No this isn’t that one they sometimes make you read in high school about Big Brother, though that one is all sorts of awesome in its own way (Hint: 1984 FIC ORWELL). Toby has always loved comic books. In fact, he obsesses over them to the point that they are the most important thing in his life. So when he sees the Red Skull looking at him from the creepy old mansion outside of town he starts to think maybe his mom is right about comics rotting his brain. But then the Vulture is on the news, and he really flies. That’s when he realizes that something horrible has happened. He always dreamed about what it would be like if all his favorite Marvel comics’ characters were real. He just never thought what might happen if it were just the villains. Now the entire world is being invaded by all the most deadly forces ever thought uo by a comic writer and only a 13 year old boy can stop them.
This book is a unique look at how comics can be a lonely outcast’s best friend and worst enemy at the same time. Toby’s obsession with comics is definitely messing up his life, but it’s only that obsession that lets him know what’s going on before anyone else and gives him the courage to try and stop it. It really is a beautiful and strange love letter to cheesy super hero comics. The art is very detailed and life like except for later in where it cuts to the Marvel Universe and things look more simple and stylized. Millar does a great job of starting to build the suspense slow with just a few villains at a time, but before long there is a army of super villains causing terrifying destruction. It is a feat for Millar and Edwards to take the incredibly cheesy evildoers of 80s comics and make them frightening but they pull it off in a big way. This is a total must read for fans of superhero books, but is clever aon original enough that even non-tights fans can find a lot to enjoy.
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