There’s an Important New Superhero Universe in town. Ahoy’s My Bad is the creation of writers Mark Russell and Bryce Ingman, along with artist Peter Krause. Together they have created a highly satirical superhero universe that takes aim at everything in contemporary superhero comics. For the opening issue, the writers split their duties between four stories, set within the INSU. There are of course extras (it’s an Ahoy comic after all) but they take on a slightly different look this time around.
The Good
My Bad is about as funny as a superhero comic can be. Both Russell and Ingman pull no punches. As an introductory issue, the book does a good job of presenting these new characters to the readers. Of course, being a satire, a lot of the work is done already given that the characters are riffs on famous ones. The Chandelier for example is a particularly sharp critique of Batman.
But on top of the premise, a superhero universe made of satiric heroes, the book is actually funny. “Happy Birthday”, the opening story featuring the Chandelier, is fantastic. It perfectly encapsulates all the problems with the billionaire superhero trope but it does so in a way that isn’t just kicking a dead horse.
Ingman’s stories feature speedsters and the satire gets a little more broad. While it’s easy to connect the Chandelier with Batman, both Rush Hour and the Accelerator are more distinct. It’s good that the book establishes early that it won’t just be a The Boys-style critique of famous superheroes. My Bad has some depth to it.
The extras this time around aren’t like anything Ahoy have done before. Rather than the short prose stories readers will be accustomed to, My Bad features extras that expand on the INSU. Russell’s “Toy Ad” is a particularly poignant poke at the ads seen in comics of yesteryear. Scott Morse’s “Bad Libs” again harkens back to another time with a fill in the blank style story that gives endless room for humor.
Throughout the book the unsung hero is Peter Krause, who delivers artwork for the main stories. This consistency in style lends itself well to the book, especially as it sets up who everyone is.
The ‘Bad’
You really can’t complain with a new Russell and Ingman book. Fans of Ahoy may be disappointed in the lack of prose here, but that’s more than made up for by the extras anyway. As a superhero universe satire, it can be a bit of a hard sell in the days of MCU fatigue and endless Deadpool jokes online, but there is fun to be had here. Russell, Ingman and Krause prove there’s still humor to be found in satirizing the superhero genre.
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