This week’s main review is Doll Parts – A Lovesick Tale #1, which is a prelude to Luana Vecchio’s hit horror comic. Plus, the Wednesday Comics Team has its usual rundown of the new #1s, finales and other notable issues from non-Big 2 publishers, all of which you can find below … enjoy!
Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale #1
Writer / Artist: Luana Vecchio
Translator: Edward Caio
Publisher: Image Comics
Review by Jared Bird
A prequel miniseries to her visceral and explosive debut Lovesick, rising star writer / artist Luana Vecchio returns with Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale. While eventually Madeleine becomes known as Domino, once upon a time she was just a young girl, trying to survive ballet classes and annoying classmates. She’s trying to do what she’s told, keep her head down, and avoid causing a scene, but that’s easier said than done in our world, where monsters lurk in the daytime.
At its core, the story of Doll Parts is a bittersweet tragedy. Madeleine is by all means a regular girl, who enjoys being a child and doesn’t want to grow up just yet. That makes the events that happen to her all the more tragic. You don’t need to read Lovesick to appreciate Doll Parts, as both work separate from each other but it adds a lens of inevitable tragedy that enriches both texts. There’s a darkness to the core of this story that is very real and very impactful, and it’s going to incite a lot of feelings in any readers that decide to check it out. That’s a brilliant thing in itself, but especially given the themes tackled in the story. It’s told over the course of 44 pages as well, which gives the story time to breathe and really allow the reader to emotionally connect with our protagonist and her journey.
The writing by Vecchio, adapted into English by her frequent collaborator Edward Caio, is fantastic. Vecchio has such an intrinsic understanding of how to craft intensely visceral horror moments, but it never feels like the story only exists to build to those scenes. Instead, they feel like an organic payoff of the direction the narrative is already headed into, and the graphic nature of such scenes isn’t just used for shock value. Vecchio is tackling internalised and systematic misogyny head on in this narrative, exploring how the patriarchy pits women against each other, as well as the violence and sexual violence conducted by men and directed towards women and girls. It’s serious stuff, and Vecchio doesn’t hold back – it’s not a light read, and not for everyone, but it’s incredibly important, and feels incredibly timely. Vecchio isn’t afraid to make you uncomfortable, and let you deal with the uncomfortable truth.
Unsurprisingly, Vecchio’s artwork is incredible. Gorgeously illustrated panels fill the pages, organically building a slow dread and tension as the story evolves. By the time you get to the end of the issue, you already feel like you’ve been on a journey, and yet, it’s just the beginning of what’s to come. Vecchio is great at drawing sexuality and violence with respect and without exploitative qualities, and that’s even more apparent here. Madeleine’s gentle world of her youth is wonderfully realised, as is the violent interruption of it that leads the story into place. It’s worth every cent and more just to see Vecchio’s fantastic artwork.
Doll Parts: A Lovesick Tale is not going to be something for everyone, but readers who do check it out will be treated with one of the most impactful, visceral horror comics of the year. It’s a tragic, sad story about how society and the world fails at protecting young girls from the impacts of misogynistic violence, whilst also being a compelling read with a loveable protagonist and beautiful artwork. It’s transgressive in its presentation of sexuality and violence, tackling them with care and without exploitation. It’s also something genuinely important, trying to explore something that so many people experience in our world, which doesn’t get talked about enough Luana Vecchio has created something special here, and it earns its pagecount and more. Check it out if you dare, but beware – dark things lurk in the corners we least expect.
From the World of Minor Threats: The Brood #1
Writer: Heath Corson
Story Plotting: Heath Corson, Patton Oswalt, and Jordan Blum
Illustration: I.N.J. Culbard
Letters: Nate Piekos of Blambot
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Review by Clyde Hall
The world of Minor Threats is coming along nicely. Reading most of their miniseries offerings, it seems this superhero universe, launched through combined scripting efforts of Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, and many others, lands somewhere between Astro City and The Boys. Skirting close to the poignancy of the former, resisting the all-in darkness of the latter, balancing on the sorts of humor anchoring both.
In The Brood we meet Napoleon Archimedes, real name Stanley Tyler. He’s an aging master criminal and arch-nemesis of a superhero called Searcher. Their battles have extended nearly five decades from the point the story takes place. And while Searcher seems unaffected by the years thanks to her godlike abilities, not so Napoleon’s mortal coil. This starts him considering which of his offspring should carry on his legacy of humbling those high and mighty masks.
The choices are his daughter, Athena Archimedes, an expert at bioengineering and definitely following in the super science footsteps of her father. Benjamin Park, a tactical genius in combat and probably with small unit operations. And Spookshow is the son who’s plotted his own course, becoming a mystic arts master in lieu of science.
