Comics: Let's Just Keep On Dancing

by Dee. 10/12/2023

Rare Flavours (Boom! Studios): This comic has a novel concept: a demon wants to be the next Anthony Bourdain, focusing mostly on Indian cuisine. If you are familiar with Anthony Bourdain's Hungry Ghosts, and a comic called Eat the Rich, this should be right up your alley. With five issues slated so far, this is a fascinating look at a Rakshasa who is completely out of touch with the human world. This comes across brilliantly in the dialogue and the vocabulary of our main character. The artwork is unsettling, and hints at a deeper concealed violence. Bright, highly contrasting colors and the lack of detail to background characters places you in a weird fantastical environment. Overall, this reads like a really unique story spliced with food history. Even the lettering is distinct when they go from the academic discussion of food to the primary narrative.

Uncanny Spider-Man (Marvel Comics): Ever wonder what would happen if NIghtcrawler from the X-Men universe took up the mantle of Spider-Man? No? Well, here's your chance: WIth a *bamf* and some *thwip thwips*, Kurt Wagner is quickly becoming my friendly neighborhood Spider-Man of choice. This comic is light-hearted, tongue in cheek and filled with one-liners, as any good Spidey comic should be.

If you aren't up on the lastest state of X-Men comics, the biggest thing that comes into play in this comic is Krakoa (the "new" mutant nation-state), the Hellfire Gala event and the losses that Nightcrawler has survived. There's a brief synopsis and a literal inner demon that helps bring the readers up to speed with Kurt's recent exploits. Without revealing too much, there are some really neat villain appearances and design changes in store. There's also a listing in the back for additional issues that follow Kurt's plight.

Hawkgirl (2023) (DC Comics): Have you heard the good word about Hawkgirl? She has risen, and she's got her head full of her past lives. Hard to reconcile, really. There's also an introduction to an alien superheroine who goes by Galaxy, first seen in her graphic novel Galaxy: The Prettiest Star. I highly recommend reading Galaxy: the Prettiest Star as it is a moving story of a girl finally becoming who she is meant to be (alien princess, having hid her identity while on Earth) and openly celebrating it.

Jadzia Axelrod and Amancay Nahuelpan are excellently synchronized storytellers. We're currently on issue #3, so you have more than a taste of how things are unfolding within the story. Batman's response to Galaxy as a superheroine is perfect, and the tone of the story has just as much dramatic.tension as light-hearted, pithy moments. The villain has a compelling story, currently revealing only the outermost layers of their motivation and driving conflict.
All in all, it has been a sheer joy to read, and a multi-faceted saga that leaves its mark on the DC universe. I look forward to hearing from my (many?) loyal readers and what you think about it, or any other comics that are really resonating with you.
All I wanna do is dance, dance, dance, Dee