March had plenty of ups and downs, Kings fell, families of monster hunters returned, and plenty of new adventures began in earnest. There were plenty of things to enjoy about March, and here are some of the highlights of the month. From excellent creative teams, exciting new adventures, and an homage to the best music genre, join us as we take a look at This Month in Comics!
Excellence in Writing Super Hero Arguments: “Children of the Atom” #1
Vita Ayala has been routinely moving up my list of “must-read writers.” While this is true with most of the creators on the X-books, there’s just something about the way Ayala writes that is incredibly compelling. Their dialogue scenes feel like an elevation of the sometimes soapy conflict of other superhero books, with arguments and opinions shifting and evolving naturally. Plus, Ayala is just a master at getting you to care about their characters. “Children of the Atom” #1 is a strong premiere of a fun new team, and Ayala makes you care about them from the word go.
Ayala’s work in Marvel has been incredible. From their work on Nebula and New Mutants to “Children of the Atom” #1, they create memorable and engaging comics. This is one of the strongest first issues I’ve reviewed. It effortlessly builds an intriguing mystery, creates fun and memorable characters, and creates some complex conversations about what Krakoa is. While other comics struggle with pacing and making intriguing mysteries, Ayala does both with ease.
Art That Would Not Look Out of Place on a Metalhead’s Van: “Beta-Ray Bill” #1
Much like Vita Ayala, Daniel Warren Johnson has become a premier creator. From his incredible indie work like ‘Murder Falcon,’ to his other superhero work, Johnson can craft stories that are the epitome of metal, a genre known for its heightened, well, everything. Metal (and specifically power metal) is larger than life, epic, and grandiose, a genre that revels in excess. While “Beta-Ray Bill” #1 is a little sadder than your usual power metal adventure, Daniel Warren Johnson captures the look and feel of an epic fantasy adventure. His action sequences are vast and larger than life, taking advantage of sound effects to create a roaring crowd and chaotic battle. Johnson’s art is always worthy (get it?) of being featured on the side of a heavy metal van, but seeing Bill standoff against Fin Fang Foom takes it to the next level.
Johnson and Spicer’s sensibilities complement each other nicely. Spicer’s colors create two distinct worlds, one of cold and calculating technology, full of metallic hues and harsh fluorescent lighting, the other of magic with bright reds and yellows but created with warm candlelight and natural hues. Both settings create a certain degree of an intense and challenging life, emphasizing Beta-Ray Bill’s sense of sadness. He is a person without a home, without a hammer, without a sense of place in the universe. All his life, he’s been the pawn of others, and the fact that he looks foreign in both worlds helps to highlight that.
The Niche Book You Should Be Checking Out: “The Comic Book History of Animation” #4
Animation is one of those art forms that people overlooked, a genre that is often siloed (at least in America) to being children’s entertainment. Because of this, it is usually not given the investigation or analysis it deserves. Yet, “The Comic Book History of Animation” #4 continues the excellent investigation into the creation of a distinct genre of entertainment. Fred Van Lente and Ryna Dunlavey create a visually engaging look at the stories and creators of cartoons, from movie shorts to Saturday morning cartoons while also exploring some of the shortcomings of the industry. “The Comic Book History of Animation” #4 looks at the rise of Saturday Morning Cartoons and the cross-pollination of animation not only between company to company but also internationally.
It’s an exciting and appreciated decision to portray the animators as the characters they helped create. This creates a sense of continuity through the issues while also reminding you that the cartoons we enjoyed as kids come from complex and morally grey places. For instance, much of “The Comic Book History of Animation” #4 focuses on America’s outsourcing of animation to other countries to produce shows for cheap, causing stress and confrontation in the industry. But it simultaneously shows the cross-cultural impact of animation on Japanese creators like Hayao Miyazaki and Osamu Tezuka. It’s an industry that quickly became global, even if it was not done with the best of intentions. Animation has a layered, messy, and complicated history, and it’s appreciated that there’s a comic telling that story.
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Most Surprising Stick With You: “Haha” #3
“Sad clown anthology” is not something I would seek out on my own, especially considering that I’m not the biggest fan of W. Maxwell Prince’s other outings. But there’s something about “Haha” #3 that sticks with you. Maybe it’s the fact that it’s a largely silent issue that captures the main mime’s lonely existence. Maybe it’s the incredibly cartoony style of Roger Langridge that juxtaposes a bright, colorful, and stylized world against an ultimately sad ending. Maybe it’s just the core story of doing anything to save a friend that just hits different in 2021. In any case, there were many clever little things that the issue did to create a memorable story.
One of these techniques is Langride’s use of word bubbles, with characters speaking in symbols like $, grunts, or numbers. It’s something that doesn’t necessarily land until the mime mutes the TV, showing that while the character lives in a world of sound and noise, it’s just not something they’re comprehending. The stylized coloring of the book helps as well, with a robot straight out of a Saturday Morning Comic strip or the mime slowly coming into character as they apply the face makeup, masking the sadness into a character. It’s not necessarily a fun book, it has a tragic ending, but something that just felt resonant as we reached the one year mark of quarantining. Who knows if this is a book that’ll remain on my pull list, but in March, “Haha” #3 left a mark.
Best Issue of the Month: “Bitter Root” #11
Bitter Root is perhaps the best comic on the market, a comic that uses well-written characters and fantastic dieselpunk world-building to create a comic about race, generational conflict, and the power of family. While “Bitter Root” #11 is mainly about resetting the table for the next adventure, it does a masterful job of catching you up to speed and showing just how much characters have grown and changed over the years. David F. Walker, Chuck Brown, and Sanford Greene do an excellent job creating the strongest ensemble casts in comics. Each member of the Sangerye family is visually and tonally distinct from one another.
While there is some time for rest and relaxation after saving the world from Adro, tensions are rising both in the Sangerye family and the world. When things like prejudice and hate are the primary drivers of creating monsters, how are a few families in New York supposed to fight the machine of hate brewing both at home and abroad? In “Bitter Root” #11, the tree of hate has taken root; to see how the family handles it will be quite the journey.
These are just a taste of some of the books coming out this month, but some stood out and deserved some honors. What were your favorite books of the month? Sound off below!
