Category: Super Comics

Super Comics: Eye Lie Popeye – #2

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Eye Lie Popeye and all the images you see in this review are owned by Massive Publishing and King Features

Written and drawn by Marcus Williams

I said what I liked about the first issue in my last review, but I also made it pretty clear what I didn’t want this series to be which would be to lean too heavily on the Shonen side and letting the Popeye stuff be mere window dressing. I can pull a dozen different manga off the shelf that will deliver on the action and style of this book, but new Popeye material? That stuff is rather thin on the ground these days, so as a dedicated fan of the Sailor Man, I’m hoping for a little more of that than the anime antics. Does this issue strike a balance between its two sources of inspiration, or will its two halves ultimately tear itself apart? Let’s find out!!

The story begins with our heroes from the last story trying to clean up the rubble after Popeye’s battle with the Sea Nymph Susie and getting an unexpected visit from Popeye’s figurative dad Whaler Joe as well as his actual dad Poopdeck Pappy. Sadly, the social call is cut short when another fighter goes crashing down to give Popeye a knuckle sandwich while Eugene the Jeep tries to explain to all of us what the heck is going on around here. The thing about Popeye cartoons is that it was just as much about its creative animation and wacky concepts as it was about the characters of Popeye, Bluto, and Olive. They were practically fairy tales about good and evil duking it out in ways that don’t make literal sense but have an aesthetic poetry to them. You’d think this would make it a perfect fit for the hyper stylized world of Shonen anime, but then Shonen tends to also take its lore very seriously and spends a lot of time explaining relative power levels and reiterating the stakes of every battle. For something like Popeye which is premised on a dude eating his vegetables and tooting his corncob pipe, over explaining the premise would be a detriment and there are no less than two scenes in this issue where they do just that. The Sea Hag makes sure we all know how magic works in this world, while Jeep goes into an extremely dense and unintuitive explanation of what makes Popeye so powerful. It’s so ludicrous that you’d think the book is trying to hang a lampshade on its own convoluted lore, but it seems like we’re supposed to be taking this seriously as there aren’t any reaction shots to the contrary; not even a befuddled look from Bluto.

See, I just thought he was a tough guy who joined the Navy. Boy was I off base!
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Super Comics: Eye Lie Popeye – #1

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Eye Lie Popeye and all the images you see in this review are owned by Massive Publishing and King Features

Written and drawn by Marcus Williams

Popeye shares that fate of many of his early animation peers in that they have a brand and legacy that enough people seem to care about, and yet no one seems to know what to do with him. Popeye is one of my favorite cartoon characters and the Robert Altman movie is an absolute classic, but it’s never been much more than a nostalgia property in my lifetime. The movie was over forty years ago, and the best we’ve gotten since then is the NES game, which was still well before my time. As far as I’m concerned, the only relevant thing in the Popeye canon since the turn of the millennium was that excellent episode of Death Battle where he kicked Saitama’s butt, and it seems to have tapped into something about the character given that this comic is very much inspired by the same ridiculously over the top Shonen anime that One Punch Man is a part of. Still, that worked as a one-off video for a couple of guys on YouTube. Is there enough juice in that lemon, or spinach in that can, to carry a series like this? Let’s find out!!

Our story begins with a plucky reporter named Judy P’Tooty who is determined to find out just how the legendary sailor Popeye lost his eye. I guess this proves what a fair-weather fan of Popeye I am, as I always thought he was just squinting, but apparently he’s missing an eye and everyone and their mother is ready to tell Judy how it happened. As a framing device for a first issue, this works well enough as we hear fantastical stories from Olive Oyl, Bluto, and Wimpy that perhaps are light on truth but reveal pertinent details about the cast. No one is going outside their established characters as Olive carries a torch for Popeye, Bluto is a mean-spirited blowhard, and Wimpy is fastidious about his hamburgers, but given how unlikely it is for young readers to know the finer details of these characters, it’s important to get everyone up to speed.

