Alex and Joe hang out and talk about toys (mostly).
You can reach Alex and Joe can be found on Twitter respectively @karcossa and @FirstRonin4 if you feel the need to tell them they’re wrong individually, or by email at ItsThose2Geeks@gmail.com.
This column is a rerun from late 2018. Enjoy!
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: Thrud the Barbarian
Another week, and yet another case of “Alex bought something for Underrated without knowing anything about it beforehand,” or it would be had Alex not received Carl Critchlow‘s Thrud the Barbarian a few years ago from the now defunct Comic Bento. Published by Titan Comics, the trade paperback collects the original Thrud the Barbarian five issue miniseries, as well as a couple of single page shorts from White Dwarf magazine, and was originally published in 2013. If you missed this when it first came out, don’t be surprised – I’m not sure it was ever released on a large scale outside Britain.
Thrud the Barbarian is what I’d consider a quintessentially British comic; it blends in equal parts the violence , chaos and destruction that one would expect from a Conan parody with the silliness and tongue in cheek humour that wouldn’t feel out of place in a Monty Python skit. But with a lot more smashed heads and limbs flying free of bodies. The Titan Comics collection consists of five stories that can be read independently of each other (seven if you’re counting the bonus strips), or in one go – which is what I did when rereading it recently.
Honestly, I reread it because I was reorganizing my bookcase and saw the cover again and wanted something fun, easy and not too deep or involved to read. Thrud was certainly that, and I loved every irreverent thought, every stunningly painted cover, and the computer coloured artwork. It was exactly the kind of book that I needed to read after a busy week, a book that I am glad I own, and one I am even happier that I noticed on the shelf.
As a fan of heroic fantasy books, I loved Critchlow’s send up of the genre; the visualization and sight gags and some brilliant punchlines across all the stories in in the collection. I loved every aspect of this book; the sound effects, the dumb-as-a-post hero just wants his beer and the cartoon-like hyper violence that ties it all together in such a lovely package.
Without a doubt this is one of my favourite books I’ve ever written about for this column, even if I did forget I owned it for a little while.
And yet, had it not been for the Bento box, I would never have heard of this book. Which is easily one of the best aspects of the online blind box subscription thingies – the introduction to new and exciting books and comics you otherwise would never have been exposed to. Consequently, this is a book I don’t see getting the love it deserves – that’s why the book is Underrated.
Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.
After Matthew beat Joe in Batman trivia last week, his prize/reward/curse was to come back with his choice of topic; a dive into Free Comic Book Day from a publisher, comic shop worker and consumer’s perspective.
Matthew’s book Crashing is available now through IDW Publishing. His webcomic The Rhyme Scheme is available for free here. He can be found on Twitter @matthewklein316 and Instagram @macktheknife1116.
You can reach Alex and Joe can be found on Twitter respectively @karcossa and @FirstRonin4 if you feel the need to tell them they’re wrong individually, or by email at ItsThose2Geeks@gmail.com.
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: Animated Series
I woke up stupidly early this morning, and as I sat on the couch waiting for the kettle to boil ignoring my cats I realized that when I was a kid I would often be up at this time willingly for one reason and one reason only: cartoons. I’ve always felt that superhero cartoons were somewhat looked down upon when I was younger, and while that may not be the case now, that still means there’s a wealth of animate superhero adventures out there that may not have the same cult following as Batman: The Animated Series.
And yes, I’ll use cartoons and animated series interchangeably.
A few things before we start; firstly, these animated series may not be strictly underrated, but rather they may not be fore front on your mind any more. Secondly, I’ve got eclectic taste so these may not be for everybody so be prepared for some potentially foolish claims. Thirdly, these cartoons are all upwards of five or more years old. Lastly, this isn’t a complete, or inclusive, list and it is completely subjective.
X-Men: The Animated Series
Debuting in the early 90’s, this show has one of the greatest opening theme tunes of any cartoon before or since. Perhaps not solely responsible for my love of comics, and despite it being slightly over shadowed by some more modern cartoons, it remains to this day one of my most fondly remembered cartoon versions of an X-Men comic.
Spider-Man: The Animated Series
Spider-Man, Spider-Man… the theme tune here was my ring tone for years. What’s more impressive is that I had to actually compose it using the Nokia phone’s number pad. That this was also a brilliantly enjoyable TV show that provided numerous hours of enjoyment is a happy after thought.
The Batman
Okay, so nothing will ever compare to the Batman: The Animated Series, but this short lived cartoon was pretty enjoyable. A young Batman finding his way in Gotham City gave this show a very Batman Begins like feel without the gritty realism; it was a fun look into the Caped Crusader’s early years. Oddly significantly better than Gotham, a much darker live action TV show released years later.
