While fans of Hulu's M.O.D.O.K. series are no doubt still smarting from the show's recent cancellation, there is one silver lining. Showrunners Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum are reuniting for their first creator-owned comic book series, a superhero crime drama called Minor Threats.
The Minor Threats creative team also includes artist Scott Hepburn (Deadpool), colorist Ian Herring (Ms. Marvel) and letterer Nate Piekos (The X-Cellent).
Minor Threats should appeal to fans of Marvel's Superior Foes of Spider-Man, as it's also a series about the exploits of small-time super-criminals set against the backdrop of larger hero vs. villain conflicts. In this world, a villain named Stickman has just murdered Kid Dusk, the teen sidekick to the Batman-esque hero Insomniac. That's bad news for the blue-collar villains of the city who just want to rob a bank without attracting the attention of every costumed hero within hundreds of miles. With the super-team known as The Continuum cracking down on crime like never before, retired villain Playtime decides to assemble a team and hunt down Stickman herself.
While Minor Threats features the off-kilter sense of humor fans would expect from this creative team, it's also shaping up to be an unexpectedly dark superhero series. As much as anything else, the series is about what happens when an idyllic, Silver Age-style superhero universe is dragged kicking and screaming into the twisted modern age.
“Every comic book fan dreams of creating their own universe,” said Oswalt in Dark Horse's press release. “This one is mine and Jordan’s. There is fun and danger and violence and sadness just like in real life, but with way brighter colors. I can’t wait to see you guys experience it.”
“This is our love letter to superhero comics and crime fiction," added Blum. "An underdog story of inept costumed criminals in over their heads, trying to survive an unforgiving city filled with caped gods, fallen kaiju, and traffic causing time vortexes. Everyday crooks in a fantastical world trying to get theirs.”
Minor Threats already seems to have a few famous fans, with Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, Baby Driver director Edgar Wright and The 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow all singing the book's praises. Waititi writes, "I was hooked from the first page! Minor Threat is delicious, villainous dark pop that churns up the world of the marginalized and serves up a decadent and dangerous feast, all presented in glorious bombastic visual eye-fuckery that has reignited my love of comics. At last, something cool in a world where nothing is cool.”
Minor Threats #1 will hit bookstores and comic shops on August 24, 2022.
If August is too far away to wait for a quirky new superhero series in your life, you can read the entire first issue of Ahoy Comics' My Bad for free right now. Then find out more about Lee Bermejo's return to the Batman franchise in Dear Detective.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...
The Minor Threats creative team also includes artist Scott Hepburn (Deadpool), colorist Ian Herring (Ms. Marvel) and letterer Nate Piekos (The X-Cellent).
Minor Threats should appeal to fans of Marvel's Superior Foes of Spider-Man, as it's also a series about the exploits of small-time super-criminals set against the backdrop of larger hero vs. villain conflicts. In this world, a villain named Stickman has just murdered Kid Dusk, the teen sidekick to the Batman-esque hero Insomniac. That's bad news for the blue-collar villains of the city who just want to rob a bank without attracting the attention of every costumed hero within hundreds of miles. With the super-team known as The Continuum cracking down on crime like never before, retired villain Playtime decides to assemble a team and hunt down Stickman herself.
While Minor Threats features the off-kilter sense of humor fans would expect from this creative team, it's also shaping up to be an unexpectedly dark superhero series. As much as anything else, the series is about what happens when an idyllic, Silver Age-style superhero universe is dragged kicking and screaming into the twisted modern age.
“Every comic book fan dreams of creating their own universe,” said Oswalt in Dark Horse's press release. “This one is mine and Jordan’s. There is fun and danger and violence and sadness just like in real life, but with way brighter colors. I can’t wait to see you guys experience it.”
“This is our love letter to superhero comics and crime fiction," added Blum. "An underdog story of inept costumed criminals in over their heads, trying to survive an unforgiving city filled with caped gods, fallen kaiju, and traffic causing time vortexes. Everyday crooks in a fantastical world trying to get theirs.”
Minor Threats already seems to have a few famous fans, with Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi, Baby Driver director Edgar Wright and The 40-Year-Old Virgin director Judd Apatow all singing the book's praises. Waititi writes, "I was hooked from the first page! Minor Threat is delicious, villainous dark pop that churns up the world of the marginalized and serves up a decadent and dangerous feast, all presented in glorious bombastic visual eye-fuckery that has reignited my love of comics. At last, something cool in a world where nothing is cool.”
Minor Threats #1 will hit bookstores and comic shops on August 24, 2022.
If August is too far away to wait for a quirky new superhero series in your life, you can read the entire first issue of Ahoy Comics' My Bad for free right now. Then find out more about Lee Bermejo's return to the Batman franchise in Dear Detective.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Continue reading...