(W) Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, More (A) Andre Araujo (CA) Valerio Schiti, David Curiel Rated T+ In Shops: May 08, 2019 SRP: $3.99
THE McELROYS TAKE MILES MORALES AND COMPANY CAMPING!
Looks like Balder and his babysitting team have more than fire goblins and foul diapers to worry about! A marshmallow-roasting campout in the Midwest goes up in flames when deadly shape-shifting aliens make a campfire appearance! But the real danger is barreling down the highway behind them. Ares, the Greek God of War, is hot on baby Laussa’s trail. If Balder the Brave, Wonder Man, Sebastian Druid, Kate Bishop, Miles Morales and Deathlocket are going to stay ahead of him…Kate’s gonna have to teach one of them to drive.
Earth is at war, besieged by an army of Frost Giants, Trolls and Fire Goblins – and the mighty Thor is nowhere to be found! But could it be that the key to turning the tide is…Thor’s baby sister? Journey into Mystery with Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Wonder Man, and Balder the Brave as they go on an epic quest to save Earth’s only hope! (And, yes, deal with diaper duty.)
Marvel‘s War of the Realms is an event that Marvel hasn’t done in some time. It’s an almost line-wide event with numerous spin-offs. With just the first issue of the main series out, it’s hard to know how important those spin-offs will be and how much they’ll add to the enjoyment of the experience.
Written by The McElroys, War of the Realms: Journey Into Mystery #1 is the first miniseries to launch focused on a team whose job is to protect Thor’s baby sister.
With Balder acting as the center of the adventuring team the first issue feels like an off the rails Dungeons & Dragons adventure as he and his party must get the baby and dodge the bad guys. The issue is the gathering of heroes, with little explanation of how they’ve been found and a long pursuit by a death truck.
The interaction of the characters are key as there’s some solid humor to it all but the issue overall just feels neither good nor bad. It just is. It’s a modern setting for a roleplaying game adventure with fantasy settings and there’s some potential, especially the reveal at the end. Overall, the story is just rather average. A lot is packed in with not a whole lot explained.
The art is decent. Andre Lima Araujo, with color by Chris O’Halloran and lettering by Clayton Cowles delivers the action with some decent designs. The fantasy in a modern world look works and works well, especially the “death truck” pursuing the heroes. The characters all look good. But, like the story itself, there’s some tonal issues with the images. At times going for a more humorous style and at other points a more serious fantasy tone. Some page layouts stand out but overall, like the story, the art is also so-so.
The issue is an ok one. It tells one slice of the bigger story and time will tell how important that slice is. In the end, that may be the judge of the worth of the series. But, so far, this is a spin-off you might want to save your money.
Story: Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy Art: Andre Lima Araujo Color: Chris O’Halloran Letterer: Clayton Cowles Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
Marvel provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
The “War of the Realms” settles into its second week with a trio of tie-ins that seem utterly unrelated: War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #1, Asgardians of the Galaxy #8, and Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43. However, the first two comics are a shining example of how difficult doing ensemble casts are, and the third is a proof that Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is a beautiful gift even when it’s an event tie-in. It even moves “War of the Realms'” narrative forward by showing how Malekith and his allies divvied up the different continents of the Earth. Stereotypically, the Frost Giants got Canada.
War of the Realms: Journey into Mystery #1
The McElroys (Father Clint and sons Justin, Travis, and Griffin, but those names aren’t in the comic.) are big time podcasters known for their work on the advice show My Brother, My Brother and Me and the Dungeon and Dragons show The Adventure Zone, which I’ve listened to a couple episodes of and was a best-selling graphic novel for First Second. At first, I thought they were comic neophytes, but apparently, Clint McElroy worked on licensed comics like Universal Soldier and Green Hornet in the early 1990s. They team up with artist Andre Araujo and colorist Chris O’Halloran to tell the buddy road trip story of Balder teaming up with Miles Morales, Kate Bishop, Thori, Becca aka Deathlok 2.0, Sebastian Druid, and Wonder Man to protect Thor’s baby sister, Laussa.
Journey into Mystery #1 has a fun premise that is only a little bit related to the main “War of the Realms” narrative and pokes fun at continuity changes as well as certain character being “off limits” because of events. See, Balder wanted Peter Parker, Clint Barton, Dr. Strange, and the original Deathlok, but he ended up with the legacy versions. The McElroys and Araujo introduce the cast in a typical flash forward, flash back, flash forward, and big cliffhanger fashion. Each road trip member gets a humorous origin and is then thrown into the fray by the Norn, Skuld. The level of funny varies from Matt Fraction/Kieron Gillen cover band while writing Kate Bishop and Thori respectively to the genuinely clever situation of having Miles rescue Times Square cosplayers and a teen Deathlok making a fake graduation party with Life Model Decoys to feel less alone and more human.