“This better not be that fan-fiction you write, Olive.”     “QUIET, Popeye! If it worked for Cassandra Clare, it can work for me!”
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #50

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

Apologies for this one being as late as it is. I was out of town when the issue came out and all I got out of the trip was a lousy case of Strep Throat that’s left me sick and exhausted for well over a week now. Still, you can’t keep a Sonic fan down for long! Whether it’s illness, delays, or crappy games, we always come back for more; which is the operative word here because they went all out and made this an extra lengthy issue to fit in everything they wanted for the big celebration! Does this double-sized issue live up to the months of hype surrounding it, or will it land with an extra loud thud now that they’ve made it twice as long? Let’s find out!!

The issue begins where the last one left off as our heroes race to Eggman’s capital city as its being sieged by Dr. Starline and his two protégés Surge and Kitsunami. From here the story breaks down into three fights as Eggman comes back to take out Starline, Surge catches Sonic by surprise and drags him to a fight for survival, and Tails is left befuddled to deal with the sad fox with water powers and a particularly sinister look in his eyes. We’ll tackle these fights one at a time starting with Eggman and Starline which I consider to be the best of three as both characters are really allowed to stretch their muscles and give us a clash of personalities worth getting invested in. The biggest problem with these two is that, despite some solid characterization and a few ingenious plots here and there, they feel a bit underwhelming as threats and can lean too hard into goofy territory when they have to fend off the furry brigade and the unstoppable power of friendship. Here, the winner is going to be determined not by Main Character Powers or the heart of a champion, but by who can last the longest without dying as the two try to smash each other to bits with giant robots! What I found particularly satisfying about this (even more so than the giant robots) is the depths of Eggman’s ego as he would rather risk destroying everything than have any aspect of it not under his supreme authority and Starline (despite being the one who kidnapped and brainwashed two innocent critters) ends up sounding like the reasonable one.

“If I put you as the denominator in my calculator, it gives me an error message! Do you know why!?”     “… is it because I’m zer-”     “IT’S BECAUSE YOU’RE ZERO!!”
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #4

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap, are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

I’m probably sounding like a broken record, but IDW’s Sonic series is always better the further away it is from Sonic himself. The mainline series has had its ups and downs, but the mini-series have always been some of the best writing we’ve seen from IDW’s run with the characters, and that is still the case with Imposter Syndrome; especially after Issue 49 which just felt like a bridge to whatever Issue 50 is gonna be. Does the final issue put the cherry on top of an already great mini-series, or will this be an even direr warning that Issue 50 might be an overhyped disappointment? Let’s find out!!

We begin the issue with Starline, Surge, and Kitsunami standing on the literal precipice of their greatest victory. For Starline that is to invade the Egg-base below and take over his mentor’s empire and for the other two, it’s to stab Starline in the back as soon as he thinks he’s won. Things go quite well right out of the gate, though that’s not much of a surprise given Eggman’s penchant for aesthetics over functionality, and the trio dispatches a number of goofy-looking and overly complicated robot minions. A few gun turrets or some land mines might have been a better use of resources, but Eggman will be Eggman and it’s not like he has anything better to do with his time. Speaking of whom, Eggman is swiftly made aware of the attack on his home and is baffled that it’s not being perpetrated by someone on his already extensive enemies list.

“Somebody ring up Reverse-Flash, Zoom, and that guy with the freeze ray.”     “Sir, I keep telling you that the CW isn’t-”     “YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH AND DO AS YOU’RE TOLD!!”
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #49

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We’re back with another issue of the ACTUAL Sonic comic and not a tie-in to a movie that I still haven’t seen yet. Hey, I’ll get around to it soon enough, but having moved the week it came out and with so many other movies out there, it’s kind of fallen down the priority list. This comic on the other hand, I made sure to pick up as soon as it came out to get my thoughts to you as soon as humanly possible. Admittedly not as fast as hedgehog-ly possible, but either way we are speeding towards the fiftieth issue and IDW wants to make it a big event. Does this penultimate story provide the perfect lead in to whatever Issue 50 is going to be, or will we once again be turning to the spin-offs for great comics? We’ve still got one more Imposter Syndrome is all I’m saying! Anyway, let’s find out!!

