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Review: The Archies #1

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The Archies #1 is an earnest as heck comic from writers Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura, artist Joe Eisma, and colorist Matt Herms that tells the story of the early days of The Archies. The band lineup is Archie on lead guitar and vocals, Jughead on drums, Reggie on bass, Betty on tambourine and backup vocals, and Veronica on keyboard, and they play open mic gigs to crowds in the single digits. However, the Archies (Especially Archie himself) have a lot of heart and passion for playing music together, and their fortunes could be on the rise in the future even though

Joe Eisma is the perfect artist for The Archies ongoing series because he understands the pulsating energy of playing a gig with a band, and the concert scenes are easily the highlight of the book. He can do humor too cutting away to reaction shots of Jughead or Archie when things get serious and also draws clothes that actual human young people wear. Matt Herms pumps up the colors for the concert scenes with cool Photoshop lighting effects and some fantastic purples in the Archies’ gig that opens up the issue before retreating lower in the mix for the post-gig hangout at Pop’s.

It’s the comedown after a huge shot of musical adrenaline and helps capture the mood of uncertainty that Archie and the gang have about the future of their band. Are they gonna go big? Are they going to break up? Does anyone even care? Eisma makes a clear distinction between the big epic moves and gestures that the Archies do on stage versus when they’re just shooting the breeze as friends. (Or frenemies in Reggie’s case.) Archie is confident on hell shredding on his guitar or moving back to back with Betty while doing vocal harmonies, but after that, he’s back to his goofy, yet still passionate self. Eisma hits that sweet spot between the “hot Archie” of Riverdale and Fiona Staples and humorous, “nu-house style” work of Dan Parent in Your Pal Archie in his art style that fits the tone of the book.

Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura’s plot forThe Archies #1 is a lot of dot connecting and setup for The Archies on tour antics that will be the main story of the ongoing series. Archie does a lot of fourth wall breaking exposition, but Rosenberg, Segura, and Eisma successfully sell his passion for music throughout the book and give him a fun two man dynamic with Jughead, who is there to not take things too seriously and make dry quips about food. But he cares in his own way, and it’s nice to see Jughead and Archie actually be friends and not bogged down by pointless drama. Archie definitely takes up most of the panel time, but Rosenberg and Segura give Veronica, Betty, and Reggie hints of personality along the way like Veronica’s bored look when Archie geeks out on and on about the band.

Even if The Archies #1 feels like a particularly scrumptious appetizer to a future main course (CHVRCHES is going to be in this comic, guys.), Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Segura, Joe Eisma, and Matt Herms create an intoxicating aura of energy and passion every time the band takes the stage. There is a scene late in the issue that made me realize that Eisma is definitely the best at drawing live music in comics. They’re not superstars yet, but each member of the Archies loves what they do in their own way. I can’t wait to see what shenanigans they get into as they go on tour.

Story: Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura Art: Joe Eisma Colors: Matt Herms
Story: 7.5 Art: 9 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

Archie Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Advance Review: The Archies #1

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The Archies #1 is an earnest as heck comic from writers Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura, artist Joe Eisma, and colorist Matt Herms that tells the story of the early days of The Archies. The band lineup is Archie on lead guitar and vocals, Jughead on drums, Reggie on bass, Betty on tambourine and backup vocals, and Veronica on keyboard, and they play open mic gigs to crowds in the single digits. However, the Archies (Especially Archie himself) have a lot of heart and passion for playing music together, and their fortunes could be on the rise in the future even though

Joe Eisma is the perfect artist for The Archies ongoing series because he understands the pulsating energy of playing a gig with a band, and the concert scenes are easily the highlight of the book. He can do humor too cutting away to reaction shots of Jughead or Archie when things get serious and also draws clothes that actual human young people wear. Matt Herms pumps up the colors for the concert scenes with cool Photoshop lighting effects and some fantastic purples in the Archies’ gig that opens up the issue before retreating lower in the mix for the post-gig hangout at Pop’s.

It’s the comedown after a huge shot of musical adrenaline and helps capture the mood of uncertainty that Archie and the gang have about the future of their band. Are they gonna go big? Are they going to break up? Does anyone even care? Eisma makes a clear distinction between the big epic moves and gestures that the Archies do on stage versus when they’re just shooting the breeze as friends. (Or frenemies in Reggie’s case.) Archie is confident on hell shredding on his guitar or moving back to back with Betty while doing vocal harmonies, but after that, he’s back to his goofy, yet still passionate self. Eisma hits that sweet spot between the “hot Archie” of Riverdale and Fiona Staples and humorous, “nu-house style” work of Dan Parent in Your Pal Archie in his art style that fits the tone of the book.

Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura’s plot forThe Archies #1 is a lot of dot connecting and setup for The Archies on tour antics that will be the main story of the ongoing series. Archie does a lot of fourth wall breaking exposition, but Rosenberg, Segura, and Eisma successfully sell his passion for music throughout the book and give him a fun two man dynamic with Jughead, who is there to not take things too seriously and make dry quips about food. But he cares in his own way, and it’s nice to see Jughead and Archie actually be friends and not bogged down by pointless drama. Archie definitely takes up most of the panel time, but Rosenberg and Segura give Veronica, Betty, and Reggie hints of personality along the way like Veronica’s bored look when Archie geeks out on and on about the band.

Even if The Archies #1 feels like a particularly scrumptious appetizer to a future main course (CHVRCHES is going to be in this comic, guys.), Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Segura, Joe Eisma, and Matt Herms create an intoxicating aura of energy and passion every time the band takes the stage. There is a scene late in the issue that made me realize that Eisma is definitely the best at drawing live music in comics. They’re not superstars yet, but each member of the Archies loves what they do in their own way. I can’t wait to see what shenanigans they get into as they go on tour.

Story: Matthew Rosenberg and Alex Segura Art: Joe Eisma Colors: Matt Herms
Story: 7.5 Art: 9 Overall: 8.2 Recommendation: Buy

Archie Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review

Review: E.X.O.: The Legend of Wale Williams Part Two

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Fear of technology is one of those themes that Isaac Asimov, mastered in his time. In I Robot, the dangers of artificial intelligence are explored and also how it affects human life.  Daniel Wilson, also explores the capacity of robots and how fearful we should be of artificial intelligence in Robocalypse. Both stories, makes one question how much we need technology and just how smart do we need artificial intelligence to be.

Naturally, where technology propels so does the military industrial complex, as can be seen by the mass production of drones. As this industry is usually light years ahead of private industry, they tend to take advantage of technology that the world gets used to. This effect twofold, as technology improves lifestyles it also becomes more evasive, as those same drones were used for military missions now they are also used to spy on neighbors. In Part Two of Sage One of EXO: The Legend of Wale Williams, the dangers of technology is explored even more as, we catch up with our heroes shortly after Wale and Rotimi both suffer injuries form their last battle with CREED.

In the first few pages, we catch up with Fury as she is on mission to retrieve data, so she knows exactly what Prytek and CREED are up to.  We also catch up with Wale, as he recovers and learns more about the EXO suit, as there are some hidden features that he had no idea the suit had. We also catch up with Rotimi, as the cyber genetics he gets equipped with, gives him a weapon that can help him in his fight with CREED. By book’s end, a final battle royale between our heroes and CREED ensues, leading EXO using his full powers and though they are victorious, a new villain gets unearthed.

Overall, an excellent conclusion to a story that reveals more about the villain than it does about the heroes. The story by Roye Okupe is a fun science fiction thriller, that shows what a hero should be made of. The art by Sunkanmi Akinboye is gorgeous and vibrant. Altogether, a fun ride that everyone will want to get up on.

Story: Roye Okupe Art: Sunkanmi Akinboye
Story: 10 Art: 10 Overall: 10 Recommendation: Buy

The Strangest Members of the Justice League

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snapperThe Justice League of America is best defined by its core of main characters.  As opposed to other major superhero teams like the X-Men, Avengers, or Teen Titans, the core seven members of the team are considered as almost sacrosanct.  Without Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter, the League is considered to not be at full power (though Manhunter has been somewhat replaced on this list by Cyborg.)  That being the case, the membership of the League has mostly remained constant over its publication history, but as with every team there are always the odd ones that find their way in.

