Review: Thrud the Barbarian
Someday I am going to publish my own comic, and when I do, I hope I have even half as much fun as Carl Critchlow has writing and drawing Thrud the Barbarian. The good people at Titan Comics released a new hardcover collection of the Thrud comics this month, and they sent me a copy for your reviewing pleasure. I had not heard of Thrud before now, but the big lug seems to be popular among the role-playing crowd because his comic strips made regular appearances in the 1980s role-playing magazine White Dwarf. Some of those early strips are included in this hardcover edition, and they’re a hoot. But this book’s main feature is five full-length, stand alone Thrud the Barbarian comics that Critchlow wrote and drew starting in 2002. Fortunately, one doesn’t need a deep understanding of Thrud and his world to enjoy this book.
Thrud the Barbarian is more than just a Conan parody. Thrud is a big, beefy pile of physical humor and role-playing revelry. The comics in this collection make for some nice, light entertainment, though I would have personally liked a little more depth behind them. At least Critchlow’s art style is a quest for the eyes, with a flare for medieval carnage and silly comedy.
Comic Rating: 6/10 – Pretty Good.
Thrud the Barbarian is big on muscles and short on brains, but who needs them when all your problems can be solved with a giant ax? Thrud is the biggest, meanest, toughest bad boy in medieval times, but all he really wants in life is some good beer and maybe some gold. And as we all know, pursuit of money and beer is bound to get anyone into trouble. Sure enough, across these five issues, Thrud’s simple needs somehow manage to get him wrapped up into all manner of adventure. Whether he’s hired to escort a scientist on an expedition into a frozen wasteland or he ends up impersonating a king, Thrud’s adventures are always lively. And when drawn in Critchlow’s signature style, I can see why the character became so popular back in the 80s.
The art is detailed and cartoony, exactly how i like it. Critchlow’s style seems perfectly suited to this medieval world, with a penchant for swinging axes, suits of armor and flying heads. This comic features several decapitations, and each one is better than the last – comically speaking, of course. Critchlow can handle the large and the small, from mapping out every muscle in Thrud’s over-sized body to giving full life to the giant monsters he faces.
Everybody needs a good arch-nemesis
As much fun as the issues are, part of me thinks Thrud might have worked best in shorter comic strips. The full issues are entertaining, but they don’t offer much depth, especially in Thrud himself. His character really is no deeper than swinging an ax and wanting a beer. So in each issue, it’s the characters around Thrud who actually provide the story. And while those characters do their job, they’re clearly nothing more than filler. Thrud is the only character who matters in each comic, and he’s usually the least interesting. Unless, of course, you get a giddy thrill from the idea of an ax-wielding warrior slicing his way through hordes of enemies. And who among us doesn’t?
Spam! It’s what’s for dinner!
Thrud the Barbarian is a gleeful comedy series. It’ll give you a few laughs and you’ll have a little fun reading. It’s definitely meant for the role-playing crowd, poking fun at a lot of the popular and familiar tropes. Necromancers, turnips, potions, wrestling and kingly duties all get a good thwopping from Critchlow in Thrud the Barbarian. This is the perfect sort of book to pass around at your next D&D game.
The hardcover Thrud the Barbarian is available at Amazon.com.
Review: Scarlet Spider #22
How can you tell that a comic is scheduled for cancellation? The art quality starts to drop. Scarlet Spider is coming to an end in December, and so the art has started to dive-bomb. Three artists are credited on this issue, and it definitely shows. The art is all over the place – fortunately, the story is very solid. It’s the build up to Kaine vs. Kraven and it’s pretty darn cool.
Scarlet Spider #22
I thought Scarlet Spider had staying power. I was wrong. But hopefully Chris Yost (and apparently co-writer Erik Burnham) can give us a grand finale.
Comic Rating: 7/10 – Good.
After this, there are only three issues left of Scarlet Spider. One of them will be the final battle against Kraven, but then what? The solicitations seem to point towards a sad ending to Scarlet Spider. That would be disappointing, but it would also be earned. Kaine hasn’t exactly been the best kind of hero. So I’m definitely excited to see how it all ends.
Fortunately, Kaine is the perfect kind of hero to take on Kraven in this issue. It’s been a blast reading his stories all this time, and I’m excited to see Kaine face off with a real villain with real history. Yost no longer has anything to lose. The series is over. So maybe Kaine will cut loose and give in to all the spider madness that Yost has been building so far. I want to see Kaine go wild in a real beat down, drag out knuckleduster.
And this issue is a great start.
Join me after the jump for a full synopsis and more review!
