CBD 02/17/2010

Tick: New Series, Atomic Robo, Tiny Titans

This was an awesome week for comics. I can't say what else may have come out, but this week made me about as happy as I can be made by the comics waiting for me in my box at the Comics Shop.

Tiny Titans #25 - Still my favorite take on the DC Universe that is currently running. Conner comes back and fun times ensue. We meet Match, who is Conner's genetic match, and more or less his bizzarro. We also get a story where all of the girls end up with the multi colored lantern rings titled "Brightest Day in the Afternoon" Which is cute and funny.

Atomic Robo: Revenge of the Vampire Dimension #1 - I was really thrilled to see another Robo series starting. I guess I missed hearing about this one somehow, but fortunately my LCS loves me. This series starts with two applicants showing up at the same time to interview, and some insight into the decision making process for hiring new Action Scientists. Somehow the barrier between our dimension and that of the Vampire Dimension (not classic vampires, just called that because of their basic traits) has been breached. Fortunately Jenkins is on our side. This is funny and smart, and just clicks. So far every mini series in this title has been completely different, while delivering the same great payoffs of humor and characters and story. Issue three of this promises to give us some more Dr. Dinosaur(as if it wasn't already a must-read)

The Tick, New Series #2 - I have read some Edlund Tick and enjoyed it a lot. I have watched the cartoon and the live-action series, and enjoyed them both, with a strong preference for the cartoon, but a love of both. Benito Cereno and Les McClaine are delivering a product that absolutely captures the humor and familiar style and feel that I know and love from those variations(all of them different, but all with the same sort of feel, and the same treatment of the characters and setting and tone). It also brings it's own qualities that make it way more than just a treatment of a license or some such. I laughed through the entire issue and was left with a smile on my face when it was done. It wasn't nostalgia for what has gone on previously that made me laugh. I highly recommend this for fans of any previous presentation of the Tick, as well as for anyone that like their funnybooks to be funny.

The Issue at Hand: The Tick New Series #1

The first issue of the new ongoing Tick series came out last Wednesday. Unfortunately for me i didn't pick up my comics until today. The really great news is that in addition to there being a copy in my box, there was also a copy on the shelf. This is in a store that doesn't tend to use a lot of shelf space for comics that aren't from the top four or five publishers, but it was there. Hopefully it will catch the eye of someone who has fond memories of the Tick from its various incarnations who didn't realize that a new series was starting.

Despite some very unnecessary self deprecation by the author, both on his blog, and on the Arachnida page at the back of the comic, This is an exceptional book. I understand the fear that there will be disappointment from people who are only familiar with the Tick from the very excellent Fox cartoon that ran in the 1990's. There are a lot of characters that were created exclusively for the show, and they will not be in the comic. There are a lot of characters from the cartoon that created very strong and lasting impressions on people. I don't see this as a negative.

In the case of the Tick, I think that the humor and the tone are most important. The cartoon recreated and perfected the tone and humor of the original comics. Subsequent comics in my opinion were created with an awareness of what had already been done.

This latest offering does the same thing. It draws upon the tone and the humor, it uses existing characters, and adds it's own new elements. Cereno perfectly creates situations and stories within the existing framework of the character, and does so at a level that keeps you from even wondering about the creative team as you are reading it. This is an extremely funny new book that feels familiar in the best possible way. Les McClaine's art is fantastic in the same way as the writing is. When you look at it, it looks like what you are expecting. The book will get a lot of people's money based on the fact that it elicits this sense of familiarity. The good news is that you get more than just the familiar in both the writing and the art. The expressions that McClaine brings out in the characters are what really tie the comic together.

Issue number 1 focuses on two separate Christmas parties. One is for heroes at the Comet Club, and the other is for sidekicks in the Sidekick Lounge at the same venue. In each party there is a gift exchange going on, and stories are being told by both the sidekicks and a group of super-villains gathered in a lounge at the institution in which they are housed. There is an underlying story relating to the gifts, but we also see a handful of times when the Tick ruined a number of villains Christmas-time exploits.

The Tick New Series #1 is good comics. It's funny, well written, and the art is spot on. The 4.95 price tag may seem a bit steep in relation to mainstream comics, but don't let that stop you. If you love the Tick, you will love this. If you are a fan of funny riffs on superheroes, you won't be disappointed.

The Tick ongoing series

What is better than the idea of a new Tick ongoing series? Maybe one that is written By Benito Cereno and Drawn by Les McClaine? Maybe one that kicks off with a holiday special?

Yes, really.

Don't let this one slip by you. If you want to pick this comic up, you will most likely have to order it in advance. Tell your local comic shop that you want it (Diamond code SEP09 0937 ) or order it at a savings from some place like... this for instance:
http://www.badgercomics.com/subproduct_info.php/New_England_Comics/TICK_NEW_SERIES__1/ukv/1/products_id/SEP090937

I am genuinely excited about this. There really aren't many comics that I have been this excited about in a while. The Tick is absolutely a sentimental favorite of mine. It is great to see it in the hands of two people who seem completely qualified to function on the level such a title needs and deserves... no pressure guys... just ALL THE PRESSURE IN THE WORLD!

Insert some sports metaphor about success here.

While you are waiting for the book to come out, you should check out Benito's LJ, or follow him on twitter or both.