reason that I hold his run as some of the very best team based comics that been published in the last ten years (honestly, I’d also go so far as to say that I’ve ever read).

The characters are wonderfully deep and complex, some are flawed and broken, searching for a redemption that may never come; others are desperately trying to make the world a better place no matter the cost; one wants to destroy a shadowy organization that may or may not have more worldly influence than they should regardless of the cost; and one wants to be a bonafide superhero in a world in which right and wrong and good and evil are not always on the same side. The series, at its most simple description, can be boiled down to two incredibly power psiots, Peter Stanchek and Toyo Harada having a disagreement, and at the outset you know who fills the typical hero/villain positions, but after a few issues you’ll begin to question who you should root for.

Should you root for anyone?

Dysart’s story is a wondrous thing. In giving us a gripping and emotional tale about people who just happen to be caught up in events, people who are just reacting – and not always well – to the stimuli around them, some of whom are super powered, he also leaves us questioning the traditional role of the hero and villain. Much like Magneto and Professor X were allegories for Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the 60’s, Stanchek and Harada represent the world we live in today; shades of grey where ethically and morally questionable decisions are made by the people we’re supposed to hold in high esteem. Dysart uses these characters to remind us that beneath the power, the people we follow are just as flawed as the next person. Stanchek, with his position as a hero within the book, has made some pretty fucking awful decisions – ones where forgiveness shouldn’t be given lightly – but then is Harada any better?

We’re only scratching the surface here (and honestly, only the first trade or so if you’re going the non-deluxe route), and Dysart doesn’t let up throughout the run. His writing will educate you, encouraging you to think and develop yourself all while delivering one of the greatest stories in comics.

I don’t mean to discount the artistic contributions to the book, and it may seem that I have, but Harbinger, like almost every Valiant book, features some consistently brilliant artwork by artists, colourists and letterers that will have you asking why you hadn’t heard of them before (since the series wrapped, some have gone on to become more familiar to comic fans in general). I remember reading the comics for the first time and being in awe of what I was seeing; Harbinger remains one of the only series which I have framed on my wall simply because the interlocking covers to issues 7-10 by Mico Suayan are so damn pretty.

The art more than balances the story, which is an impressive feat.

This series is the subject of today’s Underrated because I had forgotten how amazing it was until I sat down and read the full run in almost a single sitting. And I realized that I seldom hear people talk about Valiant’s Harbinger comics, or Toyo Harada. With one of the most complex and interesting characters in the medium getting a six issue miniseries this year, I hope that changes.

Do yourselves a favour, add The Life and Death of Toyo Harada to your pull list now. Preorder the series because, and I say this after having read the first issue already, it’s going to be amazing.

Underrated: Comics Not In Diamond’s Top 100 For December ’18

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Comics not in Diamond’s top 100 sellers for December

This week we’re going to be looking at a list of comics that are all pretty good, but don’t get the attention that they deserve. Now I’m not even going to pretend to have a definitively exhaustive list of underrated comics here, because we’re hoping  that you decide to check at least one of these series out next time you’re looking for something new either online or at your LCS, and giving you a huge list to check out would be counter productive to that. Instead, you’ll find four to six comics that are worth your attention that failed to crack the top 100 in sales. The only hard stipulation for this week: not one of the comics made it into the top 100 for July’s comic sales, according to Comichron, which is why they’re Underrated.

Grumble #1 (Albatross)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold: 304/2,547*
Why You Should Read It: Think Constantine mixed with Howard the Duck. The first issue was good, but the next ones have been batter. At only around 2,500* (reported to Diamond) sales, this book has been criminally under read. 

*I had originally noticed this book in the rankings at #429 with 763 sales. It turns out that was a second, more expensive, version of this book, but since I had already set the top of the column up, I decided to break the descending format and leave Grumble at the top.

