Comics
Review: ‘Captain Ultimate’ #1
Made with unabashed glee, “Captain Ultimate” #1 is an enjoyable and nostalgic trip to Saturday morning cartoons. Readers will be genuinely delighted by this endearing superhero tale. After an endless supply of dark and cynical anti-heroes, it’s a nice change of pace to have someone who stays faithfully true to their crystal clear message and doesn’t cross the line. There’s also a massive Cthulhu-inspired monster that attacks a city.
WRITTEN BY: Benjamin Bailey & Joey Esposito
ART BY: Boykoesh
PUBLISHER: MonkeyBrains Comics
PRICE: .99 cents
RELEASE: July 18th, 2013
Just when the city thought it was safe, a giant monster suddenly attacked with such an unstoppable fury. Innocent civilians are caught in the crossfire as tall buildings topple over and bridges collapse. When the world desperately needs a hero, there is no one to be seen. The legend of Captain Ultimate became a myth, then a faint whisper as his heroic stories were eventually forgotten. People just don’t believe in Captain Ultimate anymore, but a single young boy still does. Believing beyond hope, Milo will do anything he can to bring back Captain Ultimate, even if the others don’t want him.
Writers Benjamin Bailey and Joey Esposito tell the narrative from the point of view of Milo, who represents wide-eyed childhood innocence. Though the good-natured message is aimed for children, it really doesn’t talk down to them. Milo’s Bully may act like a jerk, but he doesn’t want to physically cause Milo pain. The Super Revenging Society, the squad full of dark and brooding adults, act more like bullies than he does. These anti-heroes are more about picking a fight on purpose, rather than saving the day.
What I really like is how Bailey and Esposito develop the relationship between Milo and the Bully. The two don’t like each other, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be friends. When the city is under attack, Milo and the Bully have a hilarious dynamic where the jokes switch back and forth between them. At one point, it’s the Bully who has to try and save Milo from the giant octopus alien monster.
Artist Boykoesh delivers a character design in Captain Ultimate that is purposely suitable for children. With his mustache and strong physique, Captain Ultimate is represents a father figure/role model for Milo. Notice when Captain Ultimate arrives in the pages, Milo is always looking up at him. Boykoesh keeps the panels from Milo’s perspective, making Captain Ultimate seem larger than life.
The Bully is a tongue-in-cheek homage to the classic Punisher look. Boykoesh illustrates the Bully, who idolizes anti-heroes, with these large white boots and a white skull on his T-shirt. Straight out of a cartoon, the Bully makes some really funny facial expressions with his long unibrow and black circles for eyes. Keeping with the animated spirit, Ed Ryzowski paints the pages with bouncy eye-catching colors.
“Captain Ultimate” #1 is is pure and fun for all ages. With a strong anti-bullying message and an endearing theme about friendship, this is a great way for kids to start picking up comics.
Rating: 4/5 skulls
Reviewed by – Jorge Solis
You can pick up the first issue online.
IDW Dark and Paramount recently joined forces to launch limited comic book tales set in the worlds of Smile and A Quiet Place, and we’ve learned today that they’ll continue hanging around in those franchise universes with two brand new limited series tales.
Entertainment Weekly has exclusively revealed this afternoon that IDW Dark’s Any Given Smile debuts in September, while A Quiet Place: Rising Tides arrives in November.
First up, from writer Stephanie Williams and artist Pablo Collar, Any Given Smile puts a football-themed twist on Parker Finn’s successful Smile movie franchise.
The five-part limited series is “set in January 1995, during the American Arena League football championship game in St. Augustine, Florida. The rising superstar of the Sharks, backup quarterback Dupree, is feeling the pressure from his teammates, the fans, and also the city’s gambling underworld, to whom he owes a considerable debt. Meanwhile, a sports journalist investigates a string of suicides that may be connected to the big game. At the very least, they are connected to a sinister entity that preys on the minds of its victims.”
From writer Declan Shalvey and artist Luke Sparrow, A Quiet Place: Rising Tides will also be a five-issue limited story. The comic book tale “brings the creatures to the Florida Keys, where a father-daughter duo attempt to survive on water in a houseboat.”
EW further details, “This tense family reunion coincides with the arrival of the vicious creatures that hunt through sound. Grace and her dad find safety on the open ocean, but she’ll have to make landfall sooner or later; the father’s oxygen tank and their supplies are running low, while a hurricane swiftly approaches.”
Learn more about both comic books over on Entertainment Weekly.
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