When Stan Lee created Spider-Man nearly 60 years ago, his core idea was that despite the power, despite the responsibility that went with it, Peter Parker was still an ordinary joe who learned the hard way that there is no profit in crimefighting. Peter wanted to help his aunt make ends meet, and, later, pay the rent on his own apartment, since his work as a news photographer didn't always pay the bills.
Local blogger Mike Spring has taken that idea one step further.
Earlier this year, Spring started a Kickstarter account to fund his first comic book effort, Red, White, & Broke: Confessions of an American Superhero, which arrived in stores just in time for Christmas.
Red, White, & Broke introduces us to Captain Stronghold, aka Robert Rhodes, who has all the tools, except for one important thing. He's broke. Rhodes reveals his identity on television, along with his plight, knowing full well he's only adding to his personal burden.
Spring is doing two things here. One, he's calling attention to the seriousness of the homeless in our society, pointing out that there could conceivably be a hero among them if they had the courage to stand up for themselves. He's showing his readers what the real world looks like through the lenses of his protagonist. Two, by having Rhodes reveal his secret identity, he's addressing the hubbub over Brian Bendis' decision earlier this year to have Superman reveal his dual identity as reporter Clark Kent, and how, as a fan, he feels about it.
Image courtesy of Kickstarter.
I want to take a moment to acknowledge artist Dennis Tirona, Spring's partner in this venture. He hits every note needed to carry the story.
Now, I don't know when the next issue comes out, but let's give Spring & Tirona credit where it's due for a job well done.
Rating: A-.
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Speaking of Bendis, one of the characters he created for Young Justice closes the door on the Wonder Comics imprint with her own 1-shot special.
Jinny Hex is, in fact, descended from Western hero Jonah Hex, who appears in a brief flashback. However, writer Magdalene Visaggio, remembering that Jonah became an icon in the 70's in the pages of Weird Western Tales (formerly All-Star Western), leans into a supernatural-centric plot that is too far removed from Young Justice. At her core, Virginia "Jinny" Hex is a small town girl who's in over her head with a problem she doesn't understand. Not what ye scribe expected.
Rating: C.
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There is nothing simple in anything Tom King writes.
The author now has a 3rd maxi-series (that's what they called 12 issue books back in the day) on the shelf with Batman-Catwoman. Instead of leaning into the plotline he'd started in Batman before being unceremoniously dumped a year ago, King decides to take readers back & forth in time, which I think he's also doing in Strange Adventures, except that this is a past/present/future storyline involving old foes such as the Joker, as well as the Phantasm, who was introduced in a DCAU movie several years back. The way this is being set, one would think King is bucking to take over Catwoman when this is all said & done, but, nope. I don't think he's going to be entrusted with another ongoing series going forward.
This is a pretty good thrill ride, though.
Rating: A.
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News & notes: The Joker will get his own book for the first time since the 70's come March, spinning out of the Infinite Frontier 1-shot. Seems the Clown Prince of Crime is on the run after doing something really heinous......It would appear that Justice League Dark is being folded into Justice League proper, with Brian Bendis taking over the latter book. Yes, he's apparently done with Legion of Superheroes, at least for now........DC, having already revised the whole core concept behind Swamp Thing thanks to Alan Moore back in the 80's, has found a new host for the character in the form of a fella from India, and the solicitations suggest this is more of a condition where the new guy can't control his changes. In short, I'm invoking caveat emptor with this one.
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