One of the fun parts about Grace Ellis and Shae Beagle’s romantic comedy/fantasy book Moonstruck, which sees issue #6 out today from Image Comics, is how carefully Ellis and Beagle strike a balance with their metaphors. Aliens and monsters have stood in for real-world fears and social issues for decades, but if it’s done hamfistedly, it doesn’t work or even backfires. But as this book has unfolded, its witty collection of early-twentysomething mystical creatures has served as both people and carefully considered metaphor. Nobody is a stand-in for an entire group, they just happen to be who they are, and their mythical status tends to reflect that. It’s a book you can breeze through, and then return to think about, and that’s something that picks up the pace in this new arc.
The coffeehouse team, including Chet the genderqueer centaur and Julie, take a much-needed break from finals and go to an off-campus party at a fraternity house, which is run by fairies. If you know your mythology at all, you know to never trust the fey, especially when they were polos and khaki shorts, and, sure enough, they’re up to something. However, Ellis and Beagle are careful not to resort to eighties movie cliches, here; the fraternity is not full of cartoonish brodudes, for example. Take out the mythology and this would still work as a story, well, bar the dragon band lighting everything on fire.
The book never loses its heart or its sense of humor, and it’s been a delightful sleeper as it’s unfolded. If you haven’t been following it, now’s a great chance to pick it up. We can always use more romantic comedies on the stands, and Moonstruck is shaping up to be a particularly great one.
Unexpected #1, DC Comics
Ryan Sook, Cary Nord, and Steve Orlando pay tribute to DC’s cosmic ’80s books with a gleefully over the top tale full of purple dialogue, ridiculous outfits, and galactic consequences. It all works, though, because of Janet, aka Firebrand, a woman with a heart that literally stops if she doesn’t fight. So, of course, she’s not a fighter. This book is good, old-fashioned gods-and-planets high fantasy superheroics, and if you missed that stuff the first time through, this is like it, but better.
Harrow County #32, Dark Horse
Cullen Bunn and Tyler Crook bring their horror comic, equal parts Faulkner and Lovecraft, to a perfect end as our heroine Emmy, a witch in a Depression-era Southern town, faces down her nemesis Hester Beck to decide the fate of the people she loves. It’s a shame to see this book, which is brilliant literary horror and precisely what this genre needed in comics, go, but at the same time, Bunn and Crook have no lack of demands on their time, and it’s better to go out on a high note. If you’ve missed this book, start from the beginning; it’s a wonderful ride.
Dazzler X Song #1, Marvel
Magdalene Visaggio, Laura Braga, and Rachelle Rosenberg riff on the idea of mutants, and now Inhumans, as stand-ins for oppressed people and use it as a method of musing on a string of concerns. If two groups are facing oppression, after all, they should be able to unite, but not everyone gets the memo. It’s not terribly subtle, of course, but that’s never been the bailiwick of superhero stories, and Visaggio keeps it from being preachy by anchoring it in Dazzler just trying to be a good person and a better musician.
Brother Nash #1, Titan
Bridgit Connell rolls out a book about a trucker who, while hauling loads on the highways, takes the time to help wayward spirits find their way home as well. Connell mixes elements of horror and spirituality through the book, and it works in part because Brother Nash is fundamentally a nice guy who uses words, not fists, to solve his problems. It’s a welcome take on the idea of the wandering medium, and if you’re a horror fan, worth picking up.
Death Or Glory #2, Image Comics: Rick Remender and Bengal’s tribute to the heist and car chase movies of the ’70s follows up its dark twist in the first issue with quite a bit more in this second.
Exit Stage Left The Snagglepuss Chronicles #6, DC Comics: Mark Russell, Mark Feehan and Sean Parsons finish their story of a gay playwright (who happens to be a giant pink kitty) who has his life ruined end on a bittersweet note: Snaggle may be forced underground, for now, but as the book points out, he’s not going anywhere.
Sword Daughter #1, Dark Horse: Brian Wood and Mack Chater bring samurai movie tropes to the Vikings in a fascinating take.
Deadpool #1, Marvel Comics: Wade Wilson’s brain is wiped, he’s ready to start being a mercenary again, and of course Skottie Young, Marvel’s resident smart-aleck, with Nic Klein along for the ride, can’t have that, with hilariously painful results for Wade.
Valiant High #2, Valiant: Daniel Kibblesmith and Derek Charm’s comedy book, which turns Valiant’s serious, well-written universe into a sort of Archie parody, gets even funnier in its second issue.
This Week’s Best Collections
About Betty’s Boob, BOOM! Studios/Archaia ($30, Hardcover): We talk quite a bit about breast cancer as a disease, but it’s easy to forget that many women have what should be a simple cure on paper: Mastectomy. The problem, as breast cancer survivors point out, is that this opens the door to a whole new set of problems. Vero Cazot and Julie Rocheleau tackle that in, a translation of a French graphic novel about, well, Betty and her boob. Cazot and Rocheleau make the decision to keep the book almost entirely dialogue-free, which leaves Rocheleau with quite a bit more of the storytelling. The result is a string of flights of fancy, and nightmare, as we see the world from Betty’s perspective, and it makes for a can’t-miss book.
Kaijumax Volume 3 Season Three King Of The Monstas, Oni Press ($20, Softcover): This series, which mashes up prison movie tropes with giant monster movies, ups the stakes in some major ways this volume, making for a brilliant take on both genres.
Green Lantern Green Arrow: Hard-Traveling Heroes Deluxe Edition, DC Comics ($50, Hardcover): The influential arc, where two DC superheroes get in a pickup truck and try to find America in the ’70s, gets a deluxe reissue perfect for experiencing this story for the first time.