The best reads from Dark Horse Comics in February boils down to three titles! This publisher always has a bit of everything to love and technically I have four works which I enjoyed reading. As much as I tried to enjoy the new Star Wars as published by Marvel Comics, the imagination doesn’t hold a candle to one legacy release, Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures. This work deserves honourable mention, at least.
As for my top three, they are:
Masters of the Universe: Masterverse
This new MotU release has a tale worthy of beating out what Marvel’s What If is all about. As for what Eddie Nunez, Kelly Jones and Sergio Aragones imagined up in this first issue are cool, but what each individual work will certainly whet appetite and I’d certainly want to read more.
Here, the framing story involves The Sorceress and Zodac talking about all the alternate versions of He-Mans that exist. The first tale is disturbing enough to venture down dark territory in revealing a version of He-Man nobody wants to dare cross. He’s powered by a different energy, and to say too much would be telling.
In “Curse of Castle Grayskull,” Adam isn’t a prince people take for granted. He’s become a creature of the night, symbolising a different kind of hope. Despair runs through his blood, and I’m sure Cringer would flee at the sight of him! This yarn by Tim Seeley is very foreboding, and Jones is the perfect artist to make this darkness come alive. The folklore that’s also added makes this tale fairly grim, and I like to read more!
The other story is “The Lost” to counterbalance the other for its Dark Universe style nuance. There’s a light heartedness regarding how He-Man came to being. When Sergio is in charge, it’s certain to be off kilter, and this read is just as enjoyable.
And as for whether an issue will be releaesed to explain how the universes co-exist on Netflix, the teaser is there. We just have to wait for that release to hit comic book shelves!
Blue Book
In another anthology are tales of extraterrestrial threats! Here, writer James Tynion IV gives readers a slightly different look at a few well-known cases from UFO lore. The first tale recounts the famous case of Betty and Barney Hill. They are the very first alien abductees. The colour treatment by Michael Avon Oeming presents this story and will no doubt be a prominent feature in this series. I’m sure the colour blue is used in a symbolic sense, aside from being more than cases from Project Blue Book.
We see how plain Jane this couple really is. And as for why they were singled out for abduction, the reason becomes very obvious. Barney got too curious and its implied he stirred the hornet’s nest.
The next story is set in Coney Island, where everyone is witnessing something really unusual flying in the skies. It’s a man in some kind of robotic suit! I’m fairly sure it’s not based on any actual incident. Had it been, I would’ve caught reference in one of the many alien lore series I watch. As for what beach goers saw, I’m guessing they saw a time traveller.
This tale needs a slower rereading to understand where its genesis came from. As far as I know, there have been no such cases of Rocketeers willing to test their equipment out in public. Perhaps what people witnessed is one of Edison’s crazy ideas demonstrated out in public. This story has me ready to rewatch Project Blue Book to find if there’s also mention there of it. But I suspect this work is an original work of fiction.
Avatar: The Last Airbender
Chibi Vol. 1: Aang’s Unfreezing Day
This short hardcover book by Kelly Leigh Miller is one way to celebrate this franchise’s anniversary amd even though it’s not a milestone year, I’ll just pretend that it is! Since this new series suggests more to come and that I’m a fan of chibi art, I can’t wait to see what’ll be created next!
Here, Aang is perplexed at why everyone is shunning him. He’s not even aware of the fact that it’s his birthday of sorts. As the title suggests, it’s the day when Kitara and Sokka found him in suspended animation. The entire gang want to make his birthday special. But when he’s poking around and not willing to stay housebound, trying to surprise him will be difficult! And what we read is a charming situational comedy that’s more for kids to enjoy than to take seriously
This work is a fitting addition to any Avatar: The Last Airbender library just for the humour, and as for what’s next, we have two all new stories that’ll be published later this year, as written and illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks!