The story should have hit its stride in its third part when the team is assembled and being chased in a truck by Sindr, the daughter of Surtr, and her fire troll/demon/generic being army. Araujo cuts to the right moments in the chase to build tension and gets to do real storytelling instead of just the funny faces of the flashback. However, The McElroys kind of lose track of their team in the chaos with Miles and Dr. Druid especially suffering. They do manage to write around Wonder Man’s superhero story sapping pacifism to give him a great moment. Journey into Mystery has its clever moments, but in chemistry terms, it’s more of a heterogenous mixture than an a homogenous one so, for now, it gets an Overall Verdict of Read.
Asgardians of the Galaxy #8
Even though 75% of its run has either been a tie-in to “Infinity Wars” or “War of the Realms”, Cullen Bunn, Matteo Lolli, and Federico Blee’s space faring, Asgard-connected team book has been one of Marvel’s hidden gems. It’s the spiritual successor of Bunn’s Fearless Defenders or even Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s run on Guardians of the Galaxy. The current team lineup is Angela, Valkyrie who sometimes swaps places with archaeologist Annabelle Riggs, Skurge the Executioner, Thunderstrike (The son of the one from the late 80s and 90s), Throg aka Frog Thor, and the dwarf Urzuul. They’re protecting a beacon that summons an army of undead gods, but Heimdall divests them of this and sends them to fight for Earth in the War of the Realms.
While Journey into Mystery gets to have its own plot, Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 takes place during the big battle for New York in War of the Realms #1. So, there’s not much plot once the book gets earthbound, and Lolli and Blee end up riffing off Russell Dauterman’s double page spreads, and well, they’re not Dauterman with a long lead time. But, even though, he’s stuck in the constraints of the event’s plot, Cullen Bunn has a one great trick up his sleeve: characterization.
Unlike Journey into Mystery where many characters are lost in the shuffle or are catchphrase shouters, Bunn gives each member of the Asgardians of the Galaxy at least one small showcase moment. Executioner and Punisher get to compare guns, and Black Panther compliments Urzuul’s weapon craftsmanship. (Wow, that came out wrong.) Cap tells Thunderstrike that his dad was a great hero, and Angela gets to be very angry at the Angels of Heven for siding with Malekith. However, the characters who come across the best are Throg and Annabelle Riggs/Valkyrie.
Throg made his first appearance way back in Walter Simonson’s run on Thor and was an ordinary Central Park frog named Puddlegulp, who was worthy to lift a sliver of Mjolnir and become the Frog of Thunder. Bunn and Lolli give him a moment of great tragedy when he returns to Central Park and sees all his old frog friends being burned up. He feels a lot of guilt for adventuring in space instead of protecting his people and gets a great action sequence that also riffs on Jason Aaron’s concept of Thor Odinson being unworthy.
But Annabelle is the center of Bunn and Lolli’s narrative in Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 as she continues to struggle with her Nova powers and the magic that Kid Loki gave her in the last arc. They keep shorting out, and she subs out with Valkyrie. Or does she. In a big moment, Annabelle rides Valkyrie’s flying horse to look for her girlfriend Ren in the middle of the carnage. They share a beautiful reunion before being literally ripped apart by the plot of War of the Realms. Bunn does a great job writing the only non-powered character and gives her a strong romantic and heroic arc despite this issue being an event tie-in. The emotional moments with her and Throg plus great individual action moments with the rest of the team makes Asgardians of the Galaxy #8 worth an overall verdict of Read.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl#43
The final “War of the Realms” tie-in and the unlikeliest even though Squirrel Girl has connections with Thor, Loki, and the Norse squirrel god Ratatoskr is Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43 from Ryan North, Derek Charm, and Rico Renzi. This used to be one of my favorite Marvel titles, but then I fell behind. However, North’s ability to couch exposition in jokes and Tony Stark/Squirrel Girl Twitter thread recaps caught me, the lapsed reader, up to speed as well as anyone who didn’t pick up War of the Realms #1. Basically, the event is an excuse for Loki to send Squirrel Girl on a mission to take out a secret Frost Giant base in Canada, and there’s lots of mysteries to be unbundled from this, including Loki’s alignment, which North hides in ambiguous and purposefully misleading dialogue.
Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43 is cute, funny, and the only one of these three comics to have a complete plot while having joke, riffs, clever action sequences, and some sweet interactions between Doreen and her parents, who live in Canada and sadly got rid of her Arctic variant costume. Derek Charm is one of my favorite current artists and is really the full package, including animated facial expressions, gesture cartooning, clever layouts, and above all, humor that is helped by North’s great footnote jokes. (His inspiration for the fight between Squirrel Girl and the Frost Giant made me cackle.) He even nails the mandatory superhero group shot splash page that should instantly get him a slot drawing the X-Men, Avengers, or Justice League. Renzi’s colors, especially for the Frost Giants, really pop and have an attitude to them. And his shadowy work with the Ratatoskr gives him the right level of menace.
