From the World of Minor Threats: Welcome to Twilight is a new anthology series set in the same chaotic universe as Jordan Blum and Patton Oswalt’s Minor Threats, giving us new stories from rotating teams of top creators. This issue comes out the gate swinging with a wild tale from Matt Fraction, Jordan Blum, Patton Oswalt, Nate Piekos, Michael Allred, and Laura Allred. The first issue of Welcome to Twilight introduces us to Ben Bronkman, a lucky (or unlucky?) so-and-so who was born with non-functional wings and parlayed his unique appearance into fame as the star of a Miami Vice-style television series.
Years after the show left the air, the actor is still playing the convention circuit and trying his damndest to resurrect his lagging career to little success. This creates a unique emotional space for the character to inhabit, as the people who know his work love him, but he feels increasingly disconnected from the next generation of viewers and the entertainment industry that’s catering to their limited attention spans. Think Michael Keaton’s Birdman by way of Steve Martin’s Charles-Haden Savage in Only Murders in the Building. By sheer chance, the disillusioned former star falls head over heels in love with a seemingly deranged woman he meets in a bar, which spins him into a whole other world of crime and intrigue.
That’s a whole lot of ground to cover in just one issue, and while I might have enjoyed another issue to give this story some breathing room, Matt Fraction’s script does an admirable job of balancing the elements I just mentioned and more. Like all of the best output from the Minor Threats catalogue, this issue works as a contemplative character study that plays out in the midst of one of the silliest worlds we’ve ever seen in comics.
We meet a siren with an overwhelming desire to drown herself, a man with a man for a face (you read that right), and an aging talent agent with super-speed and not much else going for him. The jokes come quickly and constantly, satirizing everything from our reboot-obsessed culture to the way we treat pop culture icons in their golden years. Fraction even works a little blue here, particularly when it comes to cracking jokes about how attracted Bronkman is to the woman of his dreams.
Dark Horse
Also like most Minor Threats stories, there’s no clear division between good and evil here. Sure, we know who the villain of the story here is, but Bronkman isn’t exactly the most ingratiating protagonist. He’s a misogynist pig and seems to be attempting to stay in some form of denial about the end of his career. He’s a tough guy to like, but there’s something undeniably exciting about seeing him reach for the stars, so to speak. When he attempts his redemption run at the very end of the issue, you almost want to cheer. Of course, Fraction knows that this isn’t the kind of world where victories come easily, and the ending of the story may surprise readers.
The Allreds bring all of it to dazzling life, capturing the glitzy excess of Hollywood and the weird glossy back hallways of a convention center. There’s a sense of glamor to the book, as though we’re seeing everything through the rose-colored glasses of its increasingly disillusioned protagonist. The character acting is also on point, selling many of the jokes, sight gags, and the somber moments with aplomb. In the few moments where we get to see something truly superheroic in nature take place, there’s a zippiness and a nice kinetic energy to the artwork that makes it all stand out.
Overall, this is an excellent start to this latest endeavor from the Minor Threats umbrella. It does a great job as an entry point for folks who haven’t read ‘Minor Threats’ before, but also enriches the world for longtime readers. One of the most wonderfully strange universes in comics is getting even more interesting.
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