Defenders Of The Earth
The first time I was ever exposed to the Phantom was with this cartoon (get your mind out of the gutter), and he’s been one of my favourites ever since. This may not hold up as well now as some of the others from that era, but I’ll always remember it fondly.
There we have it – a mere handful of underrated animated comic book adaptations that I was thinking of over my morning cup of tea. There are undoutedly more cartoons influenced by comics that are worth watching, so there’s a good chance there will be a second (or third) part to this list eventually when I’m not reminiscing over bygone years.
In the mean time, Underrated will return to highlight more 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!
Alex found a Batman trivia game, and so has challenged Matthew Klein to test his knowledge against Joe in the first of what could be many trivia based episodes.
Matthew’s book Crashing is available now through IDW Publishing. His webcomic The Rhyme Scheme is available for free here. He can be found on Twitter @matthewklein316 and Instagram @macktheknife1116.
You can reach Alex and Joe can be found on Twitter respectively @karcossa and @FirstRonin4 if you feel the need to tell them they’re wrong individually, or by email at ItsThose2Geeks@gmail.com.
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: Thundercats
In another case of “Alex brought something to read just for this column” we have the Thunder Cats miniseries from Wildstorm that I found in the dollar bin at my LCS. Previous iterations of this theme in Underrated have often been a success (aside from Holy Terror which was a terrible comic, but a great column if I do say so myself), but will this one?
Well… kinda. I read the five issues of the miniseries with no context whatsoever which is par for the course when you find something in a dollar bin with no real idea when it was released (2002 is the answer to that). Assuming that you, dear reader, are like me and have some basic familiarity with the 1980’s cartoon, or one of the later iterations.
The thing is with this miniseries is that there is almost no hint given toprevious events, so if you pick this up hoping for a gentle introduction into the world of the Thundercats then you’ll be a touch disappointed. However, the story is still remarkably easy to follow because although Thundercats is a five issue miniseries it feels more like five episodes of a cartoon show with at best a slim plot that leads from the first to last issue. While this may lead some to claim that is leaves the series feeling like a vapid and disjointed mess, I’ll make the case that it invokes a powerful sense of nostalgia that allows children of the 80’s or 90’s the opportunity to easily reconnect with a treasured piece of your childhood.
I would give you a plot summary, but it basically boils down to “the Thundercats are trying to make a new home and are being opposed by villains.” Which is fine. I enjoyed the overly implistic nature of the main plot almost as much as I enjoyed the feeling that each comic was an episode of the show.
Why, then, does this make an appearance in this week’s Underrated? Because I had never heard of the series before, and made an assumption that if you found this in a dollar bin then you’dlikely pass it over as licensed tat. It isn’t tat at all, and was certainly enjoyable enough to spend a half hour or so with for a column that’s supposed to highlight unsung gems, and at best this is a moderately shiny dollar bin gem (unfortunately I had left it too late to read something else for the column so here we are).
Maybe next week I’ll find an actual gem?
Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.
Alex and Joe hang out and talk about comic book movies that are usually considered terrible, but have redeeming features. This means we talk about X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Batman and Robin, Batman v Superman, Spider-Man 3, X-Men 3 and Superman Returns.
You can reach Alex and Joe can be found on Twitter respectively @karcossa and @FirstRonin4 if you feel the need to tell them they’re wrong individually, or by email at ItsThose2Geeks@gmail.com.
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 think piece – there’s really no formula for this other than whether the things being covered are Underrated in some way. This week: Coda
I feel like it’s been a little while since I actually wrote a new Underrated column, but this week I wanted to talk about Coda. Coda is series about a world after the great cataclysm, a post apocalyptic story in a world not unlike Middle Earth from Lord Of The Rings where magic, a once plentiful resource, has become a scarcely sought after treasure.
Originally published by BOOM! as a twelve issue series, Coda has since been collected into three trade paperback collections, which is how I read the complete story. Written by Simon Spurrier with art by Mattias Bergara, the story follows former bard Hum.
A man of few words, Hum seeks a way to save the soul of his wife with nothing but a foul-tempered mutant unicorn and his wits to protect him. He is unwillingly drawn into a brutal power struggle he has little interest in which will decide forever who rules the Weird Wasteland.
The above paragraph is roughly paraphrased from the preview blurb of the first comic, because if you choose to go into the book, then there are a couple of moments early on that I want you to experience the same way I did; having no idea that they would be coming. It won’t make or break the story if you find out about them before you read, but it’s more fun if you don’t know what happening.