We begin the issue with Tails and Belle working on a way to turn Badniks into Good-niks (which is one step above a Beatnik), and while I could focus on the morally questionable aspect of rewriting the code of a seemingly sentient race of machines (*cough* Mass Effect 2 *cough*), I think the more immediate concern is Sonic. He’s there to serve as bait for the Badniks once the brain-worm signal is emitted, and he seems to be taking his job perhaps a bit too seriously…

“Oh my, the very THOUGHT of a badnik getting the best of little ol’ me sends chills up my spine! It would just be SO NAUGHTY if one of you were to try and overpower me”     “Yeah, take it down a notch, buddy. Also, what’s wrong with your hands? Did you buy skintight gloves for this?”
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 – The Official Movie Pre-Quill

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We all remember that Sonic movie from a few years ago! You know, the one that came out right before the world ended? I mean, I thought it was just kind of okay, but it looks like we’re getting a sequel and that means more merchandise! I still have a drink topper from the first film that was based on the original design for Sonic (the nightmare never ends in this house), but perhaps a full-on prequel comic book would be a more fulfilling endeavor. Oh wait, they spelled it Pre-Quill, so perhaps not. Still, if you’re gonna get a team to make fluff like this, you might as well hire the experienced people behind the IDW comics and maybe they can bring a little something extra to this oversized advertisement! Let’s find out!!

Our first story titled Hedgehog Day Afternoon involves Sonic the Hedgehog feeling bored and wandering around town until he hears about a bank robbery only a few hundred miles away. I’m not sure what makes him think he’s qualified to be a superhero or why he would want to be one in the first place. Perhaps he’s seen Iron Man one too many times and fancies himself a little blue Tony Stark. In any case, he rushes over there to find the thieves underway and the hostages compliant, so naturally he wants to turn it into a big mess and is still workshopping his hero name.

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answers to.”    “So that’s a yes?”    “IT’S A FREE COUNTRY!!”
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #3

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome, as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap, are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

This mini-series has been one of the best things we’ve gotten from the Sonic comics in quite some time as it has genuinely interesting characters with a sense of depth to them that leaves the rest of the cast looking like paper cutouts. I’m guessing at least some of that has to do with this series focusing entirely on original characters and not SEGA mascots, but whatever the reason is I’ve found myself looking forward to these issues more than anything in the main series; and that includes the Chaotix finally getting a story arc! Was that anticipation worth it for this third installment, or will I be rushing back to Sonic by the time we’re done? Let’s find out!!

Right off the bat, this issue gets dark as we watch a series of video diaries from Dr. Starline where we hear his unfiltered thoughts and see the depths of his cruelty. His rage at Eggman is uncomfortably apparent at the start only to be tamped down by his insistence on self-control which is probably good for his blood pressure but not so much for Kitsunami and Surge who are in fact watching these videos along with us. Whatever these two may have done or the toxicity of their relationship, you can’t help but feel for them as they watch the one person they know in this world calmly talk about them as pawns in a game they are forced to participate in.

See, this is why you don’t watch drama channels. You just get all worked up with nowhere to direct that negative energy!
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #48

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We’re back with another Sonic Adventure from the folks over at IDW! Only, it’s NOT a Sonic adventure, is it? For the second time in a row, it looks like the Blue Bomber is getting sidelined to flesh out some of the side characters, and while the camping trip arc fell pretty flat for me, I’m still pretty excited to see what they can do with a Chaotix storyline! Will this be the start of an engaging gumshoe detective story set in a world of cartoon critters and very lax child labor laws, or will we be burning our deerstalker caps in sheer frustration by the end of this? Let’s find out!!

The issue begins with Vector and Espio going to pick up Charmy the Bee from daycare. No wait, I read that wrong. He was dropped off at a radio station and seems to have enacted a hostile takeover. Seems like there are plenty of other places to leave the kid where he can’t cause that kind of damage, but then I’m not a professional detective agency.

