Flourishing Verdantly

Okay I haven't bought a comic from Top Cow since...probably that Batman/Darkness miniseries you can judge me for it, but you have to admit it was better than any of the other DC crossover titles at the time. But they have this awesome contest where six series get a first issue published, then the two titles that get the most votes by their readers go on to be produced into full-length series.

The nominees are fun. Some are relative newcomers, to Eisner nominees, to the president of Top Cow. There's standard fare for the company (that is hilariously on the bottom of the poll), some slice of life/supheroics, crime drama, sci-fi pulp and my personal favorite: Urban Myths.

That link takes you to the full first issue, fast and fun to read. The world is a mix of mythology and city living, where people in the present still believe in Greek gods. With good reason, since their presence is in obvious cohabitation with the normalcy of present day life. The little throwaway mentions of consumerism with these myths made me scrutinize each page for in jokes. Oh and I forgot to mention the main character of the story is the son of Medusa. And it's amazing how the offspring of someone who could turn people to stone manages to look kinda cute about it, even with the metal mask.

Jack Medusa manages to work the hard-boiled supernatural detective angle familiar if people read Hellboy, but at the same time keeps a lighthearted personality. A lot of it is from the art, which is gorgeous and vibrant without being excessively cartoony. Urban Myths stays far away from getting too dark or too absorbed in its quirkiness to work, which a real pitfall in this genre. I was surprised how simple the story is but wonderfully balanced between the plot at hand and the greater implications about the world and how Jack fits in it. It was the only one of the bunch I not only wanted to vote for but wanted to buy if it won, and that's exactly why I'm exhorting people to read it and then make sure it stays in first place. Because winning means more issues and more issues mean a greater chance of seeing Jack Medusa having to rescue adorable Greek myth-based kittens.

Giant company events in comicdom tend to suck. And by "suck" I mean, destroy all previous continuity and characterization for the sake of their sales boosting shock value. They know it too, since for all their touting of everything changing they never leave a lasting impression in the long run (incoming "Final Crisis" anyone?). Maybe comic fans are too set in their ways, or the stories just don't resonate. There may be differing opinions, but I can't for the life of me point out anything really worthwhile that Infinite Crisis or Civil War has done except to keep me out of DC completely, and on the fringes of Marvel's books that aren't directly impacted.

Of course I have my geeky and impotent comic rage over things like having Captain America who fought Nazis be told he was not really an example of an American because he didn't know what MySpace was. Or watch as DC killed off almost every character I followed, some in horribly pathetic ways, just for the sake of their modus operandi. I could exort for days how many mistakes and gaffs, some from negligence and some because Dan Didio hates life, all led up to a sort of disillusionment in superheroics for me.

But then I remembered Astro City and all my faith is restored.

( Lengthy ramble plus 12 scans under this cut )

I have nothing else to say in my defense of this except that I was bored. Very, very bored while ignoring homework. Yep, bored and geeky. Not that I could compete with Mikomi's geekiness but I can certainly try...

( In this corner... )