Comics: I'm Talking to You
by Dee. 11/21/2019
Welcome, friends! This month we have B.B. Free, Spider-Man and Venom: Double Trouble, and Dollhouse Family. We also have a preview of Over the Ropes.B.B. Free (Boom! Studios/ Boom! Box): The history behind the comic is fascinating: over 200 years ago, there was a plague that wiped out all greed (the top 1% are no more). Since then, the state of Florida has been fractured into different islands, and the world has to acclimate.
Our heroine b.b.free is a frustrated fifteen year old, who has told her controlling father that she wants to travel the Fractured States. Unsurprisingly, he also forbids her from her favorite past time, creating her own radio show with the help of her friend Chulita.
The color scheme leans heavily into a pink palette, but not annoyingly so. There are also dark blues to define all of the lines, and the lighting has little touches of special effects to emphasize brightness and shadows.
The script has several instances of internet speech (lols and tfs) but overall doesn't feel sophomoric. The tone is aimed at a young adult audience, as a tale of a fifteen year old trying to make her way in the world can be. I enjoyed this book.
Spider-Man and Venom: Double Trouble(Marvel Comics): Get ready for hi-jinx with Spider-Man and Venom as roommates! Venom is of course a horrible roommate, and up to no good.
The art style by Gurihiru is cartoony and animated in the best way possible, as the story is light-hearted and fun. It matches with the tone of the comic, and the script is quite entertaining. Spider-Gwen shows up as a neighbor, complaining about Venom. Hopefully, she'll be more than a cameo to the story.
The colors are bright, the shadows minimal, and the action very well articulated, as both Spider-Man's and Venom's poses are dynamic.
I would consider this comic as a title appropriate for kids of all ages, as the humor and style overall are attractive to a young audience.
Dollhouse Family (DC Comics): This is the second of the DC Black Label Joe Hill Presents Hill House comics, and you're in for a treat. For Alice's 6th birthday, a dying great-aunt leaves her a 19th century dollhouse, complete with antique dolls. Creepy dolls! That's a surefire way to have something spooky happen. Alice soon becomes obsessed with the doll family, as they slowly become her entire life.
The script is haunting, with mysterious backstory in the 1800's reverberating through the ages. Knowing Joe Hill as a horror writer, the level of dialogue and the pace of the story seems realistic, and the situation spins out of control in a chilling way.
The art isn't overly detailed when it comes to character design, meaning that Alice's father looks like your average 40-something white male. The fact that this story takes place in 1979 England doesn't seem to have any larger influence on how the characters are dressed. The detail on the dolls and the dollhouse, however, is done very well, as each doll is distinctly styled, and the environment seems very well researched.
Over the Ropes (Mad Cave Studios): This 5-issue miniseries is set in 1990's hey-day of indie wrestling. Jason Lynn is a young star battling as many foes in his personal life as in his wrestling persona, Phoenix. The lines between reality and work start to blur for Jason, as he's pulled into a web of seedy promoters and cage matches in the different factions in the Southern United States. The art is dynamic, with coloring that is dramatically lit in blue for past matches, and more peach tones for the current day. The shadows are appropriate for being in the ring, and decrease accordingly in the real world. Overall, the art does a great service to the story in helping establish mood and tone.
Release Date: December 4, 2019.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone,
Dee