There are some Bigfoot problems that hit harder than others — and for certain legendary figures, male pattern baldness anxiety isn’t just about looks… it’s about legacy. Today’s comic imagines what happens when one very famous cryptid starts wondering if his myth might not survive a receding hairline.
What I’m Watching: Invincible, JJK, and the Great Animation Trade-Off
I’ve been watching Invincible with my sons, and I’ve got… thoughts.
First off: the story? Very, very good. Genuinely compelling stuff — even though the violence and gore is way past my personal comfort range. I'm not super comfortable with one character shooting another. The stuff that happens on a median-level episode of Invincible is a real challenge for me.
As someone who does NSFW comics, I'm constantly amazed at how perfectly acceptable Invincible is... yet an animated series based on Phil Foglio's XXXenophile would have people losing their ever-loving minds.
Further, it's a little disappointing to go from watching Jujutsu Kaisen (which we're also following at the moment) to watching Invincible.
JJK features jaw-dropping visuals and animation that constantly raises the bar episode after episode. It's phenomenal.
On the other side of the spectrum, Invincible clearly put all of its budget into getting celebrity voice talent. Some of them are very good.
I just wish a few of those Amazon dollars had been spent on the animation. Some of the scenes are pretty clearly PNGs that get enlarged to show an object moving through space, and it's a goddamned embarrassment.
But the story itself is very, very good.
TWiV: Taking stock of super-villains
Junior: Besides teeing up a tasty plot about springing Tarantula from a maximum-security prison for supers (all at the behest of the Penguin),
Secret Six introduces a new super villian that has more creep-out value than any new character introduced by either Marvel or DC in recent memory.
Leave it to a brilliant mind like Gail Simone’s to bring us a “terror is in what you
don’t see” kind of Hitchcockian baddie like Junior.
Here’s what we know about Junior. No one ever sees him and lives to tell about it (even his two plaid-clad henches wear blindfolds). He’s in control of every mob operation west of the Mississippi. Intergang and the 100 pay him tribute. He’s blodthirsty, wicked, and sadistic.
And he does it all from inside a small crate next to a rotary telephone and a notepad.
I
dare you to fall asleep with that image in your head tonight.
Junior starts at a solid 6 on the VQ scale. Five for an excellent introduction of a compelling character. Plus one for the way he handles an underling who crosses him.
Secret Six is off to a full gallop. This is going to be an awesome run. The chemistry between Catman and Deadshot is tremendous. Ragdoll is handled cleverly and with an almost joyful sense of the macabre. Throw in the hint of an affair between Catman and Huntress, and we’ve got a party. The jury is still out on what Bane brings to the table, but his sparse dialogue is quickly turning me into a believer.
