Deadpool

Weekly Comic Pull Review Returns!

I know, I know, it’s been forever since I’ve posted one of these. But hey, I can finally afford my comics again! Yay employment!

 

(Lady) Thor #2

I was genuinely skeptical about this series. I was a reader of Thor: God of Thunder for its entire 25 issue run, and I loved the hell out of it. Some of the best art of any superhero comic, a truly epic aesthetic, time travel, and Gorr the Godslayer, Voldemort’s bigger badder brother. So when they announced that Thor was becoming unworthy and being replaced, I pretty much dismissed it as another gimmick, like any superhero death or depowering. But I’m swiftly changing my mind. The God of Thunder storyline is picking up where it left off, but in a very new way. We still don’t know who Lady Thor is (though I feel that it should be obvious to readers of God of Thunder), but she brings a whole new style to the hammer. She’s less single knockout blow, more hurricane of fists, lightning, and hammerblows. Regardless, Jason Aaron and Co are keeping there momentum going at full throttle from Thor: God of Thunder, with the added bonus of being a great starting point for new readers.

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A few brief thoughts on thought bubbles.

The 90’s have a lot to answer for when it comes to comics. One of the offenses committed then was the overabuse of thought bubbles. Thought bubbles had been slowly drifting into disfavor for decades, but after the 90s, thought bubbles became nearly taboo in the comics industry.

A major part of the problem was misuse of thought bubbles. They were used as exposition devices more often than not. Comics are one of the best places to show instead of tell, so characters explaining things to themselves that they already knew in their own thought bubbles gets annoying fast. It’s not as bad as the old “as you know” exposition, but it isn’t far off.

The loss of thought bubbles is just one of the many parts of the backlash against 90s comics, but it has survived some places, notably in Deadpool. The primary reason for their success there is the conversational tone they take. Batman and the Bat-Family also get away with it, usually through using thought bubbles to plan actions. (I should note that I differentiate between protagonists narrating a comic in their head and thought bubbles, they’re very different things in my book). So there are ways to do them well, and some comics have kept them alive. (Almost universally as rectangles, though).

And do you know what? I’m totally in favor of bringing them back more often- in the right scenarios. Just keep exposition in thought bubbles to a bare minimum.

Belated weekly pull review.

Sorry the pull review is late this week. Without further delay:

Beasts of Burden One-Shot: Hunters and Gatherers

Dark Horse Comics
Evan Dorkin, Jill Thompson
For those of you who have never read Beasts of Burden before: WHY? Seriously, this series about dogs and cats defending the town of Burden Hill from supernatural threats is amazing. Great characters, wonderful art, a dog lycanthrope, it’s got it all. I think it passes the Bechdel test, but I’m not entirely sure that it is particularly useful here, since you’ve got to guess the gender of the various animals from context clues/familiarity with the series, and there is no way to tell for some of the minor characters and extras. (I still have to finish the series proper myself, but I’m working on it). I think I’m just going to start commenting on whether a comic passes the Bechdel test, the test is non-applicable, or it is a serious failure. Otherwise, just assume it failed, which is sadly pretty normal in comics.
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