“The things that boy said. I’m amazing no one called the cops on us.”    “Yeah, sorry about that. He’s going through an edgelord phase.”
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Super Comics: Sonic Imposter Syndrome – #2

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic: Imposter Syndrome as well as Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

We’re back with another issue of one of the many Sonic mini-series that IDW has put out since they started the main series! For the most part, they’ve proven to be fertile ground to test new ideas and get a tad bit daring with things that perhaps wouldn’t fly as well with the SEGA branded characters, and so far this series has proven to be no exception to that rule! After such a fantastic first issue, can they hope to follow it up with something just as good; or perhaps even better!? Let’s find out!!

The issue begins with the “final test” that Dr. Starline alluded to at the end of the last issue; the one that he had to use his Hypnotic Glove Powers to convince Surge and Kitsunami to go along with. Still, the not-so-good Doctor is perhaps overestimating his ability to control the situation as Surge has been difficult to control and this mission doesn’t exactly play to her strengths. The three are infiltrating an Eggman base to take it over with as little fuss as possible which means Starline is going to upload a bug in the mainframe that will somehow give him full control of the base while the other two take out the comms tower to prevent an alert from being sent to Eggman. Of course, having one of your facilities go offline seems about as suspicious as a blaring an alarm would be, but who even knows what Eggman pays attention to on a day-to-day basis? Heck, he’s probably still playing around with his VR headset from the last time we saw him! What this mini-series has done so well is to explore both Surge and Kitsunami as genuinely flawed characters that don’t feel limited by the brand. I can’t say exactly how stringent SEGA has been with the content of the IDW books, but it definitely feels like the original characters have much more room to emote and feel negative emotions which is far more compelling than Sonic’s usual TOO COOL FOR SCHOOL attitude. Surge is both sympathetic and despicable as her entire existence is just to be a tool for Starline but she lashes out at Kitsunami who is just as trapped as she is. It makes the journey more interesting if a character already has flaws that simply switching sides wouldn’t fix and at this point, it could easily go either way whether she and Kit will stay evil or eventually see the light.

“I’m the Vegeta in this situation and you’re, AT BEST, a Krillin. Do we understand each other!?”     “Actually I see myself as more of a Gohan-”     “WHAT WAS THAT!?”     “Nothing!”
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Super Comics: Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) – #47

~ Matt Vetrano ~ Leave a comment

Sonic the Hedgehog (the comic book series) and all the images you see in this recap are owned by IDW and SEGA of America

The forward march of time is an unrelenting constant in all of our lives, and this January has definitely proven that with just how far behind I’ve fallen with everything on this site; the least of which being these most recent issues of the IDW Sonic comics. The first issue of Imposter Syndrome turned out to be a breath of fresh air and ended up being one of the best issues the series had produced in a while, but we’re not here to talk about the follow up to that one as the mainline Sonic issue came out first and we’ve got to bring this rather tedious arc to an end before we can get to the good stuff. Does the Forest Fire arc manage to end on a high note, or does it intend to finish as it started; thoroughly mediocre? Let’s find out!!

The crisis as the end of the last issue where Belle, Tangle, the lost boy, and the friendly Bad-Nik were all falling to their death, gets resolved rather expediently as they manage to wrap themselves around the giant log with Tangle’s tail. I don’t really want to get hung up on this because it is an endearing quality of Tangle’s design, but I’m curious if the idea is that her tail is always that long or if it stretches out like she’s got Plastic Man powers on one specific part of her body. They’ve only gotten more and more exaggerated with it over time, but it’s an example of one of the series’ strengths which is its carefree attitude and prioritizing fun over practicality. Sadly the series will occasionally get in the mood to go overly serious and spend a year watching characters miserably trudge their way through a Zombie Apocalypse, but the adventure and carefree spirit are what really hold my interest in this comic.

Tangle would go missing three months later after a failed attempt to take a modified bottle rocket to the moon.
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