EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome back to another edition of Comics On A Budget where we spotlight various books that cost less than a single issue of a current comic. Just doing our part to help readers stretch their comics dollar . . . . .
TRUE BELIEVERS: FANTASTIC FOUR BY WALTER SIMONSON #1 (Marvel Comics, September 2018 cover date) Writing and Art: Walt Simonson. Lettering: Bill Oakley. Coloring: Max Scheele. Cover price $1.00.
Marvel continues to produce True Believer titles, reprints of classic works for just $1, each and every month. They usually focus on a new series, hoping to draw more attention to it as well as the trade paperback reprints of previous volumes. It’s a marketing strategy that seems to work, and gives newer readers a chance to pick up older titles without paying the going rate for the originals.
With the release of a brand-new Fantastic Four monthly title, there are a huge handful of True Believer books featuring various incarnations of the Fantastic Four available right now.
I completely missed Walt Simonson’s run on the Fantastic Four in the late 1980’s, so I snatched this one up and glad I did. Not only does the creative Simonson pack a lot of story into an issue, he maximizes the use of panel size to great effect. He’s a master of utilization of small panels to propel a story forward, not just to indicate momentum and action but also to focus on facial expressions. When he opens things up with larger, wider panels to visualize the size and scope of matters - - it’s extremely effective.
This is the beginning of the Into The Time Stream saga which started in Fantastic Four Volume 1, #337. The pseudo-science employed to explain Reed Richard’s development of a huge time sled (dubbed Rosebud II, ha!) is clever and seems logical as long as you don’t think about it too much. There’s lots of colorful characters and good interaction between team members, as well as the inclusion of a classic Avengers team. What’s not to like?
IT CAME OUT ON A WEDNESDAY #1 (Alterna Comics, 2018) Various artists and writers. Cover price $1.99
This is the premiere issue of a new bi-monthly double-sized anthology printed on quality newsprint, which helps to keep production costs down and makes a lower, affordable price possible. The pages are thinner and not glossy like higher priced comics, but it does not detract from the visual appeal of the art within.
Alterna is a small independent comics publisher offering a variety of titles across all age groups. It Came Out On A Wednesday so far seems to focus on horror, science fiction and fantasy. The quality of the story and art vary as to be expected, but there’s enough here to make it worth checking out. It’s an appropriate showcase for what Alterna has to offer readers.
There are eight separate stories in Issue #1, plus an interesting interview with cover artist Eli Powell. Three of the stories are stand-alone tales featuring ongoing comics titles at Alterna, which gives readers a chance to sample them. (Mr Crypt, The Wicked Righteous, and Bloodfist). “Friday Arvo” is set in the universe of Exilium, a new science-fiction series set to debut from Alterna.
The remaining four stories serve as a showcase for up-and-coming creators. “Hexed” is my favorite of these. It’s short at just two pages, but left me wanting more as a thief realizes his mistake and tries to make amends to a voodoo priestess. My favorite of the ongoing stories is “Bloodfist”, the amusing tales of a hulking strongman with fists stained blood red from all the brawls he’s been involved in.
PROJECT SUPERPOWERS: CHAPTER THREE #0 (Dynamite Entertainment, 2018) Writer: Rob Williams. Artist: Sergio Davila. Colorist: Felideus. Letterer: Simon Bowland. Cover Price $0.10.
Ten Cents! Now, that’s a commitment from the publisher. There’s no way for ten cents to cover the production and distribution costs involved. So apparently Dynamite wants readers to sample the beginnings of the third installment of the popular Project Superpowers maxi-series. And rightly so. Dynamite has done a dynamic job of reinvigorating some classic golden age superheroes from smaller publishers and breathing new life into them. Past tales have an epic scale and a pulp adventure feel, and this looks to follow the same template.
I’m a little burned out on super-hero books, but this is refreshing in that it keeps things clear cut and uncomplicated. There are no gray or vague areas here. Just black and white concepts. Good versus evil, no in-between. Want a break from the constant news feed of the deceiver-in-chief and his “truth isn’t truth” legal crony? This is your ticket to escape.
Writer Rob Williams deftly maneuvers through the sixteen pages of story to whet our appetites for the upcoming series. An apparition-like version of The Death-Defying Devil confronts The Green Lama and updates him on the latest threat to humanity. We are treated to a glimpse of the new Project Superpowers team: Samson, Black Terror, The Scarab and Masquerade. Davila’s art is gorgeous. Very tempting, indeed.
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