Tag: Patton Oswalt

Minor Threats: A Quick End To A Long Beginning by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Scott Hepburn: They’re Going to Save the Day?

 A Quick End To A Long BeginningMinor Threats: A Quick End To A Long Beginning

by Patton Oswalt, Jordan Blum, Scott Hepburn (Artist), Ian Herring (Colorist)

DETAILS:
Series: Minor Threats, Vol. 1
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Publication Date: July 12, 2023
Format: Trade Paperback
Length: 136 pg. 
Read Date:  August 11, 2023
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Not Sure Why I Feel Compelled to Say This, But…

I’m going to make a lot of allusions to other comics/superhero stories. This is intentional and, I think, warranted. Oswalt and Blum are satirizing, paying tribute to, and playing with tried-and-true superhero ideas. When I say they’re doing something ____-esque, or in the vein of, etc. I’m not criticizing, I’m describing. Their work is derivative of more things than I’m aware of because they’re commenting on those things. Oswalt and Blum know their stuff, they’ve drunk deeply from more comic wells than I can imagine and used that to produce this series.

Frankie

When she was a kid, Frankie was the costumed sidekick of her mother, a supervillain/thief. At some point, they were arrested and Frankie went to prison. When she got out, she tried to go straight and get a decent job, but we all know how hard it is for an ex-con to get a job, when that ex-con is a Meta? Forget it—door after door slammed in her face. Finally, she found a job working as a bartender in a bar that catered to supervillains. Not really the elite-level villains, but the “lower ranked” ones—with just enough power to typically need a superhero instead of the police. Think the sillier ones in the Suicide Squad.

I’ve seen this kind of bar in Spider-Man comics, a superhero version in The Tick (animated), and a few other places like that. Frankie is friendly with a couple of her regulars but regards most of them with a kind of contempt/pity mixture. Frankie’s the stereotypical Alcoholic in Recovery working as a Bartender—just her addiction is using the abilities that got her locked up.

Not-Jason Todd/The Joker/Batman

So remember what Batman wanted to do to the Joker after he (assisted by the readers of DC Comics) beat the life out of Jason Todd? What would’ve happened if Superman hadn’t stepped in? Well, we get the answer here—after a Joker-esque character (The Stickman) kills the kid sidekick (Kid Dusk) of a Batman-esque hero (The Insomniac), The Insomniac goes on a vigilante rampage looking for The Stickman—and woe to anyone who gets in his way. The story kicks off with someone stumbling into the bar holding the beaten near-corpse of one supervillain who was “interrogated” by The Insomniac.

This leads to the biggest crackdown on Meta criminals ever—the heroes and the police are trying to lock them all up for their own safety more than because of any crimes. It’s wreaking all sorts of havoc. To put a stop to this, Frankie and some acquaintances/customers decide they need to find The Stickman themselves and kill him themselves. Why wait for the good guys to do the job? If Stickman is out of the picture, The Insomniac might be able to be stopped—or maybe stop himself.

Sure, none of these criminals are the best choices for this—and most are past the prime of their abilities—but it’s not like they have a better idea.

The Art

I can’t put my finger exactly on how to describe the art—it reminded me of a lot of mid-80s Marvel Comics art, with shades of Gotham Central. That’s going to help precisely no one, but it’s the best I can do.

I really dug it—the art fits the story and the characters well. It wasn’t too flashy or too polished—neither would fit this story. There’s a roughness to it (but not in a negative way) that really suited what Oswalt and Blum were doing.

So, what did I think about Minor Threats: A Quick End To A Long Beginning?

This is dark. It’s twisted. It’s funny—and it’s not really funny at all. There’s some tragedy to this, too.

I want more. Now.

Is it the greatest comic story I’ve come across lately? Nah, but the way the creative team is playing with, exploring, exploiting, and so on with tropes, stand-bys, themes, character-types, etc. is just so much fun and so interesting.

There’s just a solid story in the midst of all this, too. It’s more than meta-commentary on superhero stories, it’s a good one itself. But for me to really dig into it the way it deserves would take more time and energy than I’m willing to devote to it. So I’ll just leave it at this—you’re going to dig this.