North, Charm, and Renzi are a clever bunch of creators, and a linewide crossover offers them more opportunities to roast mainstream heroes, like Iron Man and Captain America while giving Doreen a new adventure and new bad guys plus family time. It’s not every day you get a comic that makes a running gag of the Asgardian spelling of “Hek”, but today is this day. For this, a physics defying Frost Giant battle, a joke about Jim Davis’ Silver Surfer/Galactus short story in Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #26, and Loki’s unlikely friendship with Nancy Whitehead, Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #43 gets an Overall Verdict of Buy.
The real heroes of this week’s “War of the Realms” tie-in were a hero that eats nuts, kicks butts, and tries to reason with her enemies before punching them and a heroic frog that despite his unworthiness still fights to avenge the people he loves. Also, writing a cast of ensemble characters in the middle of a summer crossover is like trying to walk and chew bubblegum. Jokes and emotional character arcs help smooth things over though.
Panel of the Week
The end result of messing with Throg from Asgardians of the Galaxy #8. (Art by Matteo Lolli and Federico Blee)
I want to make this column more interactive. Email me questions at ldalton626@gmail.com or tweet me at MidnighterBae, and I will answer them in an upcoming installment of Messages from Midgard.
(W) Clint McElroy, Justin McElroy, More (A) Andre Araujo (CA) Valerio Schiti, David Curiel Rated T+ In Shops: Apr 10, 2019 SRP: $3.99
The creators of the blockbuster podcast The Adventure Zone bring their talents to Marvel for a wild romp through THE WAR OF THE REALMS!
Earth is at war, besieged by an army of Frost Giants, Trolls and Fire Goblins – and the mighty Thor is nowhere to be found! But could it be that the key to turning the tide is…Thor’s baby sister? Journey into Mystery with Spider-Man (Miles Morales), Hawkeye (Kate Bishop), Wonder Man, and Balder the Brave as they go on an epic quest to save Earth’s only hope! (And, yes, deal with diaper duty.)
Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT was a trippy comic series that begins as a journalist attempting to discover the truth and turns into a globe-trotting mystery series about espionage, super spies, and psychic abilities. Originally published by Dark Horse, Kindt has released a special limited edition one-shot and has returned via Kickstarter for an unusual spin.
Mind MGMT is returning as a stand-alone comic and a read-along 7″ vinyl record by Kindt and Clint McElroy.
Not only can you get a brand new comic but also a record to go along with it. There’s also new offerings like a Jack Chick-style tract formant mini-comic, a miniature painting, and even a set of four prints by Jeff Lemire, David Rubin, Jim Rugg, and amother surprise artist that will be revealed at the end of the Kickstarter.
In Mind MGMT, a former secret agent, the mysterious Henry Lyme, has gone rogue and is working to dismantle the organization he once worked for. There’s a mysterious airline flight and a secret government agency of super spies. This story spans from the 1920’s to the present day—and things get weird.
The new Mind MGMT comic book is a full color, 24 page comic with a gatefold in the back that will hold the record in place. The Mind MGMT 7″ 33 1/3 RPM record will be pressed by United Record Pressing, the company which printed the Beatles’ first 7″.
Joining Kindt is Clint McElroy, a voice actor and the writer of comic books including King of the USAand co-writer of The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, who does all the voice acting for the audio track. Kindt and McElroy will be donating 10% of the profits to the Hispanic Federation, the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization which is aiding Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Irma. Founded in 1990, Hispanic Federation seeks to support Hispanic families and strengthen Latino institutions through work in the areas of education, health, immigration, civic engagement, economic empowerment, and the environment.
With a little over two days to go for the Kickstarter, I got a chance to ask Clint McElroy some questions about Mind MGMT as well as The Adventure Zone!
Graphic Policy: I wanted to start by congratulating you on the release of The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins graphic novel, which is based off of the D&D and Fantasy podcast of the same name from yourself, and your sons, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Travis McElroy.
With how successful My Brother, My Brother, and Me, and The Adventure Zone podcasts have been, it’s only natural that you advance the brands in other mediums. What about comic books and graphic novels attracted you guys?
Clint McElroy: I have been a comic book reader for more than half a century (as my two over-flowing storage buildings will prove). I think it is an extremely evocative form of story-telling that can involve a reader in a powerful way. I also like capes.
GP: Your character on the show and in the book is Merle Highchurch, a Dwarf Cleric. What were the inspirations behind coming up with this character?
