Red Menace series discussion (spoilers)

[compound]

I don't ordinarily start spoiler discussion threads for under-appreciated series that I'm recommending. However, I'd like to have the good faith that people other than Rhyo and (i'm assuming here) Baxter have read this.

Look, if you're put off by the fact that the dude who plays Seth Cohen on The O.C. co-wrote this, then just forget about that part, for just a moment. Give this book a chance.

I'll quote Rhyo's spoiler-free summary of the basic premise (taken from her review of it):

During [Senator Joseph] McCarthy['s] House Unamerican Activities Committee hearings, a popular American superhero is forced to unmask in front of McCarthy's "commie hunter" committee. "American Eagle" is shown to be a famous and popular WW2 vet, highly decorated and well-thought-of. The HUAC members are shaken, and the hearing is closed. Except things don't stay that way as the HUAC digs further.

It captures the paraonid mood of the period very nicely, and it doesn't hit readers over the head with glaring parallels to the contemporary War on Terror.

Rhyo described it as "somewhat of a "thinking person's" Civil War analog", and I'm inclined to agree.

I'm not a huge fan of Jerry Ordway's artwork, but that has less to do with his actual illustrations, rather than the whole style it evokes. I must say that it's totally appropriate for the series.

For those of you who'd like to read more about it, here are some relevant links:

the official description of the series from Wildstorm
http://www.dccomics.com/comics/?cm=6242

a downloadable preview in PDF format
http://www.dccomics.com/media/excerpts/6242_x.pdf

a pair of reviews of the first issue
http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/reviews/116449093479622.htm
http://www.thexaxis.com/misc/redmenace1.htm

 

[Ultimate MJ]

Sounds interesting, I'll have to pick this up.

After recently re-reading Red Son, I really want to see more cold-war themed comic conflicts. The soviet aesthetic is really cool, and I think it translates well to sequential art.

 

[compound]

After recently re-reading Red Son, I really want to see more cold-war themed comic conflicts. The soviet aesthetic is really cool, and I think it translates well to sequential art.

I take it you've already read DC: The New Frontier then?

I mean, the plot is definitely not *specifically* Cold War related, but the aesthetic and the themes are definitely reflective of the prevailing mood of the times, especially with regards to the potential of technology; the role of science in everyday life, etc.

 

[Ultimate MJ]

This was spectacular.

Anyone not reading this sucks.

 

[ourchair]

I'm not a huge fan of Jerry Ordway's artwork, but that has less to do with his actual illustrations, rather than the whole style it evokes. I must say that it's totally appropriate for the series.

Yes.

I'm no fan, but I think Jerry Ordway is great when used in this kind of context. Kind of like the way Gil Kane was used in Alan Moore's Awesome Studios work.

 

[compound]

I've decided -- i'm gonna be annotating this mini-series, explaining the 50s-specific references, as well as the possible nods to the comics from the era, as each issue comes out. (Honestly, it's not all that much, compared to, say, a title like League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.)

I'm just deciding where I ought to do it: in this thread, in a seperate thread here at UC, on its own dedicated website, or on one of my blogs.