This weeks Roll the List is not so much a list but an article on our each of our favorite crazy, insane, off the wall comics that make you say whaaat?! I personally love a comic that throws me by being something I am not expecting. Amazon is great at showing me new comics that I did not realize existed. One of these comics that I found on Amazon is the one I am going to talk about today. However, first I would like to talk about what a Whaaat?! comic is to me.
There are some very common themes for comic books. The main one is superheroes. These comics to me are typically not what I would call Whaaat?! comic books. There are a few exceptions for me, one is the Power Series. This comic really takes an interesting look at how normal people would be acting in a world full of superheroes. A second exception is Wanted, an exceptional tale about what would happen if villains won. Other than superhero motifs, many comic books take traditional themes and add to them. We have a plethora of genres from the weird west to dystopian sci-fi that are all still within the realm of normal comic books to me. A Whaaat?! comic needs to push the boundaries of what I feel is typical for comic books. The Luther Strode Series does this for me and is my favorite Whaaat?! comic.
Maybe it is blood, maybe it is teenage angst..
A quick warning: This review will contain spoilers as it is important to why I think the comic is great. If you are interested in experiencing this material, please stop here and go do it before reading this article.*SPOILER WARNING*
Okay so if you are reading this you either only want to know why I think this comic is the best off-the-wall comic or you have read it and want to understand why I thought it was amazing. I have two reasons that I think this is an amazing story.
The first revolves around the characters. Luther is an unpopular high-school student, he has this kind of loser-ish friend and an outcast girl he really likes. On a whim he orders a book from the back of a comic to become as strong as Hercules. He gets the book and uses it and, to all our surprise I’m sure, it actually makes him incredible strong! This is where the comic kind of takes a very dark turn. As he imagines himself getting revenge on a bully and it is brutal. After this incident you find out that there are some people who sent him the book and they are ready to test Luther.
Sometimes you just need to imagine…..whatever is happening here…ouch.
This is the second time the story takes a crazy turn as you find out these people are basically like super duper mega strong invincible immortal people. This also leads to my second favorite thing about this story. It is a very very good version of what I believe Superman should have been and the specific reason I like Spider-Man. Earlier I said stories were not really Whaat?! comics. This is because they lack what Luther Strode incorporates. This aspect is what I refer to as necessary reality. Frequently other comics will resign to include or flat out use the Hand of God to get character out of situations. Luther Strode does not take the easy way out. By the end of the comic you truly understand what someone with ultimate power would truly suffer at the hands of their nemesis. The true what?!?!? aspect is that in this story you truly see how messed up situations get.
*END SPOILERS*
I did not know what I was in for when I picked up The Strange Tale of Luther Strode. I opened the book up thinking it would be kinda ok like a less serious Kick-Ass. I was pleasantly surprised and I hope anyone who picks this comic up after reading this enjoys this story as much as I have.