DC’s Rebirth, Captain America, Art Ops, Afterlife with Archie: This Week in Comics #19

If comic fans around the office are extra surly this week, forgive them. The big news shaking up the comic world is a twist at the end of the new Captain America: Steve Rogers (reviewed below) that’s getting a lot of heat. But one of the most elegant twists in recent comic history is happening over on the DC Comics side of things. All this is to ask the big question, though: why do we love twists in comics so much? There’s a difference between a complex, winding plot, and a big ZINGER at the end of a comic book issue. Do comics lean too much on this age-worn plot device? Or is the surprising plot twist as integral to a comic as panels? Also reviewed: the aforementioned DC comic, a story about art-inspired superheroes, and Archie and the gang battling zombies.

On DC’s sale/description page for this comic, they brashly warn, “Do not skip to the last page. Do not let a friend or message board ruin this comic for you.” And they warn so with good reason. As alluded to obliquely in the intro above, the twist in this comic is careful, quiet, elegant, and completely earth-shaking for the DC Universe. Without getting into specifics, it merges stories that have never been merged, and asks large, confounding questions. The story itself is fairly approachable for newcomers, as Wally West (a one-time Flash who’s been erased by recent comics) attempts to shove himself back into reality. If readers walk away from this comic thoroughly scratching their heads, Polygon wrote up a stellar explanation for newcomers to the series that’s worth checking out. The aim of this comic is to set the stage for the future of all DC Comics, which the editorial team promises will get back to the core of what made these heroes awesome in the first place (and will ease up on the whole grim/dark/no-love-allowed business).

For readers without comic fan friends on social media, this review will remain spoiler-free about the big twist at the end of this issue. Mainly because it’s fine, it’s not as big of a deal as people are making it out to be, and because it’s not the most interesting thing about this comic by a long shot. The most interesting aspect of this book is the way it’s bringing Trump-ism, anti-immigration, and racism to the forefront of the book about an American superhero. Cap’s main villain, the Red Skull, former nazi and all around bad guy, is recruiting disenfranchised, jobless young men in America under a rallying cry of racism and fear. There’s an unpleasant, realistic chill that takes the reader when the Red Skull, speaking to will-be members of his villainous organization, says, “Your entire culture is under siege. The principles your country was founded upon lost in the name of ‘tolerance.’” So whether one finds the ending dumb, exciting, baffling, or brilliant: this is a comic series that’s going to ask hard questions about what it means to be a decent human being.

This series follows a team of art operatives tasked with getting famous works of art back into their frames. An ingenious, pop-centric comic that asks the question “What would happen if the Mona Lisa could break out of her painting prison?” there’s plenty to enjoy for the art history buff. This is fast-paced, wild, a little nasty, and peppered with rough spots and inappropriate moments (there are phrases said that, even when said by assholes in the comic, don’t have much place in our lexicon these days). But if readers enjoy putting their art history minors to good use there’s no better comic than Art Ops.

Who knew the Archie comics people were so business savvy! While the modern revamp of the classic redhead’s story is getting plenty of (well-deserved) critical acclaim, this slow burning horror story still manages to shock. Though slow to release issues (the series started in 2013 and is only on #9), this ingenious “What If?” scenario shows the potential of thinking outside the box. Here’s the main plot: After Jughead finds his beloved dog Hotdog run over by a car, he goes to Sabrina the teenage witch to bring the pup back from the dead. The dog becomes a zombie, bites Jughead who becomes “Jugdead” (ugh!), Sabrina becomes the “Bride of Cthulhu,” and the zombie apocalypse closes in around Archie and his pals. It’s dumb fun, and this issue takes a very creepy, shocking turn as readers learn the truth about Reggie. For those new to this series, start with issue #1. Seriously, it’s worth it.

Related:

This Week in Comics #18

This Week in Comics #17

This Week in Comics #16