My Bad is back with more superhero, supervillains and super satire. This month’s issue sees two stories penned by Bryce Ingman and two by Mark Russell. Peter Krause delivers the artwork as usual, outside of the excellent extra by Joe Orsak (which we’ll get to). When a formula works, why wouldn’t you stick to it? My Bad tells you what it’s going to do, then it does it incredibly well.
The Good
The opening Chandelier story by Mark Russell once again highlights his stunning ability to name heroes and villains: this month, the ‘villain’ Lion L. Richie. It’s the way Russell’s stories are peppered with these little jokes that leaves readers either audibly chuckling or simply grinning throughout. The Chandelier stories in particular are reminiscent of the films of David Zucker. Not a page goes by that doesn’t feature a gag somewhere. All the while, the plot moves forward.
‘The Fourth Power’ and ‘All Out of Acid’ are back to back stories by Ingman that work as their own two-parter of sorts. Rush Hour is finally out of Emperor King’s trap, although he is out of the frying pan to an extent. These chapters work really well at developing an actual plot line, something that’s been a little missing in previous issues. There are still plenty of jokes here, but the way plot is prioritized is almost surprising given the book.
‘Draw Me’ by Russell and Orsak is only one page comic but it is such a glowing standout of the issue. That’s not to diminish the rest of the book in any way, but this story is just perfect. In six panels the reader is taken through so much. Those six panels say more about the comic industry than so many full issues can. It’s the kind of story that deserves to go viral. Everyone with even a passing interest in comics should read it. Not to sound hyperbolic, but it is simply fantastic. It’s not every day a one page comic can make you both laugh and cry.
The ‘Bad’
As ever it feels silly to come off a positive quite as high as that one and try and find a negative. There’s really none here and that’s not a cop out. At this stage in the game, readers will know if My Bad is for them or not. While there’s the one page extra that transcends the book to an extent, the rest is more of the same great stuff.
The Verdict
My Bad #4 keeps doing what it’s doing: fantastic humor, great satire, at times genuinely provoking parody. It’s all here. If you’re looking for a laugh, this is probably the book.
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