Canadian Vark #1 (Aardvark-Vanaheim)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold: 343/1,709
Why You Should Read It:  I may be slightly biased toward this book, living in Canada and all, but I thoroughly enjoyed my first introduction into Cerberus. I dare say that if you’re a Dave Sim fan then you’re going to enjoy this all-in-one comic. 

Mickey and Donald Christmas Parade (IDW)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold:320/2,146
Why You Should Read It: It should come as no surprise to you by now that I harbour a (not so secret) love for Disney comics, and while the time has passed for this book, it’ll be a great pick up to read in December this year.

Black Badge #5 (Boom)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold: 265/3,814
Why You Should Read It: Boy scouts trained as assassins. That’s what sold me on the comic (and I think I started with the sixth issue before circling back), although finding out Matt Kindt wrote it would have had the same effect. As with any Matt Kindt book, there’s more layers to this than a tiramisu, and part of the excellence here is that you get to slowly unpack all of the details on multiple readings.

Ducktales #15 (IDW)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold: 244/4,880
Why You Should Read It: Because it’s frigging Ducktales. Woohoo!

Witcher: Of Fire and Flame #1 (Dark Horse)
December Sales Rank/Units Sold: 227/5,510
Why You Should Read It: I’ve become a big fan of The Witcher books over the past few months, and so getting to read a story in comic form for the first time was pretty cool.

.

Unless the comics industry ceases any and all publication look for a future installment of Underrated to cover more comics that aren’t cracking the top 100.

Underrated: Sequels That Aren’t As Bad As We Think

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Sequels That Aren’t As Bad As We Think

In the interest of full disclosure, this wasn’t the column I wanted to run today. This is an older one, with updates, that previously ran on Ramblings of a Comics Fan in 2015 or so because my original plan was to talk about the sales numbers for December – but I failed to make sure they were released (they’re not) before leaving it to the last minute to write this. Granted, I’ve got several hours before publication time, and if I wasn’t heading out shortly for a signing at my LCS then I’d have time. But I am, and therefore I don’t.

A few things before we start; firstly, these comic book movies were generally derided by comic book fans when they were released.  Secondly, some of these movies I’m probably viewing with the rose tinted glasses of nostalgia, and as I haven’t seen many of them in years so be prepared for some potentially foolish claims.  Thirdly, this isn’t a complete, or inclusive, list and it is completely subjective.

The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
For some reason, this movie has been absolutely shit upon in the last five years. In part, I believe because the villains weren’t exactly strong. Hell, they’re only a step above Topher Grace’s Venom (more on that later) if we’re being honest. But Dane DeHann wasn’t horrible as Harry; I’d go so far as to say that the worst part about the character in the movie is the visual aspect and not the actor’s portrayal. Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man was an engaging and electric presence on screen, and up until Spider-Man: Homecoming his was my favourite onscreen depiction of the wall crawler. In a movie that did a lot of things right, the main takeaway fans seemed to have was what it did wrong.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
I really enjoyed this movie. It was a fitting climax to Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, but it didn’t live up to the lofty expectations set by the second movie in the franchise: The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight is, simply, the best Batman movie since Tim Burton’s Batman (and even then, I feel The Dark Knight is superior to that movie). The Dark Knight Rises… wasn’t. It was a good Batman film, a very good movie, but it didn’t live up to huge expectations that the previous movie left it.

Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Any movie following one of the greatest superhero movies ever made would be faced with some huge expectations. In Spider-Man 2 Alfred Molina gave one of the best performances as the antagonist in a comic book movie in the last fifteen years – rivaled only by Heath Ledger’s Joker in The Dark Knight. So when Spider-Man 3 promised us Venom, and Sandman, and a New Goblin, we were excited. We heaped our expectations on a movie that simply couldn’t handle it. Although Venom probably should have waited until Spider-Man 4 before finally appearing, Spider-Man 3 isn’t all that bad. There were some good moments, and Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman was surprisingly well portrayed.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
It would have been tough to follow X2 anyway, but for a new director and some quick casting changes when James Marsden dropped out of the project, X-Men: The Last Stand faced an uphill battle. The poor treatment of Angel;  a character that was shoehorned into the movie to appease the fans rather than adding anything to the story. But that being said, it wasn’t a bad movie, it just didn’t measure up to the previous two.

