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Review: “The Squidder” #1

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10 years ago

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An action-packed sci-fi thriller, ” The Squidder” #1 takes readers on a surreal journey into the alien apocalypse. The experimental artwork will keep readers glued to the impressive pages.  If it’s butt-kicking action you crave “The Squidder” series will definitely fix that appetite of yours.

THE SQUIDDER 1 A - Ben Templesmith

 

WRITTEN BY: Ben Templesmith

ART BY: Ben Templesmith

PUBLISHER: IDW Publishing

PRICE: $3.99

RELEASE: July 16, 2013

Reviewed By Jorge Solis

An innocent little girl is brought to the religious tent. The parents say nothing while an old, hagged woman places her sickly hands on their daughter’s forehead. This innocent child is frightened by the moving suckers on the elderly woman’s palm. Today is a special occasion because a sacrifice has been brought to the alien gods. Death is only the beginning as the Squids have invaded earth and have wiped out humanity.

In the opening pages, writer/artist Ben Templesmith takes readers to a vivid and weird  futuristic setting. There are aspects of the western genre in the colorful imagery as Earth has become a nuclear wasteland. Because there is no more technology, notice how the light source always comes from torches. In just a few pages, Templesmith tells readers exactly what kind of hostile environment these characters are living in.

I really liked the character design of The Squidder. This lone anti-hero has a huge gun in one hand and a sword tied to his back. The sharp blade is also chained to his worn-out belt. I don’t know why the lone alien slayer would need chains, but all I can say is that it looks very stylish. The trench coat is drawn out long as if the loner is wearing a cape.   

Templesmith keeps the readers inside the Squidder’s mindset through his bleak first-person narration. When you see the man’s face, notice how the side is scarred by self-inflicted battle wounds; as if he himself had stitched his wounds. Because there are no doctors and hospitals anymore, the exiled solider cannot rely on anyone else to help him.

The first installment has done a great job introducing the setting and main protagonist. I was surprised to see how much action Templesmith could fit into one panel. In a jaw-dropping scene, the Squidder approaches his target, while being shot at point-blank. In an extreme close-up, you will see someone’s eyes gouged out.

“The Squidder” #1 is an action-packed romp that never slows down. I definitely want to see happens next issue.    

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‘The Toxic Avenger’ Returns with Cover Artwork for First Issue of New Comic Book Series [Exclusive]

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3 hours ago

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May 13, 2024

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With a remake on the way and a new 4K restoration of the original classic now streaming, it’s a good time to be a fan of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger. Additionally, Matt Bors — the founder of The Nib and a political cartoonist who has twice been named a Pulitzer Prize finalist —and acclaimed artist Fred Harper (Snelson) are collaborating on an all-new 5-issue comic book series starring the satirical superhero of the Troma Films cult classic films!

TOXIC AVENGER #1 will land in stores on October 9, 2024.

While you wait, you can exclusively check out the issue #1 cover art from Fred Harper below, along with a set of emojis designed by Harper for the extremely online teens of Tromaville.

“The Toxic Avenger delivers what Troma fans want,” said AHOY Comics Editor-in-Chief Tom Peyer. “The series has violent action, gross mutations, bursting pustules, eye-popping visuals, and trenchant humor.” 

“If there was ever a superhuman hero for these toxic, miserable times, Toxie is the one!” said Lloyd Kaufman. “Only AHOY Comics and Bors & Harper could pull this off…er…mop this up! Toxie and the Troma Team can’t wait ‘til you read -no, experience – the art and stories that the Toxic Avenger Comic Book will explode in your brain, your soul, and your heart. Above all, remember – Toxie loves you and so do I.”

“This series will combine elements of the original films with the Toxic Crusaders cartoon and characters in familiar ways, updated to tell a story of environmental devastation, corporate control, and social media mutation,” said Bors. “The Toxic Avenger is first and foremost an environmental satire, one about a small town and its unremarkable people trapped and transformed by circumstances they don’t control. The story Fred Harper and I are telling is about people frustrated by authorities telling them not to worry about their life, that things are fine, even as their dog mutates in front of their eyes. And at its core it is about a powerless boy, Melvin, who finds out he can be incredibly strong, hideously mutated, well-admired, and incredibly heroic… but still ultimately powerless over human behavior.”

In The Toxic Avenger, teenager Melvin Junko helps run his parent’s junkyard in Tromaville, a small town in New Jersey where nothing much ever happens — until an ill-timed train derailment of toxic waste transforms Melvin into a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!

Under a media blackout imposed by Biohazard Solutions (BS) and their PR-spewing Chairwoman Lindsay Flick, Melvin emerges as a hero fighting against BS and the mutated threats that keep popping up around Tromaville.

Eventually Melvin uncovers a vast conspiracy more far-reaching than he could have ever imagined — but he knows if everyone is simply made aware of the crisis, they’ll act to stop it. Right?

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