So his big plan was to get arrested for a murder he didn’t commit? You do you, Easton. Newburn #5 is written by Chip “Secret Canadian Big Daddy” Zdarsky, drawn by Jacob Phillips and published by Image.
What would happen if the Batman from Dark Knight Returns got to chill out with the gang in Riverdale? That’s a weird question, but wonder no more in The Wrong Earth: Trapped on Teen Planet, written by Gail Simone, penciled by Walter Geovani and Bill Morrison, inked by Rob Lean, colored by Andy Troy, lettered by Rob Steen and published by AHOY.
It was only supposed to be a paid BDSM scene. And then things got complicated with diamonds. And murder. Hit Me #1 is written by Christa Faust, drawn by Priscilla Petraites, colored by Marco Lesko, lettered by AndWorld Design and published by AWA.
Will Nevin: Ian, what are the chances your pa reads this? It’s an important question for stuff that’s going to come up later.
Ian Gregory: Honestly, I’d give it about 50/50 odds. My dad doesn’t read every piece I write, but just enough that on any given day he could text me his review of my review. It keeps me on my toes. Hi, Dad!
Will: Mr. Gregory, I see no reason why you have to read this one all the way until the end. I’m sure you’ve got important stuff to take care of, right? We’re fine here. Totally normal stuff in this one.
Newburn #5: A Murder Conviction, But It’s Not the Story Here
Will: Let’s start with the familiar, the safe, the relatively family friendly. This month, we take a step back from Newburn’s bigger problems in the shifting New York City mob scene and give him more immediate concerns — namely a murder conviction and a prison sentence. It’s part of a plan (like Newburn would never have a plan), but I liked this really sudden shift in the series’ storytelling MO — instead of a body and a fresh case all we get is our guy in prison orange and an introduction to his cellmate.
Ian: I also like that this issue is told mostly from someone else’s perspective. We get an outside look at Newburn, and we’re just as convinced as Salvatore that he’s in trouble: We don’t see Newburn’s internal monologue about his escape plan, or how much info he has to keep the other inmates off his back. It appears to us, just as to Salvatore, that Newburn has been backed into a corner and needs help. That makes the trick of this issue so much more satisfying.
Will: Another strong moment in this issue was Big Daddy Z’s ability to lean on Phillips’ ability to tell the story visually after the big turn. We don’t get any dialogue about what happens to good ol’ cellmate Sal, but thanks to Phillips, that doesn’t mean we don’t get a sense of what he’s feeling or what’s going to happen to him.
Ian: Yeah, that silent few pages is extremely effective and haunting. In general, this issue is so successful because it pulls back on the amount of information we’re given. Just one data page, and no narration from Newburn, as opposed to the massive amount of backstory and thoughts we have available to us in previous issues. Zdarsky shows an impressive amount of restraint with this issue, but it’s all possible through Philips’ expressions and the haunting way he stages his panels.
Will: Finally, we get a new backup story here, and the letters column (“Newburning Questions,” which is some wordplay I can support) gives us a little guidance on what to expect: Backups in this series are 1) the property of the authors, 2) won’t tie into the saga of Easton Newburn and 3) have to be focused on New York crime. I think I can support all of those things, right? What did you think of the story here? I thought it was a nice shift visually and tonally — although if I’m going to be honest, if I have an amusement park in a book, I kinda want it to be in color.
Ian: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: more black and white comics, please. This was a great little crime issue, a story where we never see a body or the culprit, and instead focus on what’s left. In general, I’m not much of a fan of backup stories, but this one was very strong. I think it’s hard to match a backup to the tone of the main book, and to keep it simple enough for the story to work in just a few pages. Definitely a fine line to walk.
The Wrong Earth: Trapped on Teen Planet: It’s Not Archie … but It’s Archie
Will: Hey, definitely a family-friendly(ish) book as I’m trying to get us warmed up here. Are you familiar at all with the The Wrong Earth set of books, or do I need to explain it for either your benefit or the Loyal Content Consumers of ComicsXF?
Ian: I know everything there is to know about every comic ever, of course, but perhaps you could explain it to our hypothetical reader who, for instance, only found out about this series when they went to write a review of The Wrong Earth: Trapped on Teen Planet.
Will: You know everything about every comic, and I know almost nothing about anything. We’re a great pair. But, yes, The Wrong Earth imagines that the Dragonflyman and Dragonfly (read: Batman) of Earths Alpha (Batman ’66) and Omega (Frank Miller and/or ultraviolent modern Batman) switch places. Hilarity and/or excellent superhero meta commentary ensues.
As a publisher, I love AHOY; they’ve got a great social media presence, and there’s consistency across the line, both in quality and in tone, in that they generally keep to works of comedy and satire. This latest chapter of The Wrong Earth gets at everything good about AHOY; in skewering event comics, they’re making some fairly cogent observations about event exhaustion while also showcasing great creators like Gail Simone (our author here), Mark Waid, Mark Russell and Tom Peyer, the publisher’s E-i-C and the driver/co-creator of The Wrong Earth universe.