CM: I played a lot of World of Warcraft and could always find groups needed healers, so I was drawn to the cleric. I chose Dwarf because I am 5’11 & 3/4” tall. I never quite made it to six feet, so I have height issues.
GP: What was it like working with artist Carey Piestch on the book?
CM: Carey is remarkable. She loves these characters even more than we do…(and some of them, she may love more).
GP: Did you play D&D before The Adventure Zone?
CM: It seems impossible to some people, but until I recorded that first episode with Justin, Travis, and Griffin, I had never picked up a 20-sided dice.
GP: Didn’t you meet Gary Gygax, the famed co-creator of D&D?
CM: I have a vague recollection, but to be fair I’m 62. I don’t remember what I had for breakfast this morning.
GP: What are some of your favorite comics, or heroes?
CM: I was crazy about the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents from Tower Comics. Super-powered secret agents in costumes?! Drawn by Wally Wood, Gil Kane and Steve Ditko?! GET OUTTA TOWN!! It was the best. (So whoever has the rights: Let’s take a meeting!)
GP: Do you plan on doing more volumes of The Adventure Zone graphic novel based on the other campaigns you’ve done on the podcast?
CM: The Guys and I are working on the second graphic novel based on our second Balance Arc, Murder on the Rockport Limited.
GP: I’m a father of two young children. I would love to know, how does it feel to be able to spend so much time with your sons making comedy?
CM: With my hand up, it’s the best aspect of this whole thing. Not only do I get to hang out with them, and talk to them, but I get to CREATE things with them. I’m the luckiest bastiche on the planet.
GP: You’re also working on a Kickstarter version of the MIND MGMT comic by Matt Kindt which is accompanied by a read along 7” vinyl record where you will be providing the narration. What was it like working on the project?
CM: The Mind MGMT project was MIND-blowing (see what I did there?) I am a fairly rabid Matt Kindt fan, and couldn’t wait to record this. Then I started doing it and got so caught up in Matt’s story, I actually would get thrown off the rails. I would have to back up and right myself, trying not to be so engaged in the story as a reader that I stopped being a performer. It’s that good. I must have done okay because he didn’t fire me.
GP: Thank you for your time, Clint! I look forward to many more of your adventures.
Joe goes over the new graphic novel based on the fantasy podcast from the McElroy brothers and their father of My Brother, My Brother, and Me fame. The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins is from Clint McElroy, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Travis McElroy and Carey Pietsch. It is an adaptation of their hijinx on the show. It is available now on Amazon and many other stores. Ask your local comic shop if they can order it for you! If you’d like, follow Joe @jriddy5000son on Twitter, Instagram, and Mixer.
The comics I buy are bought from Secret Comix Cave, an awesome comic store. Support your local comic shop!
Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT was a trippy comic series that begins as a journalist attempting to discover the truth and turns into a globe-trotting mystery series about espionage, super spies, and psychic abilities. Originally published by Dark Horse, Kindt has released a special limited edition one-shot and is now heading to Kickstarter for an unusual spin.
Mind MGMT is returning as a stand-alone comic and a read-along 7″ vinyl record by Kindt and Clint McElroy.
In Mind MGMT, a former secret agent, the mysterious Henry Lyme, has gone rogue and is working to dismantle the organization he once worked for. There’s a mysterious airline flight and a secret government agency of super spies. This story spans from the 1920’s to the present day—and things get weird.
The new Mind MGMT comic book is a full color, 24 page comic with a gatefold in the back that will hold the record in place. The Mind MGMT 7″ 33 1/3 RPM record will be pressed by United Record Pressing, the company which printed the Beatles’ first 7″.
Joining Kindt is Clint McElroy, a voice actor and the writer of comic books including King of the USA and co-writer of The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins, who does all the voice acting for the audio track. Kindt and McElroy will be donating 10% of the profits to the Hispanic Federation, the nation’s premier Latino nonprofit membership organization which is aiding Puerto Rico recover from Hurricane Irma. Founded in 1990, Hispanic Federation seeks to support Hispanic families and strengthen Latino institutions through work in the areas of education, health, immigration, civic engagement, economic empowerment, and the environment.
Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT was a trippy comic series that begins as a journalist attempting to discover the truth and turns into a globe-trotting mystery series about espionage, super spies, and psychic abilities. Originally published by Dark Horse, Kindt has released a special limited edition one-shot and has returned via 
With a little over two days to go for the 
Matt Kindt‘s Mind MGMT was a trippy comic series that begins as a journalist attempting to discover the truth and turns into a globe-trotting mystery series about espionage, super spies, and psychic abilities. Originally published by Dark Horse, Kindt has released a special limited edition one-shot and is now heading to 
