Stu and Jake’s friendship was forged in WW II, but the one thing it couldn’t survive was the comic book industry. As their Wonder Comics creations grew from four-color sensations to a global phenomenon, everything changed… Now, these two legendary comic creators have reunited to launch the America’s Freedom Force cinematic universe, only to discover the make-believe superheroes and monsters from their stories are very, very real. Tales of Wonder #1 delivers a concept we’ve seen before but a debut issue that needles the comic industry and pop culture as a whole.
Written by Steve Skroce, the first 90% of Tales of Wonder #1 is commentary and digs at the comic industry, conventions, and the comics to movie pipeline. At the center of the story are two creators who have had a falling out, one has stepped in to take credit for everything. While I’m sure there’s creators and personalities that immediately jump to mind, there’s a long list of individuals this can be, keeping the targets of the comic’s middle finger to many.
But, it’s not just creator and credit that get skewered in this debut issue. Conventions, movies, and general pop culture as a whole are all targets for Skroce who seems to be making commentary about the shallowness and carnival barker aspect of it all.
Taking place at a San Diego Comic-Con like convention (SDCC is name dropped and this convention is BIGGER and taken over), we’re taken through this not so twisted reality where “fans” of all persuasions come to worship entertainment and spend their hard earned money for items whose enjoyment is the collecting itself. Comics, as mentioned, have moved on from characters on the printed page to be IP farms where fans can buy a plastic figure instead of reading adventures. Passive enjoyment of films have overtaken reading the same adventures.
Skroce does double duty bringing his style to the art as well and joined by Ian Herring on color and Pat Brosseau on letters. The visuals are packed with small jokes making fun of the situation. It’s a comic that’s packed with details and those details add to the initial point that Skroce is focused on.
Tales of Wonder #1 is a nice setup as far as that and could easily have been four or five issues of two creators sniping at each other over credit. But, the end gives a twist that the creations are real and there’s some threat out there that the two must help deal with. It’s a concept that’s not new and we’ve seen many times before but there’s potential this comic adds a little something with it, commentary about the shallowness of it all. We’ll see. It’s a fun and funny debut with something to say and even if you don’t continue with the series, the debut issue is worth checking out just for its take on the state of the comic industry.
Story: Steve Skroce Art: Steve Skroce
Color: Ian Herring Letterer: Pat Brosseau
Story: 8.0 Art: 8.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Buy
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