That all being said, this issue crosses over with the fictional “Sandy” line of comics, which looks and feels remarkably like the Archie books we know and some of us love. I’m not in that latter category simply because I know nothing about them, but I still had fun with this issue, namely because of the love Dragonfly (a refugee from Earth Omega) has for the simpler and decent world he finds himself on. What was your take?
Ian: The great thing about Archie comics is that everyone knows what they look like and who the characters are, without having to read a single issue. I like that Dragonfly engages with the “rules” of the local universe, solving the conflict in a sufficiently “Archie” way. His unbridled thrill at experiencing the world of his childhood is delightful but also deeply sad, as is the way he has to come to terms with the flaws of remaining trapped in time for 80 years. This is a pretty sleek issue, with a great premise and great execution, even if some theoretical comics reviewer is unaware of the original series.
Will: Of course, you’re not talking about yourself there since you know everything, and this should be an easy question for you: Looking at what’s to come in the next four issues, was there anything that caught your eye? I think I’m most looking forward to Stuart Moore and Fred Harper’s “The Wrong Earth: Purple,” a Batman ’89-inspired riff.
Ian: In the spirit of this series, I have to say I am attracted to “The Wrong Earth: Meat” and its promise of “beef-themed crimes.” Buddy, I’ve done a few of those myself!
Hit Me #1: Mr. Gregory, You Can Stop Reading Now
Will: Ian, do you think your dad’s gotten bored by this point? Maybe wandered off to take care of something else?
Ian: I’m sure he had to go mow the lawn or something. Whatever dads do in their spare time. Let’s get into it.
Will: Hit Me is a frank look at the intersection of real world sex work and BDSM with the not-so-real possibility that a sex worker might stumble into an illicit diamond deal. I thought it was honest without being lurid (helps that Faust is a sex worker herself) and had a fresh premise. It was also a bit easier to follow than our last AWA read, Fourth Man. Ian, what was your take?
Ian: I think the power of this issue is in the creative team. This is not a premise that works without anything less than a well-informed, cautioned writer and artist. With that said, this is a strong premise buoyed by Lulu’s clear and compelling characterization. We’re so in her head (with her captions guiding our impressions of every character we meet) that she needs to be both likable and interesting. Her perspective on these people is complex, and it’s her voice that keeps this first issue moving. Petraites’ character designs are on point as well; everyone is memorable, and everyone gets fashionable (or intentionally unfashionable) outfits.
Faust is definitely working against the flow of the mainstream here. Most stories about sex workers revolve around sex workers “getting out” or getting dead. Lulu likes her job, likes her coworker and has an agenda of her own. Faust doesn’t try to make sex work “unsexy,” either, but also doesn’t shy away from depicting bad customers and bad outcomes. What’s curious is that I’m not so sure that this “middle path” is so hard to depict as its frequency indicates. Instead, it just seems like a path that most writers are unwilling to pursue. I’m interested in seeing where the rest of this story goes, and how much it continues to deal with sex work as it becomes more of a noir/mystery/thriller.
Will: Our culture isn’t interested in that middle path. Do you have any idea how many search results you have to go through to get a critical take on “sex trafficking”? I sure don’t because I gave up on the fourth page. But, hey, I found the city of Tualatin, Oregon’s “helpful” explainer on the topic of sex trafficking. (According to Wikipedia, the city has a population of around 25,000. Draw conclusions from that as you will.)
I guess this is not a major point, but what did you think of the c-slur we had here? I suppose it’s a fine balance between authenticity and, well, avoiding slurs, but I’m always taken out of a book when I see something like that. Like, I just don’t think it’s necessary to tell the story you want to tell. It’s clear the guy (a Penguin-esque real estate developer/sleazebag) is shit — do we have to make it obvious he’s racist, too?
Ian: My first instinct is that race is somehow going to be a major factor in this story. While I didn’t like the slur, I also don’t know if I’m qualified to pass some sort of judgment on its usage here.
Does This Smell OK?
- The wink with the accompanying wink sfx was a cute moment in Hit Me #1.
- Another month, more British spellings in Newburn. I swear to god, I’m going to write into the letters column the next time that happens.
- Relying on post-conviction exculpatory evidence to get you out of jail is a big gamble, Newburn.
- “The Obligatory Multiverse Crossover Handshake of Mutual Respect” hit me very hard.
- [Editor Dan here just checking in to say I would die for Cappy Comics, the King of Kaptions.]
Will Nevin loves bourbon and AP style and gets paid to teach one of those things. He is on Twitter far too often.
Ian Gregory is a writer and co-host of giant robots podcast Mech Ado About Nothing.
