Welcome to another edition of Last Call Comics. Here, as we continually bolster AIPT’s weekly comics coverage, we catch any titles that might’ve fallen through the cracks. Or those books that we might not cover but still deserve a little spotlight. Either way, it’s a chance to explore more comics, generate some novel insights, and maybe add to everyone’s to-be-read pile.
Once more, happy New Comic Book Day to everyone.
From the World of Minor Threats: The Alternates #4
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
I’m not going to lie, I was taken by surprise when solicitations revealed that issue #4 was the finale for The Alternates. Sure, it made sense logistically: as the team searched for the source of The Prestige (a kind of reality-altering drug tied to their time in The Ledge), everything was ready for that sweet wrap-up bow. At the same time, there still felt like plenty of unresolved threads and bits of tension to push this series out further.
But then maybe that’s all on me. Was I truly prepared for the definitive conclusion that comes with a tight four-issue run, or was I simply un-ready to stop chasing this mighty dragon of poignant superhero comics?
And I have to say, I’m profoundly satisfied with this powerful and effective ending.
Because, as I’d mentioned in my review of #3, The Alternates is ultimately a story about or paralleling addiction. Not necessarily to drugs (but most certainly!), but also this novel idea that we are locked to certain forces and pillars beyond our control, and we must work to maintain ourselves amid this struggle. As for the team, that idea took a decidedly massive turn — one with a distinctly meta sheen after they ran into duplicates near the end of #3.
I won’t even spoil one-tenth of the actual storyline in #4, but there’s a few important takeaways. For one, that addiction framework is simply marvelous here; it’s really a powerful thread for exploring ideas of identity and community. In turn, that emphasis really helps with facilitating the meta angle a bit, and that helps the writers (Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and Tim Seeley) nail this “gimmick” in a way that keeps the focus primarily on the team. More than focusing on the team’s issues and not just their fictional status, though, the meta angle rings true for us actual humans — it becomes this connective energy that helps us explore those times we’ve felt like a lost protagonist in our own stories. Plus, we also get a really solid focus on Kid Curious, who is a genuinely solid mirror into all this deeply metaphysical stuff given that he seemed the most dedicated (and maybe obsessive) in exploring everything that The Ledge represented.
Even still, there’s so much more that I could share, but then I’d ruin the story’s greatest accomplishment: a genuinely groundbreaking and equally affecting exploration of superhero comics. It’s one thing to push our understanding of these characters and stories, and our own relationship (maybe even addiction?) to this grandiose canon. It’s another thing to do that and to cut so close to the bone that the “gimmickry” fades and all we’re left with is a story of how we all try and save our own lives each and everyday. That’s the thing that perhaps helped this distinctly meta pivot truly land, and made all the existential vivisections feel like an earnest commentary on life and how we’re mostly getting by. I love the interplay between these massive ideas and how they ultimately ring true in everyday life — it’s made some other meta stories feel lost and needlessly involved by mere comparison.
And speaking of other superhero-centric stories paling in comparison, we have to talk about the art (with Christopher Mitten and Ian Herring once again handling the bulk of the issue, and Tess Fowler overseeing a few key pages). Because in an issue where so much happened across the entire board, the visuals played a decidedly interesting role.
In a story with trans-dimensional duplicates, psychedelic airships, and reality-altering drugs, the art team clearly had their work cut out for them. Yet they met the unique challenges of this issue by leaning into what they’ve done best across this series. The action remains inventive and visceral, and added to and extended the key themes of a big Alternates vs. Alternates fight scene. The use of color not only accomplished a few key functions — i.e., drawing distinctions between the two teams, adding heft to parts with The Ledge — but it also helped track the ebb and flow of the story as it built toward the finale. Even something like the balance within this issue — pushing along a somewhat involved narrative that straddled two realities — only happened as the art managed to streamline these efforts and guide us without taking away from the sheer impact of these massive scenes/moments.
Because there were plenty of moments across this issue where I wanted to get totally lost. The full-page Kid Curious image toward the front, for instance, is a mind-blasting piece that spoke volumes and will be one of my favorite pages for the foreseeable future. Or, toward the issue’s end, another psychedelic shot of the team that works as a nice showpiece for the achievements and ideas of issue #4. And, sure, these instances had proper story relevance and whatnot, but I think they were just as much to show off. Novel spaces to give the art team more spotlight amid a pretty heavy and heady issue and just let the light (and maybe blood) in a little more.
