Written and Illustrated by
Kaare Kyle Andrews
Published by Marvel Comics
This sci-fi fantasy keeps getting more amazing by the moment. It is a blast to read. The illustrations are crisply executed as well.
In this chapter titled, Tribes, written and illustrated by Kaare Andrews, the mystery and the stakes continue to increase.
The story maintains an entertainly fun pace, with a few puns that have a nice payoff at the end of this chapter. The tone Andrews creates harkens back to the favorite moments of every fantasy story, sci-fi tale and Arthurian legend.
If you want to be cynical, you could try to argue that this story is not paying homage to the aforementioned genres as much as it is copying them. That argument would not hold water.
This book is way too much fun to judge the merits of its originality. And, it does feel authentically original.
How many times have you seen Spider-Man riding a dragon?
This book is trippy and pushes Captain America, The Black Widow and Spider-Man far outside the patterns you normally see them take.
Often, the story reads like a “What If” tale.
What if Captain America lived in the world of Conan and adopted a barbarian’s code? What if The Black Widow was forced to become Guinevere and live her life as a queen with all trappings of a love triangle to boot? What if Spider-man was brought into a world where dragons, not of subways, were the most common form of transportation?
Is it bizarre?
Yes.
Is it ridiculous?
Maybe.
Is it an enjoyable mashup of storytelling?
Yes, it is, every frame of it. Nothing is wasted.
One word of caution. If you find stories like Game of Thrones, Avatar (the film, not the cartoon) or Flash Gordon a bit too juvenile for your liking, you might want to take a pass on this series.
The direction of this comic has all the trappings of might making right. And, most of the featured women are drawn by Andrews like pinup models with a “cool girl” attitude. It probably would be worth pondering why these tropes still resonate with some readers, including myself.
To my defense, these were the stories of my formative years as an adolescent.
Star Wars, Flash Gordon, Excalibur influenced my worldview of entertainment. It was my portal of escape. Andrews’ Amazing Fantasy has found the vein and continues to mine it for all its excessive glory.
Hopefully more surprises are in store. The next issues cannot come soon enough.