His choice is made more difficult when others begin putting forth their picks for the position and pleading the case for their candidate. The process is then hastened by a grim prognosis, one echoing a hero/villain cause-and-effect trope we’ve read before but not always with the background elements building on the situation this way.
Primary scripter Heath Corson reveals Napoleon’s brood initially as less vipers and more uncertain or rebellious successors. To a degree, each is an embodiment of the primary traits driving their sire. Athena has his technical and scientific acumen. Benjamin inherited his father’s gift of planning and practical implementation of tactical concepts. Spookshow mirrors the rebel spirit within Napoleon. While his father has dedicated himself to placing the clay feet of moralizing superheroes on display for the world to see, Spookshow’s turned his back on the foundational science of Napoleon’s approach. Instead, he’s embraced magic as his weapon to achieve similar ends.
Corson’s main cast may be analogs for existing characters, though with a lighter touch than a Black Hammer title in the hands of Jeff Lemire. Namely, the Brood villain and his offspring have a mature- audience Dr. Thaddeus Bodog Sivana flavor, if Mary Marvel was their primary opponent. This may be a track for future issues, seeing the trio of heirs in their early careers and perhaps assisting Napoleon in a Sivana Family manner. Or not, but it’s one of many intriguing possibilities this launch raises.
Adding to that Sivana spice is the art and coloring done by I.N.J. Culbard. What it lacks in Fawcett whimsy, it balances with its simplicity of line and style. Specifically, the straightforward, colorful glimpses into Napoleon’s past and the more lined, detailed stage Cubard sets in the present part of the storyline. He reflects an orderly, experienced mindset in the supervillain reflected by his spartan surroundings, though it may turn out faux-idyllic. Chaos is prevalent in the jungle setting of a possible nemesis rising against Napoleon, and varying degrees of disorder are presented in the home turf of his progeny.
Together, the creative team (including the excellent lettering from Nake Piekos of Blambot) provide a textured, multilayered introduction to a premiere supervillain in the final act of his career. They dive into what lurks behind those high-tech specs, the analytical as well as the less logical elements. In the end, Napoleon, or Stan, is only human and that is part of the exploration. For some readers, it may seem overly grounded. We’re used to seeing Dr. Doom rail against all manner of fates, including death. Luthor facing fatal radiation poisoning used his fortune and science to create other options. In the first issue, we get little of that vibe from our protagonist. Yet.
Will the adult children of a major supervillain bare fangs as viperish, ambitious heirs of The Brood over the next three issues? Or will Napoleon Archimedes conduct a housecleaning, ensuring his legacy via a different route? Or will Searcher and other opponents make the entire matter moot as all the poisons lurking in the mud hatch out? From the World of Minor Threats: The Brood #1 sets these questions in motion adroitly. Better yet, it’s a launch that invests us in finding out.
Wednesday Comics Reviews
- In Bloom #1 (BOOM! Studios): In Bloom #1 from writer Michael W. Conrad, artist John J. Pearson (with assists by Lola Bonato), and letterer Pat Brosseau was a highlight for me this week. It’s kind of an economical comic, at least where the scripting is concerned, that rightly decides to let its central mystery and fantastic high concept do the heavy lifting of reeling the audience in. Pearson’s depictions throughout of flowers and other growths on the human body are chilling, and to see people reacting positively to them really sets a tone, letting you know what kind of unfamiliar world you’re walking into. Then the murder mystery is played in a way that injects the whole affair with a nice tension. Just great stuff. —Zack Quaintance
The Prog Report
2000AD 2412 (Rebellion Publishing): Next week is the release of a the X-Mas bumper issue, which means that this week we get finales to not one, not two, but three current stories. Those are Judge Dredd: The Comfort Zone, Rogue Trooper: When a G.I. Dies, and Nightmare New York. While I’ve been enjoying all three of these comics, I have to say that Nightmare New York has been the story I look forward to most, week-to-week, perhaps owing to it featuring a non-marquee character, and thus feeling like a bit more of a revelation. If you haven’t followed it, it’s a horror period piece that heavily delves into the occult, written by Kek-W, drawn by David Roach, colored by Peter Doherty, and lettered by Annie Parkhouse. It entangles the occult with a compelling lead character (who has family secrets!) and the New York of its day, both the elite as well as the street-dwelling. I thought it was exceedingly well done, a twisty story that kept me guessing and eager to know what happens next, and what else can you ask for each week? As always, you can nab a digital copy of this week’s Prog here. —Zack Quaintance
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