From that, we get a little room to breathe as the narrative marinates a bit while also contextualizing these grand ideas and concepts in more readily digestible formats. It was a nice change of pace in a way, as these moments felt like little islands to help with your immersion and showcase the depth and context of the team’s larger story-making magic. It was here that everything lost and gained scale at once, and the story seemed to cement in all its unwavering power.
No matter what this story did to the superhero canon, one thing proves immutable: there’s always room for a second chapter/story. And that’s true of The Alternates, as enough fresh road was teased that we could see even more from this “improved” iteration of the squad. While I’d readily and greedily consume a new series down the road, a big part of me is hoping this is the end for The Alternates. I don’t know how they’ll respond to this “new” world, and if they can keep marching along with each other’s support. And not knowing seems sort of like the point — you just have to keep moving to figure anything out at all. It’s just one lesson and gem that this book’s offered, and I feel irrevocably changed for having experienced this proper rush to the head and heart.
Final Thought: A poignant, trippy ending for this compelling dissection of superhero comics.
Score: 9.5/10
Blade #6
Courtesy of Marvel Comics.
With Blade, you can’t ever get too comfortable. He’ll just soon as make a joke at your expense as cut you in half. That’s doubly true of the Daywalker’s latest ongoing series from writer Bryan Hill. Because after starting out as what was effectively a supernatural heist film, issue #6 sees the book (and our hero) pivot in a major way.
If you want a clear cut example of what Hill is trying to do with Blade, this is the issue. Because, on the surface, it utilizes a slightly hokey device: after getting beat down by the demon Adana, Blade turns to an old foe in Dracula for some much-needed advice/training. And from that premise, we get a really important and thoughtful exploration of Blade — specifically, the way he maintains his humanity and the value it holds.
But this whole run has been about rebuilding Blade (and our understanding of him), and so the Dracula link-up (which feels like it’s out of a proper kung-fu flick) is about making him face big, uncomfortable truths. It’s a training lesson in sword work as much as it is a re-training session, with Blade having to re-contextualize who he is and who he must become to beat Adana and save the world (and his friends/allies). It’s a tough and terrible process for the Daywalker, and he emerges different in some subtle but noticeable ways.
Hill’s efforts to present a different kind of Blade pay off in this issue by stripping away certain sensibilities and understandings to leave a hungrier, more uneasy Blade in its wake. And that feels like a big win: it’s not about some massive, potentially temporary transformation, but excising layers to give us a version of Blade like we’ve rarely seen before. It feels perfectly connected to the slower, more deliberate pace of this book so far, and it’s a nice shift in terms of the scope. Plus, the fun use of different cinematic genres/tropes feels like an extra interesting device.
If there’s any point of this issue that I had any “problems” with, its that we get a new artist in Lee Ferguson (even as KJ Diaz continues on as colorist). That’s not to say Ferguson’s work isn’t great (more on that oh-so shortly), but of the handful of artists to work on this book so far (including Elena Casagrande), I liked the sense of familiarity and specific dynamic action.
But then maybe a new artist makes sense with a pivot, as it were, and Ferguson is a solid pick nonetheless for this issue’s end goals. Particularly because there is a enough of a carryover stylistically with other issues, even as Ferguson has a slightly more intimate and expressive style, and that helps foster the mood and tension with the Blade-Dracula interactions. (Those same sensibilities give power to some really solid Dracula-starring flashbacks that really cement and contextualize the pair’s shared history/larger connections.)
But also I think Ferguson’s approach to fight/action scenes really places some greater focus on Blade — we don’t get as much super sweet gore but we do get to see how all this violence is affecting Blade and his continued “evolution.” (Rest easy, though, as some nameless vamps are still literally ripped apart limb by limb.) The action across this book has always been deliberate and important, but here it just feels as if it’s drawing out emotions in a really subtle way while also further grounding the slightly gimmicky nature of “hero teams up with bitter foe.” You can almost see the mix of confidence and unease as Blade figures out a new approach to fighting (his life’s mission, basically), and that lands with the heft of a proper haymaker.
