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melaninny's review
4.0
I was pleasantly surprised by this indie anthology. It suffers from the same grab-bag drawbacks that most anthologies struggle with, but it even its worst stories are probably worthwhile to someone. This issue's theme is "super powers," so there's a fair amount of generic superhero gravitas thrown in--a lot of which isn't my thing--but it still managed to feel polished.
Anyways, instead of focusing on the negatives and stories that weren't my faves, I'm going to do some shout-outs to the ones that I thought were the best in here.
Terrific [pg. 8; Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Nick Robles, Taylor Esposito] -- Managed to break the fourth wall and still create a character whose tragic end you truly feel for.
The Empty Lot [pg. 15; Pat Sand, Manuel Preitano, Jim Campbell] -- A cute story about a "boring old man" who passes along his secret to a new generation of kids. Nothing super new, here, but it was a sweet story.
Loser, Nobody [pg. 88; Andrez Bergen, Chris Wahl] -- Really powerful story about overcoming depression. This was one of my favorites in the whole thing, despite being only three pages.
Powered By Ethanol [pg. 124; Paul Axel, Chris Brown, Nikki Sherman] -- A quirky, unique premise for a superhero told well, with an ambiguous ending that manages to still feel rewarding.
Heritage [pg. 154; Tito W. James, Djibril Morisette-Phan, Adam Wollet] -- I thought the concept for this one was truly unique and interesting, one of the few here that I would love to see expanded into a full story.
The Thankless Indebted [pg. 166; Mastajwood, JWNT] -- The themes were a bit overwrought, but I liked the portrayal of the superhero as someone mortal who sustained great injuries. Don't see that much.
Reflex [pg. 184; Jayson Kretzer, Jason Godwin, Mark Boss] -- One of the few ones here intended to be funny that actually made me smile. It was cute.
Sidekick [pg. 200; Chas! Pangburn, Agus Calcagno, Mariano Laclaustra] -- Super sad but it worked.
Gravity [pg. 211; Kerrie Smith, Hannah Deacon] -- A sweet little story that's subtle in the way it utilizes the super power element.
Proud [pg. 258; Jayson Stroll, Brian McCranie, Weston Design Studio] -- Debilitatingly sad, but I appreciated what it was able to do.
The Hellfire Hornet [pg. 274; Chris Callahan] -- Another unique concept utilized well. Another sad one. This anthology does tend toward the grim.
Martyr [pg. 283; Edwin Lopez, Robert Matuluko] -- I would love to see this as a full story, or even a movie!
Sideshow [pg. 320 Lea J. Zimmt, Anna Wieszcyk, Jamie Me] -- I got really attached to these characters, actually, probably the most out of all of the stories here.
There were actually much more that I wanted to give shout-outs to than I expected, so I really must congratulate the editors. Also I have to pause and commend the artists who worked on these comics. Though I found some faults with the writing, the art was perfect for each story.
A few more words of constructive criticism: Since the art was so good, the unfinished quality of the cover art is a bit jarring. Something a bit more polished would make it look more professional and appealing, I think. (This is not to say that the art is bad, it's clearly a stylistic choice, I just think that a different choice could be made). I was also actively annoyed by the story Hamster Man and its obvious plug. Saying, "Hey, see more of this in its full volume" would have been fine, but cutting out the entire action scene and saying, "Well, you can see what happened in this ONE PART even though there are still MORE PAGES after this" felt kinda like a slap in the face.
Lastly, it'd be nice if this included author/artist bios and blurbs. I would love to know more about the creators!
Anyways, instead of focusing on the negatives and stories that weren't my faves, I'm going to do some shout-outs to the ones that I thought were the best in here.
Terrific [pg. 8; Jason Inman, Ashley Victoria Robinson, Nick Robles, Taylor Esposito] -- Managed to break the fourth wall and still create a character whose tragic end you truly feel for.
The Empty Lot [pg. 15; Pat Sand, Manuel Preitano, Jim Campbell] -- A cute story about a "boring old man" who passes along his secret to a new generation of kids. Nothing super new, here, but it was a sweet story.
Loser, Nobody [pg. 88; Andrez Bergen, Chris Wahl] -- Really powerful story about overcoming depression. This was one of my favorites in the whole thing, despite being only three pages.
Powered By Ethanol [pg. 124; Paul Axel, Chris Brown, Nikki Sherman] -- A quirky, unique premise for a superhero told well, with an ambiguous ending that manages to still feel rewarding.
Heritage [pg. 154; Tito W. James, Djibril Morisette-Phan, Adam Wollet] -- I thought the concept for this one was truly unique and interesting, one of the few here that I would love to see expanded into a full story.
The Thankless Indebted [pg. 166; Mastajwood, JWNT] -- The themes were a bit overwrought, but I liked the portrayal of the superhero as someone mortal who sustained great injuries. Don't see that much.
Reflex [pg. 184; Jayson Kretzer, Jason Godwin, Mark Boss] -- One of the few ones here intended to be funny that actually made me smile. It was cute.
Sidekick [pg. 200; Chas! Pangburn, Agus Calcagno, Mariano Laclaustra] -- Super sad but it worked.
Gravity [pg. 211; Kerrie Smith, Hannah Deacon] -- A sweet little story that's subtle in the way it utilizes the super power element.
Proud [pg. 258; Jayson Stroll, Brian McCranie, Weston Design Studio] -- Debilitatingly sad, but I appreciated what it was able to do.
The Hellfire Hornet [pg. 274; Chris Callahan] -- Another unique concept utilized well. Another sad one. This anthology does tend toward the grim.
Martyr [pg. 283; Edwin Lopez, Robert Matuluko] -- I would love to see this as a full story, or even a movie!
Sideshow [pg. 320 Lea J. Zimmt, Anna Wieszcyk, Jamie Me] -- I got really attached to these characters, actually, probably the most out of all of the stories here.
There were actually much more that I wanted to give shout-outs to than I expected, so I really must congratulate the editors. Also I have to pause and commend the artists who worked on these comics. Though I found some faults with the writing, the art was perfect for each story.
A few more words of constructive criticism: Since the art was so good, the unfinished quality of the cover art is a bit jarring. Something a bit more polished would make it look more professional and appealing, I think. (This is not to say that the art is bad, it's clearly a stylistic choice, I just think that a different choice could be made). I was also actively annoyed by the story Hamster Man and its obvious plug. Saying, "Hey, see more of this in its full volume" would have been fine, but cutting out the entire action scene and saying, "Well, you can see what happened in this ONE PART even though there are still MORE PAGES after this" felt kinda like a slap in the face.
Lastly, it'd be nice if this included author/artist bios and blurbs. I would love to know more about the creators!
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