Alternate Comics That Are On My Radar
Damn you DC Comics. “The New 52” jump-started my interest in comic books again. Here are a few other series that have piqued my curiosity lately. Full disclosure: I haven’t read all of these… they’re on my “to read” list.
Title: Ultimate Comics: XMEN
Publisher: Marvel
But why Mike, why? I like the idea of writers and artists having creative freedom to explore familiar territory in new ways. I think (and hope) this will provide that for the X-Men world.
Title: Ultimate Comics: Spider-man
Publisher: Marvel
But why Mike, why? At first, I wasn’t so sure about this. I mean, can there BE a spider-man without Peter Parker? But just like with X-MEN, I realized that this would be another great opportunity for a fresh start.
Title: Star Wars - Crimson Empire: Empire Lost
Publisher: Dark Horse
But why Mike, why? The artwork and story premise are quite intriguing. Check out this commentary from the writer (Mike Richardson):
“I patterned Crimson Empire after the Japanese tale of the forty-seven Ronin - not in the story itself, but in the quest for revenge. How I see it in the first Crimson Empire series is that it deals with laying out the ground work and its interaction with the initial characters, with actually somewhat of a tragic ending to the first series. I see it as a trilogy: the second part being the quest for Luke Skywalker - for his part in the death of the Emperor; the third part, the revenge on the ruling counsel. It’ll be a story-cycle that takes them through personal discovery, great adventure, and intrigue in the Empire itself. And ultimately the opportunity for revenge, where Kir Kanos finds himself.
Title: Daytripper
Publisher: DC/Vertigo
But why Mike, why? I really like the idea of this being soooooo different from other comics. There aren’t any super powers. We don’t see people in capes battling baddies. It’s just an honest and grounded look at life, mortality, and eventual death. Depressing? Maybe. But definitely moving. I think Alex Albrecht summed it up best:
[It seemed like] it’s like a day in the life of somebody who is about to die. But that’s not what it was… So it took me like two or three sort of chapters to kind of lock into — it’s not about that, it’s just sort of a way to punctuate the truth about this moment in a way that only can be done through death.
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