If we’re continuing with the whole kung-fu arc that this book’s taken on, next up is likely a big confrontation with Adana. (Which might come after #7 given that issue’s focus on another “strange” collaboration.) That fight won’t just be even more epic, but a chance for Blade to show off his new approach in some vivid ways. Will he regret his choices, or will he lean into whatever beast resides within? This series, and this issue particularly, have proven that whatever the step, it’s going to prove super uncomfortable and wholly revealing for vampire and reader alike.
Final Thought: The story and hero evolve in bold and deliberate new directions.
Score: 8/10
Operation Sunshine #3
Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics.
So far, Operation Sunshine hasn’t exactly been subtle in its efforts to build a story. After #1 gave us a solid groundwork, things really and truly ramped up with issue #2. So where are we at with #3? Why, we get the best of both worlds, as it were, as this book continues to excel so early on.
If you’re unaware/out of step, the book follows Steve (a newbie vamp) and Hex (an older, kind of street urchin-y vamp) as they look to steal an artifact from the Original Vampires to return their humanity. Issue #2 certainly complicated that narrative, especially with the presence of some para-military vamp fighters and Anwar (an OV who may be playing all sides). But in issue #3, the writers (Last Podcast on the Left‘s Henry Zebrowski and Marcus Parks) seem to have the wherewithal to handle things a touch differently.
For one, we get a much slower pace that 1) centers around the ever-evolving, especially dynamic partnership between Hex and Steve and 2) build up the decidedly robust lore of this world in a massive manner. There’s lots of crevices and little crannies for us to see into, and whether it’s vampire history or strange underground cities, all of it feels big and important without overwhelming the reader. When there is a kind of abrupt “rush” at the issue’s end — we see the role Anwar is playing and also the other players opposing our plucky heroes — it feels appropriately big and exciting (again, without overwhelming the audience).
It’s not to say this “tendency” was missing from #2 (although it maybe did feel like that issue was trying to do a lot in a smaller space), but that #3 was both careful and considerate in dropping big ideas and emotions after a rather deliberate effort to ground us and our understanding of this world.
If there’s any downside to the approach, though, it’s that things can feel like the happen all at once, and this book is “stuck” between two pillars, as it were: the grand finale and everything else. And as much oomph as the final moments/pages provide, I felt myself more compelled by the build than over any “reveal” or sudden uptick. The book works best in “sitcom mode,” as that’s when characters get a chance to meander to new insights and ideas.
A big part of what helped with this issue’s pacing is the visuals (from artist David Rubin and colorist K.J. Diaz). The bulk of then cohesion, then, stems from just how perfectly Rubin has built the look and feel of this world. I’d mentioned in some other reviews that he’s got such a keen eye for world-building, and that felt extra apparent in issue #3. Whether he’s showing us the shape of that underground vamp city, or balancing character work in in a big fight scene, Rubin (with a big assist from Diaz’s extra sharp colors) has breathed real life and depth into this singular take on the Big Apple. Plus, so much of the humor-horror connection exists visually, and that unique interplay is another inventive notch for this book.
But truly, it’s that sustained care and overt attention for detail and vividness that makes the “slower” build across #3 feel more vivid; we not only care about Hex and Steve because of their unique dynamic but because there’s real joy and gore and history and intensity baked into the world they’re building together.
But it’s not just them, either, and issue #3 felt like the first time we’re getting a proper supporting cast. (Beyond, of course, Anwar, who has been a really interesting addition to this already complicated vampire heist.) Be it Tick, who runs a vampire bar, or some Nosferatu-looking fella with an eye for Steve, these new faces pad the story’s continued development while adding to the many layers and perspectives of the surrounding world. It’s nice that the story’s growing and growing, but it’s just as pleasing to see the characters and the way this place looks and feels can actually keep pace. Otherise, we’d have a big story with almost nowhere to go.
