Another recommendation destined to fill those moments of spare time, today in the form of a comic book. It’s called Freshmen, and it surely doesn’t count with the most original exposition in comic history. A bunch of college freshmen repudiates suffer the consequences of a scientifical accident: a machine called the Ax-cell-erator, destined to empower body cells with healing purposes, explodes and grant superpowers to our soon-to-be heroes. Each one of them gets the exact same thing he was thinking of at the moment of the accident. Each one of them… except Kenneth "Norrin" Weismeyer, a guy obsessed with comic book superheroes, who had went out for a pizza.The kind of powers they receive… well, they are pretty unconventional, to say the least. A French ladykiller who thinks himself a squirrel, a genius math whose burps, when drunk, have the effect of intoxicate every person at smell distance, an Amish guy who can cause earthquakes by shuffling his belly…
A fantastic mini-series, a light but very interesting story, and despite what it could seem, a much recommended read, written by Hugh Sterbakov and originally developed by himself and Seth “Oz” Green. The six first issues and a yearbook with special artwork have been published also in the form of a trade paperback, and the series will continue next November, with the first issue of Freshmen II: Fundamentals of Fear, which Sterbakov defines as their own Empire Strikes Back. Okay, now I need to read it.
5 comments:
I read Freshmen a few months ago, after patiently waiting for it to come out on trade paperback. The story sounded cool, and the covers looked really nice too. And I wanted to support good old Seth Green, the shortest big guy I've ever seen. However... I was disappointed. The concept is cool and somewhat original, but the story quickly hits you with a "been-there-done-that" feeling that's deadly. Plus, the artwork is just competent (and barely, at that). Maybe I was disappointed because I had high expectations, but I am definitely not picking up the sequel this fall. If you want a different superhero comic book, read Ultra (a pilot for a TV show based on the comic book is being developed as we speak), by the Luna Brothers. Again, not brilliant, but certainly interesting and unpredictable.
Okay, now I didn't expected that. I suppose that the fact that I really don't care much about the artwork, compared to the storyline or the dialogues (although I know what I like and what I don't, don't get me wrong), or the fact that I actually haven't read an enormous amount of comic books as you, finn5fel, those facts, I was saying, affect doubtlessly the way I enjoy them comics. But it's weird, I mean, you and I not agreeing on something of this sort. You know: maybe not so great minds after all.
Hahahahaha. Hey, if you like it, you like it, period. I just thought it was going to be better, I guess. But I'll say it again: the artwork could be much, much better.
It is weird, though, that we disagree on something. Check out the following recent favorites of mine, see what you think (in no particular order): "Ultra" (7 issues, I think), by the Luna Brothers; "Revelations" (six), by Paul Jenkins and Humberto Ramos; "1602" (seven or eight), by Neil Gaiman and Andy Kubert; and "Steampunk" (twelve or so), by Joe Kelly and Chris Bachalo. You can find all those on paperback except for Revelations, which is coming out either this month or next month.
The oldest (and probably the weirdest) one of the lot is Steampunk, but, weird as it is, I think it's highly enjoyable. All those comic books are very, very different. "Ultra" is a refreshing take on female superheroes and how difficult it is to find somebody to date (see why I like it?); "Revelations" is one of those noir stories, by one of my favorite artists; "1602" is a fun story about what would happen if the classic Marvel superheroes would have appeared 200 years ago, when America was being colonized; and "Steampunk"... Well... Weren't we talking about the concept of steampunk regarding AoU? It's worth reading. Plus, I love the artist, Chris Bachalo.
Okay, more homework for me. All the titles you talk about seem fantastic, if only for the artists involved and the arguments. For instance, female superheroes trying to date somebody... Hehe, no wonder you like it. Isn't there a Uma Thurman movie soon to be premiered with the same argument? "My Super ex-Girlfriend", I believe it is called (actually, I don't believe it, I'm certain of it. I looked it up on the IMDb) :)
Movie or not, that's certainly one I wanna read. And of course I will check out all the rest. "1602" has really come to my attention, and also... what the hell? I will read them all. Given time. Usually I don't spend much money on that kind of things, Internet providing, but now I have a good job (from which, BTW, I'm writing this comment) and, obviously, I get paid for it (well or not, I will tell you next month). I'm prepared to receive more self-gifts than usually. I'm worth it.
I loove this gaaaameee!!!
Hahaha. If you don't want to spend money buying them, you can always visit me, and I'll let you read them for free. Hell, if you come visit me, I'll let you keep Dragons of the Boring Sunset for free! How cool would that be?
And yeah. My Super Ex-Girlfriend opens sometime this month. It looks kinda funny, but I don't know...
And of course I liked Ultra. An all-female cast of powerful people, with some romance added? Who could ask for more. Well, actually, you could: the artwork could be better. I kinda like it, but J. Luna is not one of my favorite artists. Check it out and let me know.
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