Light Week? Try Age of Heroes #1 and Scalped #1

A wise man once said, "Variety is the spice of life," and where better to live out that phrase than at the comic book store.  Sure, you love your comics that you buy week in and week out, but have you ever thought about trying something…different?  Give it a shot, it might feel uncomfortable at first, but after you try it, you just might like it…


Josh says try:

Scalped #1

By Jason Aaron and R.M. Guerra

Look at this guy, playing to type, right?  Well screw it.  The reasons for this inclusion are two fold.  For one thing, I blew it when the first issue came out, and basically called it a 100 Bullets wannabe.  For the other, it's one stinkin' dollar.  So, this is for all your holdouts who didn't want to try the trade (with a money back guarantee no less) for ten bucks.  If you're just reading superheroes and there's a little ache, a wee twinge, a… curiosity, if you will, then this is your entry.  Take it.  You know Jason Aaron. He is not an unknown quantity. You'd watch a movie about this, or a show on HBO, but there is a comic, and it is masterful, and this is one dollar, and you should just get it.  If you like it, get the trade.  Let it bring you in, and join the club. You've always been curious.  Spend the dollar.

Ron says try:

Age of Heroes

Age of Heroes #1

By Kurt Busiek, Paul Cornell, Rick Remender, Dan Slott, Marko Djurdjevic, Leonard Kirk & Chris Samnee

This one is a no-brainer.  Not only is it the mini-stories anthology type miniseries that Marvel's been doing around these events (which I've been loving), but it's Kurt Buisek's first work at Marvel in a while, Paul Cornell along with Leonard Kirk doing Captain Britain AND Rick Remender and Chris Samnee all in one book?  This is about as close to comic book nerdgasm I could think of.  If you're looking for some fun, light stories that are loosely tied to the new Heroic Age status quo, but aren't heavy on continuity, then this is the book for you!

Comments

  1. I might pick up a few copies of Scalped for some friends who might like it.

  2. Love to see Cornell and Kirk back on the character they’re ment to work on. Although that cover is hideous…

  3. picked up first scalped trade (can’t go wrong for $9.99) and looking forward to it!

  4. That Heroic Age banner is ugly. Couldn’t Marvel tap into their vast collection of staff artists to come up with something that looks like it didn’t take 7 minutes to concoct in Photoshop?

  5. @vinh–just because they can draw superheroes doesn’t mean they’re competent graphic designers.

  6. @wally  yeah but they have graphic design people on staff for all the other logos and what not.

  7. @roivampire–yeah yeah i know. From what i’ve seen and heard they just get swamped with ridiculous amounts of workload so they just have to crank this stuff out. To be fair, a "good enough" logo has no effect on sales since the audience is more into the artist/writer teams and story arcs than the cover design. As a designer I just cringe when I see some of the stuff thats put out there. 

  8. Good to see you’re still encouraging people to read Scalped, Josh. This is one of the all time great crime comics. 

  9. You know, i just going to say stay away from Scalped. I think that it really doesn’t have much substance instead creates an atmosphere of seriousness and importance by placing the reader in a shitty environment and having characters take drug and swear a lot. It’s like the worst example of grim and gritty comics. (like the movie Anti-Chirst had deadly serious themes but was just a joke)

    It pays on the prejudices of the reader because there is no way that the characters or setting is true to life at all. Instead Arron does a good job expanding on the worst stereotypes or maybe the most extreme idea of native Americans held by middle class white people.

    That is when the characters simply totally over the top like Diesel, the blonde haired blue-eyed native American who is strung out of drug but actually an undercover FBI agent.

    The art is muddy without being atmospheric or moody with the action of the story being difficult to follow.

    If you think this a realistic depiction of a crime story or life on a reverse than you must also think that Smoking Aces was a documentary

  10. Of course I’m going to get age of heroes #1, Paul Cornell in his last crack at Captain Britain and art by Chris Samnee! I’m spent.

  11. PS @Edward I don’t think that this is the proper way to go on a diatribe about disliking scalped. Wasted calories man. I don’t remember reading anywhere that Josh thought this was a realistic depiction of anything. I respect your opinion but it’s a comic. It’s supposed to be over the top.

  12. @ato22: First, Dude, i once heard Josh say he couldn’t believe Jason Arron was white because the depiction of the reserve was so truthful

    Secondly, So Scalped is above reproach?  it’s those kind of universal declarations and that myopic approach to comic books that make fanboys truely obnoxious (not that i am saying you are a fanboy)

  13. Whatever. I really like reading it. That’s enough for me. Others do and will.

    Watch that you’re not trolling now.

  14. it’s an opinion, backed up with legitimate criticisms. is that trolling? 

  15. For me, Scalped was sorta like Fables.  It’s awesome, but it really didn’t grab me until the second trade/arc.

  16. i gave it four grades. They weren’t MY thing

  17. I picked up the first trade of Scalped today based on the recommendation. The art looks great and I’m excited to read it, especially since i have some family and friends who live on a reservation. Forgot what thread it was in but here’s a big green tongue out at the guy who said that this site and the podcasts don’t affect what people buy. =p