Three for Thursday: Independent Comics Review

Every Thursday, I would like to review a handful of independent comics. Today we look at three.

Mythic #1
Writer: Hester, Phil
Artist: McCrea, John
Cover Artist: McCrea, John
Publisher: Image Comics

Reading the new comics yesterday, I was struck by the proliferation of “mystery teams,” groups of comic characters who have teamed up to “Face the Unknown.” I have been a fan of mystery teams since I was exposed to the Challengers of the Unknown as a child. First introduced back in 1957 and running sporadically to this day, Challengers was about a group of non-superheroes who chased adventures and mysteries. I think part of the appeal was seeing “normal” people grappling with extraordinary circumstances. As an adult, I latched onto Planetary and The League of Extraordinary Gentleman, among others, still keen on this theme of teams interested not so much in saving the world or chasing bad guys, but of uncovering truth. Shifting from the template of Challengers of the Unknown though, we begin to see superhuman characters fill out these teams. Some are portrayed as equal to mainstream superheroes in some cases. The difference though is that the creators behind these teams purposefully try to keep the characters from taking that step into the limelight, out of the shadows.

In Mythic #1, we see a team of mystery hunters that straddle the line between normal and super powered. They appear normal and human, even wear uniforms like my beloved Challengers, but over the course of the premier issue, we find that these characters are more than what they seem. It is a fun approach and feels new. The art perfectly matches the story, with nice lines and a murky palette. The story starts with the team helping a young man with several monsters that seemingly came from nowhere. Times passes, and we see that the young man has joined the group, Mythic Lore Services, and that they are knee deep in another investigation. And while the story and art are top notch, it was how the comic creators grounded the team with natural dialog and common situations that made the comic pop. This isn’t the “witty banter” of a Bendis production. It is more closely aligned to the dialog we saw in Planetary: one moment our characters could be talking about tea or flowers, and the next they are examining the complexities of multi-dimensional space portals. Of course, Mythic has its own approach. It is light and airy where so many of the recent mystery teams are steeped in gloom, drama and self-consciousness.

From the publisher:

"SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICE OF $1.99! Science is a lie, an opiate for the masses. The truth is, magic makes the world go ’round. And when magic breaks, MYTHIC fixes it. Apache shaman Waterson, Greek immortal Cassandra, and cell phone salesman Nate Jayadarma are the crack field team assigned with keeping the gears of the supernatural world turning, and more importantly, keeping you from ever knowing about it. Join Eisner nominee PHIL HESTER (Green Arrow, The Coffin) and Eisner winner JOHN McCREA (Hitman, The Boys) on their latest expedition to the dark heart of weird comics."

Injection #1
Writer: Ellis, Warren
Artist: Shalvey, Declan
Cover Artist: Shalvey, Declan
Publisher: Image Comics

Speaking of mystery teams of the self-conscious and gloomy type, we were disappointed with the new Warren Ellis title Injection. It had all the makings of a good comic team: a shadowy government organization, mysterious events and disparate characters with some texture to them. Unfortunately for us, we get dropped into this setup at what feels like an arbitrary time in the team’s history. They have been working together for awhile, have broken up, and now each character, we find, is more or less blowing in the wind. Using flashbacks and cutting to different scenes, the creators try to give us the backstory of the team and the different characters, but it is a clunky device and only lends itself to the confusing vibe of the book. The art and dialog are very good, it must be said. I just wish there were better bones to hang such meat on.

A year from now we might look back and see that we have totally misunderstood this comic. With other issues to follow, this issue may fit in perfectly with a well rounded narrative. Maybe. But should we have to read ten or a dozen issues of a comic to feel validated or a single issue complete? I have been following Saga, for example, since its inception. While each issue begs to be matched with the issues to either side of it, each issue stands on its own as a complete piece. Injection #1, alas, has quite the opposite feel. There were no issues before this premier, and after reading it, it is difficult to get excited about the issue that will follow it.

From the publisher:

"Once upon a time, there were five crazy people, and they poisoned the 21st Century. Now they have to deal with the corrosion to try and save us all from a world becoming too weird to support human life. Injection is the new ongoing series created by the acclaimed creative team of Moon Knight. It is science fiction, tales of horror, strange crime fiction, techno-thriller, and ghost story all at the same time. A serialized sequence of graphic novels about how loud and strange the world is getting, about the wild future and the haunted past all crashing into the present day at once, and about five eccentric geniuses dealing with the paranormal and numinous as well as the growing weight of what they did to the planet with the Injection."

Harrow County #1
Writer: Bunn, Cullen
Artist: Crook, Tyler
Cover Artist: Crook, Tyler
Published by Dark Horse Comics

We like a good horror comic, and based on the first issue, Harrow County is one of the best and creepier horror comics we have run into in quite awhile. And while I am familiar with the artist (Tyler Crook from B.P.R.D. fame reminds me a lot of Richard Corben, but with more diffuse lines and colored much softer, almost like watercolors), I am not familiar with the writer. It was a pleasant revelation. The storyteller describes a familiar scenario for us in accessible, straight forward fashion: rural folks defend their town from evil magic, only to see the evil manifest within the next generation of townsfolk. Parallels to the film Nightmare on Elm Street came to mind, but Harrow County would appear to be working with witches and magic as opposed to a psychopath and bladed hands.

The issue opens with a flashback to a hanging and burning of a local woman who, come to find out, had allied herself

with demonic forces and had begun preying on the farmers and townsfolk of Harrow County. Now, in the present, a daughter of one of the townsfolk, Emmy, begins to experience disturbing dreams and visions as she approaches her 18th birthday. Her journey in some ways is reminiscent of a twisted version of Alice’s down the rabbit hole, or perhaps more appropriately, Dorothy’s journey from Kansas: a country girl drawn into otherworldly drama. It works wonderfully. Well thought out characters surround Emmy, and the description of the farm she lives on and the creeping pressures that confront her combine for a satisfying if vaguely familiar read.

From the publisher:

"Emmy always knew that the deep, dark woods surrounding her home crawled with ghosts, goblins, and zombies. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she learns that she is connected to these creatures-and to the land itself-in a way she never imagined. Don’t miss the first issue of this southern gothic fairy tale from the creator of smash hit The Sixth Gun, beautifully and hauntingly realized by B.P.R.D.’s Tyler Crook!"

Next: Last Week: Valiant Universe Handbook #1, Roche Limit: Clandestiny #1

More from Bam Smack Pow