“Mutant” has been, for Marvel, a handy metaphor for any type of marginalized group. But it’s most easily fit being gay, and it’s a metaphor Sina Grace and Alessandro Vitti explore in Iceman (Marvel), especially the third issue out today.
Grace’s plot has largely been about Bobby’s struggles with his sexuality; this issue’s splash panel opens with Bobby coming out to his teammates by text, and they’re all supportive, if perhaps in some cases a bit baffled. Even his staunchly WASPy family seems OK with it. Now, all that “mutant stuff”… they don’t want to talk about it. They don’t want Bobby to talk about it. Underneath the comedy, which switches to action when a swarm of bigots bursts into Bobby’s home, there’s a very real pain. Bobby Drake, to his parents, is frozen in time. Nothing in his life past his becoming a mutant matters. To his parents, it doesn’t exist.
Vitti’s art has been a joy in this series and here in particular he gets to show off his sense of geography and scale as well as his imagination. When Bobby finally loses it, it’s scary; underneath the jokey exterior and patient son is a deeply angry man. Iceman is not, perhaps, the most subtle in its metaphors, but then, that’s what superheroes are for, and Grace and Vitti get a message across in a way worth reading.
Crosswind #2, Image Comics
Gail Simone and Cat Staggs’ story of a hitman and a housewife swapping bodies had a bit of a shaky first issue, too dedicated to setting up the premise and not to moving the plot. But now we’re in the plot, and both Simone and Staggs have a wind at their backs. What’s clever about this story is that it turns out a housewife and a hitman do, in fact, have enough overlapping skills, in the right situations, to fake it. The question now, and one you’ll want an answer to by the end of the issue, is can they make it?
Doom Patrol #7, DC Comics
Gerard Way and Michael Allred take an odd detour in their book to affectionately parody the Doom Patrol’s past, particularly that of the borderline sociopathic Niles Caulder, technically responsible for creating the Doom Patrol by, uh, engineering the accidents that made them outcasts. Oops. Anyway, Caulder is back, and he wants to make amends. OR DOES HE?! The satire here is goofy as hell, thanks in part to Allred’s taste in pop art. But it’s endearing in how much it loves the team and its absurd past.
Damned #3, Oni Press
Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurtt’s story of demons, gangsters, and selling your soul takes an interesting turn into straight noir, this issue. At its best, and this is decidedly its best, Damned can feel like James M. Cain and Lovecraft working on a story together, something softened just enough by Hurtt’s art to make it more than a gimmick. Hurtt, in a dozen subtle ways, reminds us there are people underneath all this, people just doing the best they can, and people often get outwitted.
Go Go Power Rangers #1, BOOM! Studios
Ryan Parrott and Dan Mora take us back to the beginning of the Rangers with their first victory, blundering into a trap, and other tropes. It feels, quite a bit, like an episode of the show with an actual budget, thanks in part to Mora’s crisp, dynamic art. Really, the Rangers are comic book heroes, just without a comic book to really call their own, and this might be the book that takes them to the medium they most belong in.
Fantomah #1, Chapterhouse: Ray Fawkes and Soo Lee tell a creepily effective ghost story in this first issue, about a young woman looking for her sisters, and who won’t stop even at death to save them.
Nancy Drew And The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie #5, Dynamite: This noir take on the teen detectives continues to be the best season of Veronica Mars we never got.
Faith And The Future Force #1, Valiant: This time-travel story starts seemingly normal and then, uh, well let’s say things get weird, even by time travel standards, fast.
Robotech #1, Titan: Yes, the beloved Japanese franchise is back, and it feels much like old times. If you’re nostalgic for the original series, this’ll take you right back to the ’80s.
Rebels: These Free And Independent States #5, Dark Horse: The historical comic wraps up its second arc in a bittersweet way, with the Abbot family moving on from Vermont to Philadelphia, a musing of sorts on how national pride has to change over time.
This Week’s Best Collections
How To Win At Life By Cheating At Everything, Dark Horse ($15, Softcover): Mark Perez and Scott Shaw explore the nature of graft and fraud in a bitingly funny look at why scams work, why people fall for them, and most importantly, why scam artists keep getting away with it.
By Chance Or Providence, Image Comics ($15, Softcover): Becky Cloonan’s exploration of medieval times and horror is finally collected in one volume.
Not-So-Secret Society, BOOM! Studios ($10, Softcover): This adorable book is Encyclopedia Brown meets Dexter’s Lab, a read parents can hand to their kids, or read with them.