Date: Mon, 13 Nov 1995 16:37:00 -0400 From: [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FTP 545 ==== FIT TO PRINT by catherine yronwode for the week of November 13, 1995 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 545: A modest little flurry of new comics has drifted across my desk, and herewith, a few honest opinions: EXPLORERS: New from Explorer Press is a series that i urge all parents with super-hero smitten kids to seek out at once. In these days of silicone heroines and steroid heroes it's hard to find a comic book that provides action and adventure without indulging in cynical mega-violence. It's doubly difficult to find one in which family life is portrayed as anything but abusive, ugly, or depressing. And when you do find such a title, you'd better buy it and tell all your friends to do so too, because chances are, your retailer will not promote it. Explorers bucks the current trend in super-heroes by giving us a well-adjusted family of "xenologists" (with a pet dinosaur) who explore the unknown and overcome threats with skill and ingenuity as much as brawn. The team consists of a brilliant scientist husband-and-father, Alexander Hunt; a gun-toting former Secret Service agent wife-and-mother, Anita Hunt; their boy child, Terrence "Trex" Hunt; their adopted (?) boy child, Xochimilco Hidalgo "Chico" Hunt; and the kids' "laid back" lazy uncle (the father's older brother), Leon Hunt. The dinosaur's name is Stan and he is very, very cute. It's easy to characterize Explorers as "Johnny Quest-like" or "Challengers of the Unknown-like" or "Power Pack-like" (the creators, Terry Collins and Bill Neville, themselves invite such comparisons) - but if you recall the former three series with affection, then you will know exactly why i think Explorers deserves wide distribution. The script, artwork, and production values are of the highest professional caliber, which is only to be expected of a duo that has produced work for Elfquest, Lost in Space, Tiny Toon Adventures, and The Ren and Stimpy Show. Also notable (and great for kids) each story is complete in one issue, although, to judge by the first issue's villain - a robot controlled by Alexander Hunt's deceased ex-girlfriend - there will be enough continuity subtext running from issue to issue to keep readers coming back for more. TUROK: THE HUNTED is a two-part mini-series forthcoming from Acclaim. The story is by the ever-lucid Mike Grell and the art - ah! the art - is by that fabulous renderer Mike Deodato Jr. All i have seen is an introductory sequence in which Turok and Andar hunt and kill an antelope somewhere on the south-western plains in 1852, but, my gosh, with art this stunning, who needs to be told that the plot involves Turok's encounter with white folks and all the rest? If you are not already a Mike Deodato Jr. fan, it is high time you checked him out. ASTRO CITY is another gorgeous new title, courtesy of artist Brent Anderson (with spiffy computer colouring by Steve Buccellato and Electric Crayon) - and from the first issue alone, i can tell that it has an intriguing story-line, courtesy of writer Kurt Busiek. Pursuing the theme of "realistic" heroes developed in his own previous hit Marvels, with uncredited homage to Alan Moore's Miracleman and Watchmen, Kurt has presented us with the opening segment of an epic in the making. The first issue focusses on the introduction of Samaritan, a costumed super-hero whose personal life is held hostage by his vow tosave lives. All he wants to do is fly and meet women, but he cannot take the time for either, because doing so would mean failure to avert disasters or defeat malevolent super-villains. Samaritan's world is populated with a remarkably full cast of heroes and villains, and Kurt does a fine job, through the protagonist's matter-of-fact internal narration, of introducing them and setting the stage for greater things to come. Brent's art is sheer poetry, and displays once again his tremendous facility for depicting the human body in motion and the human face in all its many variations. With Image handling publication, it is safe to predict that Astro City will enjoy big, big sales. Those of you who tend to overlook hit titles simply because they are popular ought to note that this is a good comic. (And those of you who only read hit comics and overlook good titles with lower sales might enjoy checking out Kurt's work on Elvira, a Claypool series for which he writes occasional stories.) ==== Fit to Print appears in print each week in Comics Buyers Guide and is available via e-mail. Tell your friends! To subscribe to Fit to Print via e-mail send a request with the words "Subscribe FtP" in the subject header and your address in the body of the message to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] You will be added to the list and receive the next available issue. Back issues are available. FTP to cerebus.acusd.edu and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. FtP is also available on the World Wide Web at http://www.scar.utoronto.ca/~91mithra AND http://www2.csn.net/~searls. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.