Snapper Carr – The modern reader of comics might not recognize it immediately at a glance, but the history of comics is the history of trends.  Characters that might seem to represent some diversity in the modern day such as Power Man/Luke Cage or Shang Chi were in fact added to comics as they helped to capitalize respectively on the popularity of blaxpoitation and kung fu films.  One character long before them was Snapper Carr.  Although he existed as a sidekick more than actual superhero, he was nonetheless a vital member on some missions, (such as the first involving Starro).  The character was inspired by the Beatnik generation which was somewhat popular at the time, and for those that might look for a related Marvel character, they would be wasting their time, because the trend of beatnik characters came and went long before Marvel got established.

daleDale Gunn – After the X-Men took over the medium of comics in the 1970s it was determined that the Teen Titans became DC’s best hope to fight against this success.  After the youth oriented book performed well it was decided to give the Justice League a makeover as well, and what resulted was what has become known as Justice League Detroit, a weaker version of the team, but one focused more towards the street.  Out were Batman and Wonder Woman, in were street level characters like Gypsy and Vibe, the latter of which was enough of an attempt to cash in on the breakdancing genre that was actually popular for a while, for those that remember their Electric Boogaloo.  The stranger character though was Dale Gunn, introduced as a ladies-man character that was the custodian/tech expert for the new team, who wore a superpowered suit of armor in his first appearance, but then just faded into the background.  Zatanna and Vixen both fell in love with him almost from the get go, but his impact was never really noticed after a few issues.

maxMaxwell Lord – Whereas the X-Men had Dazzler and the Outsiders had Looker, the Justice League never really managed to capitalize on the big hair and big money 1980s, or at least they wouldn’t have except for the influence of Maxwell Lord.  The character was essentially a Gordon Gecko rip-off, and one whose moral code was also somewhat skewed.  He served as the bank roll for the team, but had delusions of heroism at times, and eventually went bad when he almost had every superhero killed during Infinite Crisis.

Blue Beetle – The Justice League of the post-Legends DC Universe was one very different from what came before.  Legends was kind of an attempt to do the final clean-up on what had happened during the Crisis on Infinite Earths, and it resulted in a new Justice League.  Whereas a lot of titles were getting darker at the time, or at least geared more to a mature audience, this team went the opposite route, becoming goofy.  Another trend at the time was that the Justice League becoming a dumping ground for characters who couldn’t hold their own series.  Thus the League assimilated Booster Gold, Blue Beetle and Captain Atom among others, but it really became the Blue Beetle and Booster Gold show, with their not-so-serious antics proving to be the fodder for most issues as opposed to real threats.  The character had been serious before, but never really recovered before being killed off.

drfateZan and Jayna – The so-called Wonder Twins didn’t come from the Justice League exactly, but instead came from the children’s show spin-off, the Super Friends.  It might have seemed likely that the characters might have just retired into obscurity as many others did, but they were actually revived for a time in the 1990s.  As a bit of a running joke before hand they never really caught on, and were used for only a few issues.

Dr. Fate/Guy Gardner – These two are not exactly the strangest characters exactly, except in how they were used.  Once again another influence of the post Legends Justice League, the writer Keith Giffen was a big enough fan of gender swapping some of his characters.  Not as in the usual sense of making a separate character like Supergirl or Batgirl, but in simply finding a way to switch genders.  It was done first with Doctor Fate and recently with Guy Gardner.

Ambush Bug/Super-Chief  – After Infinite Crisis the creators promised to give exposure to pretty much every character that had ever shown up in the pages of DC Comics.  This meant that some strange and obscure characters had to be brought in.  In this case it was a Firestorm led Justice League that contained among its members the Ambush Bug and Super-Chief.  They showed up for a couple of panels and then were never seen of again.

poisonivyPoison Ivy, Lex Luthor and Captain Cold – It turned some heads in the pages of the Waid led JLA when the rotating cast of team members included what was kind of Catwoman for one issue.  People wondered how it was that a thief was allowed membership to the team, even when she didn’t really join.  This was later rendered somewhat moot in the era of rooting for the bad guys in comics.  In the modern day, many series focus on villains, and Lex Luthor, Captain Cold and poison Ivy have worked alongside the Justice League, the latter in the most recent issue of Justice League United.  As villains become the new cool characters, it is not surprising to see some join the ranks of the superheroes.

To read the list of the strangest members of the League is partially a way to read the trends which have defined the medium of comics since the team’s inception.  There have been characters that have been stunts, or put in place to take advantage of what was happening in popular culture.  The team usually goes back to the main seven, but it is interesting to note that they are not always there, and sometimes some odd choices are made.