Review: The Disasters #1 (Loophole Comics)
Micah Myers is a lettering staple in the comics world, with credits at multiple publishers. He is currently on the final straight of the kickstarter for the second issue of this The Disasters, a supervillain comic series he created with Javier Caba. As such, we thought we’d check out if crime (or rather criminal focused comic) pays as well as lettering!
Publisher: Loophole Comics
Writer: Micah Myers, Mike Exner III (editor)
Artist: Javier Caba (art), Meg Casey, Fred C. Stressing (colours), Micah Myers (letters)
Price: Currently funding on Kickstarter
The Disasters follows the story of four would-be supervillains; an ex-pro wrestler, a super-powered college student, a low ranking henchman and a supervillain demolitions consultant, who, through a series of bad planning and bad luck, inadvertently find themselves each partly responsible for the death of a superhero. Now, with law enforcement seeking answers for the murder of this paragon of justice, these four very different people must come together and figure out what to do next.
Writer Micah Myers has written a fun, funny and highly engrossing comic, one which reminds me of Final Crisis: Rogues Revenge in it’s concept but closer to Ryan O’Sullivan and Plaid Klaus’ Turncoat in its execution. Myers has created a story which feels well paced, as it flows nicely and never seems to feel like the enjoyment lags or falters. As for the characters, Myers has formed an enjoyable and well defined group of protagonists. Each of these characters comes across as sympathetic, relatable and above all likeable, which is countered by their heroic counterpart as the central character, Night guardian is a real dick making his demise a welcomed event as well as cementing the Villains role as ‘our’ heroes.
Finally, Myers adds a cool little easter egg in the form of the Fancy Pig BBQ, a Restaurant for Villains. Much like the bar patroned by the Rogues from the Flash or even Richard Carrington’s Mahoney’s, this bad guys only establishment serves a duel purpose of not only maintaining the story’s levity but also allowing Myers to provide exposition in an environment where it feels natural and, therefore, doesn’t affect flow.
As for the artwork, artist Javier Caba and colorists Meg Casey and Fred C. Stressing deliver some solid work with their Vibrant, colorful and truly eye popping visuals. As a result, their work bears a reminiscence to the interiors of Super, another superhero comic with a humorous nature, as well as Michael Avon Oeming’s work on Powers. This is indeed no bad thing as the colourful aesthetic helps keep the story light against the dark notions within the story, while also giving the protagonists costumes are very silver age look.
The Disasters first issue is one of unbridled potential wrapped up inside a tremendous execution. Micah Myers has written a fun first issue which Caba and Co.’s great visuals are more than able to match. If the second issue is anything like the first, it definitely deserves to make a killing (and not just of a superhero).