Age of Doom No. 8: Everything gets super weird, once again
Age of Doom might be the best Dark Horse comic out right now.
Every single issue of Age of Doom has been captivating, whether it be because of the amazing art by Dean Ormston (colored by Dave Stewart), the perfect lettering from Todd Klein, or the absolutely fantastical story from Jeff Lemire. There’s really no other way to describe just how good this comic is other than perfect. It passionately discusses what it means to be different, whether it’s about a Martian’s sexuality, or about the relevance of an aging crime-fighter. It pulls from decades of familiar concepts and tropes, in the most respectful and resonant ways.
The entire Black Hammer universe is spectacular, but this continuation of the main story set down originally is likely the cream of the crop, and while recent events have made for engaging reading, this latest issue turns the dial up to 11, as Spinal Tap would say.
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What is going on in the Age of Doom?
In the last issue, Colonel Weird brought the Quantum League back to reality, only to be blasted to the space been existences, where ideas that were never completed helped him defeat the Anti-God and sent him off to what he thought would be a normal reality.
This issue opens up with Lucy Weber, the Black Hammer, working in a pizza parlor, talking about how she used to want to be a journalist, which means she doesn’t remember being a journalist, traveling to outer space, finding the trapped Quantum League, and revealing to them all that they were trapped in a magical vision created by Madame Dragonfly and Colonel Weird. She has a cat named Talky, and this is an obvious nod to Talky-Walky, the Colonel’s companion that he destroyed to maintain the illusion when everyone was still inside it.
Abraham Slam is now a security guard at a museum, also lacking his memories, and he passes his time reading comics featuring Punch Socklingham, the boxer who trained him, as the “replacement” for Abe himself in the adventure rags.
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The Age of Doom reveals some unusual activities, and also doesn’t.
On Mars, Jon Jonz is insulted by Martians for being a pervert, which means that he is still gay, which is one of the most important underlying characteristics of the whole character; he went through an emotional and heartwrenching coming out phase in the magical world they were trapped in, and it’s good to see that this aspect hasn’t been altered. It is revealed that space travel is illegal on this Mars, otherwise Jon and his lover, Kev Kevz, would already have left for Earth, on a spaceship secretly cobbled together by the two of them.
Lucy Weber, narrating over her mundane daily life, lets it be known that her father was killed when she was thirteen, instead of disappearing as he did in the continuity we are familiar with. She gets an unusual call at work, and when he heads to investigate it, she discovers Talky-Walky, who knows her name, and is aware that everyone in the Quantum League needs saving, again.
Next. Wyrd takes on magically corrupt politicians in Wyrd No. 2!. dark
It’s notable that neither Colonel Weird, Madame Butterfly, or Golden Gail featured in this issue, presumably because that would have taken too many pages, but perhaps they were left out for a tactical reason, as Lemire loves a great cliffhanger and a good joke, as noted by the discovery of this Canadian politician with an eerily similar name to Punch Socklingham. Once again, this issue far surpassed expectations, and the future looks complicated and amazing for the Quantum League, once again. Let us know what you thought in the comments section below.