Spurrier and Bergara take you on a fantastic journey through the twelve issues or three volumes of Coda, and introduce you to some really interesting characters and story mechanics. If you’re a fantasy fan, then the way this book approaches its world is going to be one you want to have a look at. The standout character in the book is Hum’s mutant unicorn, because his frequent cursing seems to come at just the time to elicit a chuckle from the reader.
The mutant unicorn, affectionately labelled the Nag (or a pentacorn) is just one of a fantastic cast of characters to populate the book. Spurrier breaths a real sense of life and humanity into these often inhuman beings that gives a real sense that the story didn’t start with the first issue – we’ve just picked it up here. What went before, and who Hum really was, aren’t explicitly stated, but we know he was a bard and we know the world ended and magic is gone. Backstory isn’t given explicitly, rather it’s teased out and hinted at as the tale proceeds across strange and stunning vistas that break the traditional fantasy mould and skew more toward a post-apocalyptic design. Which makes perfect sense.
Coda is a story for fantasy fans, but also for those who want an intensely personal story of self discovery. This isn’t the type of comic that treads water, and is always moving at a brisk pace. I devoured all three volumes in a single sitting (or would have if I purchased all three at the same time – after finishing the first, I ordered the others from my comic shop immediately).
I’ve really not heard many people talking about Coda. It wasn’t until I saw the first volume on the shelf the last day my shop was properly open that I had even heard of it. That’s why I wanted to point you toward it today; there’s a chance you’ll find your next favourite Underrated gem of a comic story.
That’s all we have for this week, folks. Come back next time when there’s something else Underrated to talk about.
Alex and Joe hang out and talk about… well, almost anything and everything today; Superman, wrestling and Marvel Legends and, well, tangents. But mostly tangents.
You can reach Alex and Joe can be found on Twitter respectively @karcossa and @FirstRonin4 if you feel the need to tell them they’re wrong individually, or by email at ItsThose2Geeks@gmail.com.
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: Tokyo Ghost: The Atomic Garden.
I had never heard of Tokyo Ghost: The Atomic Garden. until I saw the cover of the trade at my LCS, which doesn’t really mean much other than sometimes I miss things. Something about the cover caught my attention as I was putting it on the shelf. There was something about a motorcycle rider stuck full of arrows that made me stop and wonder what the hell I was putting on the shelf, so I flipped the book and read a synopsis that was just curious enough to be immediately interesting, saw Rick Remender’s name and immediately purchased the book.
It never made it to the shelf.
The synopsis that helped to hook me in: The Isles of Los Angeles 2089: Humanity is addicted to technology, a population of unemployed leisure seekers blissfully distracted from toxic contamination, who borrow, steal, and kill to buy their next digital fix. Getting a virtual buzz is the only thing left to live for. It’s the biggest industry, the only industry, the drug everyone needs, and gangsters run it all. And who do these gangsters turn to when they need their rule enforced? Constables Led Dent and Debbie Decay. This duo is about to be given a job that will force them out of the familiar squalor of Los Angeles to take down the last tech-less country on Earth: The Garden Nation of Tokyo. You can check out the first issue on Image’s website from this link if you’re curious.
The promise of a story that deals with the dangers of technology wasn’t lost on the person who works with technology every damn day across two jobs and sees the impact of it on another as digital comics are an always present conversation piece at the shop (usually in how they don’t compare, but then that’s to be expected given the people in the conversation are literally buying physical comics at the time).
Remender takes our current obsession with technology to an extreme with Tokyo Ghost, imagining a world that reminds me of the dystopian future of the Matrix with the worst of a Hollywood drug den spread across LA. If Snake Plisken was here, he’d be trying to escape. Through the haze and horror of a tech addicted world, Remender focuses on a Constable, Led Dent, and his tech-free partner Debbie Decay. We see Debbie try to break Led’s all encompassing tech addiction by forcing him to detox… it’s an oddly uncomfortable story that’s all the more powerful by the striking nature of the addiction.
Look, I know you’re reading this on your phone, tablet, laptop or whatever. But this is a book that’ll remind you to go outside in an oddly non-preachy way. It doesn’t hurt that the art is perfectly suited to do what it needs to do; whether in the hell of LA or the relative paradise of Japan… this is a book that you really should be reading.
That the story is good is a byproduct of it’s message – and that’s one we probably all need to listen to (he says as he goes back to surfing the interwebs, where, incidentally, I discovered this is volume one of two, so maybe technology isn’t all bad…).
Join us next week when we look at something else that is, for whatever reason, Underrated.
