On Sale April ‘19
Ahoy Comics 2019
Written by Stuart Moore
Illustrated by Alberto Ponticelli
Coloured by Giulia Brusco
Lettered by Rob Steen
What do you get when you combine all the best-loved comics genres of the 1970s: apes, monsters, Kung Fu, sword-and-sorcery, and cosmic adventure? You get BRONZE AGE BOOGIE, an intense, character-based action-fest with plenty of style! In this collector’s item first issue, young barbarian princess Brita Constantina finds herself battling a Martian invasion—in 1975 AD and BC! Back-feature: Meet MAJOR URSA, the first bear in space. But will he be a hero or a villain? Plus the usual assortment of AHOY text stories!
This is one of the new wave of books coming out of Ahoy Comics this year and considering how good, strong and well done the first wave has been this one has me even more excited for what’s to come. Stuart is an amazing writer and the concepts and ideas that come out of his head kind of amaze me and fill me with a sense of awe and wonder. This one here is one that I hadn’t expected and heaven knows it’s not something anyone in their right mind should expect and that’s more than half the fun.
I remember when Vertigo had the Doom Patrol and Animal Man and they were wacky and cerebral in ways that really engaged the reader like they had never experienced before. To bring that feeling back to readers is not only unexpected but it’s something that we need to see again in comics. You can’t take life too seriously and you’ve got to let loose but that doesn’t mean it has to be mindless entertainment either Stuart proves you can do all of that and so much more. The way this flows through the pages and seems just odd until almost the end when everything comes together beauteously.
The characterisation is sensational and just the fact that there are quite a number of interesting and unique folks to flesh out almost seems to be the challenge Stuart wanted to meet head on. Everything is cyclical in nature and we see ideas and such coming back time and again, aside from fashion a great example is monster like vampires, werewolves, zombies etcetera, so yes it is time that we saw the thinking man’s humour make it’s way back into comics. I say this because the humour isn’t the usual frat boy fart jokes (thank god) it’s one that you need to read, pay attention to and think about so that it makes sense to the mind.
Oh Alberto il mio amore the work here is exceptional! The way the linework is used is strong yet delicate and creates such gorgeous attention to detail through it’s varying weights. The composition of what we see in the panels shows off this meticulous, creative and visually stunning eye for storytelling. The utilisation of the page layouts is superb which along with that creativity and imagination Alberto possesses almost makes me weep. Okay so yeah I want more backgrounds (every panel heh I know shut up Steven) because when we see them the way the flesh out the moments and bring that size and scope to the story it’s utterly amazing. Then there is the colour work from Giulia is stunning as well. The way she creates with colour makes me so joyous from the design in the dress to the aliens to the city of New York all of the work she does completes this book.
Ahoy mates I cannot tell you how happy I am to see their emergence as such a powerhouse publisher already. Some of the strongest and most interesting work today is not coming from Marvel or DC it’s coming from places like Ahoy Comics. With the strength of the writing and the talent the interiors showcase you need to make sure you order this from wherever you get your comics from.