Crow: Salvation (2000)
Sequels to the 1994 movie The Crow  generally range from absolute tripe, to just a little bit above bad with one exception; The Crow: Salvation.  As far as sequels to the original movie go this is the best of the bunch, although that’s ultimately not really saying much when you look at the quality of the other two. Certainly not the best Crow movie out there, that title currently belongs to the original, but it is the best of the rest.

Batman Forever (1995)
The second Batman movie on this weeks Underrated is easily the worse of the two. Although Joel Shumacker ruined the Batman movie franchise with Batman and Robin (although had he not done that, then the Nolan movies would never have been made) I still enjoy Batman Forever  to this day. It echoes the Adam West TV show of the 1960’s, updating the camp foolishness of that time into a neon tinged modern interpretation that tries to distance itself from Tim Burton’s movies.  No, the film isn’t the best batman movie out there, but it isn’t as bad as Shumacker’s other offering.

There we have it – five underrated comic book movie sequels. Are there other comic book related things out there that are, for whatever reason, underrated and under-appreciated?

Absolutely.

Because of that, Underrated will return to look at comic book related stuff  that either gets ignored despite it’s high quality, or maybe isn’t quite as bad as we tend to think it is.

Until next time!

Underrated: Battlepug Volume One

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Battlepug: Volume One

Disclaimer: Somehow I managed to delete, and save the deletion, of almost the entire text of this column. It is currently about ten minutes before it’s due to go live… 

After a visit to the thrift store the other day I found the first volume of Mike Norton‘s Battlepug. Joining Norton for the comic is colourist Allen Passalaqu and letter Chris Crank. The story itself is a blend between homage and parody to Conan and He-Man in a world where sword and sorcery is the name of the game in a world where giant cuddly and innocent looking (mostly) animals represent a rather unconventionally large threat. With the first volume taking on a story-within-a-story set up, the framing is of a fairly stereotypical fantasy woman telling a bed time story to her two talking pugs. 

It’s the story within, that bed time story, that holds the origin of the Battlepug as a lone survivor of a village grows to become the Conan figure in all his brutal glory. The book, a slightly oversized hardcover that cost me $6, is presented almost like a children’s book – and because this isn’t a book for kids, that only adds to the brilliance of its presentation. Battlepug is one of those rare stories that is able to both poke fun at and show respect to its genre while exposing the tropes and criticisms that audiences level at classical fantasy. And it does all this with utter seriousness as a giant pug slurps and snorts through the pages.

Although there is a very cohesive and well told story here, there are also brilliant little moments every few pages; jokes in dialogue and imagery, nods of the head to other things the reader should be all too aware of, and things that may not necessarily be on their radar (I’m sure I missed a lot, honestly). There’s a much deeper story for you to unpack upon the second or third reading, and it never gets old. Or it hasn’t for me.

Norton’s story is utterly fantastic. It’s funny, it’s remarkably well written, and it deserves so much more than the hastily rewritten column that it is getting. It is beyond an Underrated gem, and it’s one that I have every intention of revisiting very soon, and in more detail, when I find the second volume.

 

 

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: X-O Manowar: Birth

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: X-O Manowar: Birth

 

 

I’ve been a Valiant fan for nearly four years now, and while I have dabbled in the original comics (affectionately known as VH1 among the fanbase), it has primarily been the modern era, comics from 2012 to the present day (known as the VEI era), that has been my reading and collecting focus. But a couple of weeks ago, the owner of my LCS returned from visiting one of his other stores with a hardcover for me because he thought I’d be interested. That hardcover reprinted the first six issues of the original X-O Manowar run from 1992, the #o issue and an original story featuring the origin of one the early issues villains. This collection represents the earliest comics from Valiant I’ve yet read, and although I prefer the 2012 origin for X-O Manowar, I can understand why Valiant was able to hook fans in with the original X-O stories. I’m looking at this book today from the perspective of somebody who has read a lot, or even some, of the modern X-O Manowar comics before ever touching the original VH1 run, and asking whether that person would be interested in looking to the past.