4 Stars

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Clearing the Deck: Tweet-length thoughts about books I can’t find time to write about

Yeah, I have a daunting TBR stack, but I also have too many books on my “To Write About” pile, and it’s bugging me. So, I’m cutting myself some slack, and am clearing the deck of everything from 2019 and before that I haven’t made time for. This was painful to do, I was looking forward to writing about most of these, but I’m just not going to get to them–and the 2020 books are starting to pile up, too. So, in 144 characters or less, here’s me cutting myself some slack.

(Click on the cover for an official site with more info)

Rivers of London: Detective Stories
3.5 Stars
Rivers of London, Volume 4: Detective Stories by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan
Brief flashbacks showing what Peter et al. get up to between novels/comic series. A fun idea, well executed. Would enjoy another one like this.
Cry Fox
3.5 Stars
Rivers of London Volume 5: Cry Fox by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Lee Sullivan
This was a lot of fun, and showed a new side of a cool recurring character.
Rivers of London: Action At A Distance
3 Stars
Rivers of London: Action At A Distance by Andrew Cartmel, Ben Aaronovitch, Brian Williamson, Stefani Renne
A serial killer hunt and Nightingale backstory. Great combo.(some nice Molly material, too)
Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian
4 Stars
Geerhardus Vos: Reformed Biblical Theologian, Confessional Presbyterian by Danny E. Olinger
A biography and a discussion of his Vos’ major works. This was an excellent way to gear up for my 2019 Vos reading. Inspirational stuff.
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant
3 Stars
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)
A light Urban Fantasy about misfit monsters. Enjoyable enough to come back for more.
Open Season
4 Stars
Open Season by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Series Debut about a WY Game Warden with a nose for mystery. Loved the dual POVs (Pickett, his daughter). Addicting.
Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain
3 Stars
Please Don’t Tell My Parents I’m a Supervillain by Richard Roberts, Emily Woo Zeller (Narrator)
A cute story about kids of super-heroes/super-villains trying to get started in the biz without their parents’ involvement. Went on longer than it needed to, but fun enough to try volume 2.
Dragon Blood
3 Stars
Dragon Bones by Patricia Briggs, Joe Manganiello (Narrator)
Manganiello is a great choice for narrator. Nice little stand-alone fantasy story. Great dragons.
Savage Run
3.5 Stars
Savage Run by C. J. Box, David Chandler (Narrator)
Almost as good as the first Pickett novel. Mrs. Pickett gets to shine here, too. I’m so glad I finally got to this series.
Inkheart
3 Stars
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, Lynn Redgrave (Narrator)
Gets a bit redundant, but I loved the concept. Better than the movie (which I kind of liked), but still could’ve been better.
Undeath and Taxes
3 Stars
Undeath and Taxes by Drew Hayes, Kirby Heyborne (Narrator)
A little better than the first volume, an enjoyable way to spend a few hours.
Dragon Bones
3 Stars
Dragon Blood by Patricia Briggs, Joe Manganiello (Narrator)
OK, so Dragon Bones wasn’t a stand-alone. Could’ve been, but it was nice to get a little more with these characters/this world. Still, give me a Briggs Urban Fantasy above this.
The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards
4 Stars
The Imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ in the Westminster Standards by Alan D. Strange
I love this series. Strange packs so much material into this tiny package. Excellent stuff.
Badlands
3 Stars
Badlands by C. J. Box, January LaVoy (Narrator)
Cassie takes over The Highway series and moves to a new Oil Town in North Dakota. Midwest Winter, Drugs, Murder, Corruption and Too Much Money wreak havoc on her first week on the job.
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland (Audiobook)
3.5 Stars
Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt (Audiobook)
The memoir chapters are nice, the comedic bits are odd (and funny). An interesting look at Oswalt.
No Sweat
3 Stars
No Sweat: How the Simple Science of Motivation Can Bring You a Lifetime of Fitness by Michelle Segar, Ph.D.
A great way to look at keeping (or getting) yourself motivated to exercise.

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