Hench-Sized Comic Book Reviews – 9/28/13
Surprise, surprise, Villains Month isn’t half bad this week! Again, I’m not reading everything, but the few villainous issues I did pick up were actually pretty good. I especially liked the Man-Bat and Ocean Master issues, though Sinestro’s comic was really just a big character recap. So again, Villains Month is a mixed bag of different comic book styles, some of which work, and some of which don’t.
Meanwhile, it feels like forever since Forever Evil #1 came out. Say what you will about Event Comics, but Marvel clearly has a great idea when it comes to publishing them. Both Infinity and Battle of the Atom have had a new chapter every week since they started, and that makes the stories much, much better than having to wait a whole month to find out what the heck is going to happen in Forever Evil.
As such, the new chapter of Battle of the Atom wins Comic Book of the Week hands down. Jason Aaron takes over the story with Wolverine and the X-Men #36, and I think it was the best issue of the crossover to date! So many exciting things happen, with just as many great character moments.
Yes, Deadpool, tell us the future! I want to see Goldballs with a long, storied X-Men career.
Comic Reviews: Avengers #20, Man-Bat #1, Ocean Master #1, Sinestro #1, Trial of the Punisher #1, and Wolverine and the X-Men #36.
The First Hint of the New X-Factor
In the build-up to the New York Comic-Con in a few weeks, Marvel has started releasing some of their typical one-word teasers. You can see a few of them here. I don’t normally post these things, but included among them is the teaser for something ‘Corporate’ by Peter David. This is the first hint at Peter David’s next project since X-Factor was cancelled, and everyone around the Internet seems to think this is also the first hint of the new X-Factor.
We’re all business here
I am inclined to agree.
If you recall the end of X-Factor #260 – the Polaris issue – she was approached by a man named Harrison Snow, who said he was the CEO of a “rather large company”. He offered her the chance to get in on the ground floor of a new X-Factor. Polaris readily took him up on his offer. It’s clear from that scene that the next iteration of X-Factor is going to be corporate in nature.
So with this teaser, coupled with Peter David as the writer, coupled with hints that an X-Factor relaunch was going to be part of the next Marvel NOW! campaign, it might be safe to say we’ll finally get a glimpse of the new comic at New York Comic-Con on Oct. 11!
Too bad Multiple Man probably won’t be involved. But a new X-Factor by Peter David is a new X-Factor by Peter David!
Review: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pilot
This is the world we live in now, and I couldn’t be a happier geek. There is a weekly live action TV drama set in the Marvel Universe, starring (some) characters from the comics, with the potential to show off even more down the line. You just know Disney is going to move Heaven and Earth to get Robert Downey Jr. or Samuel L. Jackson to visit Agents of SHIELD for Sweeps Week. But for the first episode, they’ve got to rely on Joss Whedon, Agent Phil Coulson and a cast of never-before-seen super spies to keep their audience entertained – and I say they succeed.
Agents of SHIELD doesn’t achieve greatness in its pilot, but then which shows ever do? At least this Marvel Universe show is off to a good start, with the right mix of action, humor, cool characters and references to the larger world. What more could a geek like me ask for?
TV Rating: 7/10 – Good!
I was not disappointed with the premiere of Agents of SHIELD, but I also wasn’t overly thrilled. If this was just any other spy procedural, I doubt I’d come back for even the second episode. But this isn’t just any other spy show. This is Agents of SHIELD, starring actual characters from the Marvel Movieverse and flinging comic book references at us left and right. And it’s produced by Joss Whedon, the patron saint of amazing, geeky television. Whedon even wrote and directed the pilot, and his wit and cleverness are on full display. The Whedon shows I’ve seen – Firefly, Dollhouse and a few seasons of Angel – are some of the best TV I have ever watched, and I have nothing but faith in Agents of SHIELD find its feet and produce some amazing television in the long run.
Few shows get their pilot absolutely perfect, and we can probably expect at least a few seasons of Agents of SHIELD.
I liked the pilot episode. The characters all seem pretty cool so far, though it may take some time for them to grow on me. I think I’m a little curmudgeony these days when it comes to new TV shows. Clark Gregg’s return as Agent Phil Coulson is great, though I’m not sold on the idea of him playing anything beyond dryly sardonic. He has one scene where he has to raise his voice to scold/motivate an underling, and I just don’t think he pulled it off. The rest of the cast is good, and I especially liked the science duo of Fitz and Simmons. But everyone else – for now – falls into the category of being too TV beautiful to take seriously quite yet. Everyone other than Gregg is a stunningly handsome or beautiful person filling standard TV roles. So hopefully their personalities and character arcs will expand as the series moves forward.
Join me after the jump for the full review.