If you’re at all familiar with Aric of Dacia, the X-O Manowar armour and his abduction and subsequent return to Earth then you’ll know the essence of the plot this book. The 2012 origin took a lot from these six or seven comics, and although some details were updated or modified, the the influence the original story still bears upon the modern is easy to see. Aside from Aric’s Hulk-like speech patterns that do, thankfully, begin to diminish as he learns English, the barbarian’s character still shows flashes of the man he will become when the publisher relaunched.

The Vine are replaced with the Spider-Aliens, although aside from the name there is little that distinguishes them from the first few comics in the 2012 run. Where as the Vine become one of the more interesting and complex plot points in the VEI stories, the Spider-Aliens show little of the same qualities at this point (yes, there are signs that there is more to the Vine within the first three issues of the VEI run), but then that really just makes it easier to enjoy the battle carnage as Aric tears his way through the soldiers and corporate representatives of the Spider-Aliens.

Although you can enjoy the book without any prior knowledge, for a Valiant fan of the old or new school (or both) this beautifully presented book is a must read. And most of us will seek the story out if we can, but for those not entrenched in Valiant lore, this standalone story here represents an Underrated gem from comics history.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

Underrated: Power Rangers (the 2017 movie)

Posted on by

This is a column that focuses on something or some things from the comic book sphere of influence that may not get the credit and recognition it deserves. Whether that’s a list of comic book movies, ongoing comics, or a set of stories featuring a certain character. The columns may take the form of a bullet pointed list, or a slightly longer thinkpiece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Power Rangers (the 2017 movie)

This has been an interesting year for me. 2018 marks the first time in decades where neither Marvel or DC comprise even a third of my pull-list, when I deliberately chose to read a space based science fiction book (which usually run totally against my tastes) and the first time since I was a nipper that I watched the Power Rangers.

Whilst waiting for my wife to wake up on Christmas morning (because she’s happy to sleep in to a normal time, whereas I am a man-child who wakes up at 6am without an alarm one day of the year only) I was flicking through Netflix and came across the 2017 Power Rangers movie. Remembering it not doing so well critically or commercially, I decided to press play so I could enjoy a bad movie alone (hey, sometimes bad movies are awesome).

This wasn’t a bad movie.

Oh, it was cheesy, with moments of camp and a villain that was desperately trying (and partially succeeding) to exude evil with every step, but it wasn’t bad. Power Rangers was exactly what I expected and hoped it would be, given the source material filtered through twenty five years or more of nostalgia. In short, it was bloody awesome.

I understand people’s frustrations with it taking nearly and hour and a half before we first see the Power Rangers in their suits (or armour, as the outfits are in the movie), and that the pacing seems a touch slow until it suddenly isn’t. But for me, having not watched anything Power Rangers since I was about nine or ten years old, it allowed me to get reacquainted with characters I had long forgotten. The movie is brilliant, and for my money, is perfectly self aware. In a world with Thor: Ragnorak, Wonder Woman and Spider-Man: Homecoming, Power Rangers is never going to stand out as a truly great superhero movie. And that’s honestly a shame, because the movie is a lot of fun.

The martial arts action is well choreographed, the giant robot fights are also fun (but far too short), but what had me nearly cheering out loud was when the theme song came on. It was a brilliantly self aware homage to the original series, the longtime franchise fans who returned to watch the movie, and people like myself who haven’t heard that song in decades.

Frankly, it was glorious. Which is why, dear reader, I wanted to talk about it today. Power Rangers  is exactly the kind of movie that Underrated is about; one that was largely laughed off or over shadowed by a bigger release. This flick is on Netflix (Canada) now – do yourselves a favour and go check it out.

Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.

« Older Entries Recent Entries »