If you’re telling a vampire heist story, maybe subtlety isn’t the best end goal. And yet this book has still tried to be thoughtful and perhaps even plotted as it builds the world around this wacky (and sometimes unnerving) set of characters. From those efforts, we get something that feels substantial without ever lacking the joy, gore, and insanity of it all. Wherever this tale’s building to, we’re in for something as moving as it is downright unsettling.
Final Thought: This vampire story goes for the heart and jugular at every turn.
Score: 8/10
Scrapper #6
Courtesy of Image Comics.
In my review of issue #5, I mentioned already knowing the ending of Scrapper. As it turns out, I wasn’t that far off — we get a mostly positive ending for our titular canine hero and his many human and animal companions. And, as it turns out, there’s lots to learn and reflect on with this adorable little series’ sentimental finale.
I think in some ways, at least early on, I struggled with the arc that writers Cliff Bleszinski and Alex de Campi had set out for Scrapper and company. Because it seemed a little unsure and tenuous — as if the book’s core identity wasn’t really fleshed out beyond the core gimmick. But by issue #4, it seemed as if the path was more solid than ever, and certainly that is reflected as we wrap up with #6. Because the story about a talking dog with a super collar could have ended up in a few places, but where it did land was delightfully cheesy and wholly uplifting.
Issue #6, in particular, doubled down on the sentiments with levels of bravery and chutzpah that this book had not achieved before. It spent less time focusing less on the much-awaited Scrapper/SMITE battle and more on the fallout — letting us focus on how these creatures are going to define their lives moving forward. And it really worked: no more tenuous identity, as this book embraced its final form to offer something not only encouraging but one that balanced nostalgic tendencies and modern politics/woes with grace and creativity.
Can this trajectory, especially in this issue, feel a touch overwhelming at times? Sure, but once again, we knew what we’d gotten into with talking dogs and a collar that shoots missiles. It’s a level of positivity and warmth that may feel too much for some folks, but maybe that kind of “shock” is ultimately a good thing. A reminder that comics are a place for the silly and the life-affirming as much as overt violence and edginess galore, and you can root on something “dumb” and have that belief pay off. If you get caught up in cats with mind control powers, maybe you’re missing the larger lesson and/or reasoning here.
Still, I think if there’s an actual “downside” to this issue, it’s the lack of pointed artistic achievements. Be it Sandy Jarrell in the first few issues, or the duo of Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire since, the art in this book has usually facilitated so much of that over-the-top joy and aw-shucks sentimentality. That’s not to say that #6 somehow drops the ball, but it just didn’t feel like that grand of a finale. (For instance, there’s a twist/reveal in this ending, and from a visual standpoint, it doesn’t resonate that grandly, and thus it feels a touch lacking from a storyline perspective.)
I think after five issues that played with pulp-y visuals, and that added some depth and nuance to this decidedly wacky world, I just left #6 feeling like there wasn’t enough force or overt emotionality to carry these final big moments, especially when the writing was clearly coming into its own in terms of embracing its identity and those primary sentimental tent poles. Maybe some of that’s from the shape of this story, and how a lot of it was focused on the aforementioned emotional fallout versus the actual ation. (Still, that’s happened elsewhere in this book, and the art brought enough sizzle to nonetheless bridge the gap, as it were.)
But I think it mostly felt like a disconnect between what was being explored and what the art could have done to fully extend these moments. Like, the way the people of the city responded to SMITE’s final moments, or a proper reunion between Scrapper and his mom — those were the action shots of this issue, and they just didn’t have the spark to make them more. Which, again, there was a track record beforehand, but for some reason issue #6 couldn’t facilitate the same blend and stylistic magic. Sure, it maybe hurt the ending a touch, but mostly it was a case where you wanted the art to really extend your existing rush of emotional joy during these final moments.
In another case of “I totes saw this coming,” the book sets up another chapter for Scrapper and his friends/family. And even without the truly solid landing of issue #6, I would have returned to this world for a sequel (or maybe a prequel?!) Because talking superhero dogs is always a good thing, but that’s extra true when a book is also this silly, sentimental, and unwavering in its exploration of big themes (read: found families and fighting for our future together). Scrapper is the best kind of pup, and while he was never perfect, he worked his way into all the places we call home.
Final Thought: A winning finale for this cute and quirky (super) dog’s tale.
Score: 7.5/10
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