I apologize for the lack of updates the last few days, I had business out of town and was too busy to get anything new on the site. I’m back now though, and with lots of cool things to talk about. I had went to a business conference type thing in Vancouver so, while I was there, I stopped by Golden Age Collectibles on Granville St. to peruse their impressive collection of nerd swag when I stumbled upon a copy of NextWave. I had -coughpiratedcough- a copy of this off the internet awhile back and very much enjoyed it, but it’s so hard to find things like these, so I never managed to actually buy a copy. But when I saw it sitting on that shelf there it emanated a holy grail-esque aura that I just couldn’t help but be entranced by–though my credit card balance would disagree at this point. I bought it and decided I would talk about it on here for anyone that might care to know about it.
An excerpt from Wikipedia describes the plot as;
The Nextwave series features a collection of minor Marvel superheroes, including Monica Rambeau, the former Captain Marvel; Tabitha Smith, formerly of X-Force; Aaron Stack, the Machine Man; monster hunter Elsa Bloodstone; and new character The Captain, previously called Captain ☠☠☠☠(The obscured words being so horrible that Captain America allegedly “beat four shades of it out of [him]” and left him in a dumpster with a bar of soap in his mouth.). These individuals are assembled by H.A.T.E., the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, to fight Unusual Weapons of Mass Destruction (U.W.M.D.s). The Nextwave team learns that H.A.T.E. is funded by the Beyond Corporation©, an organization run by H.A.T.E.’s terrorist enemy S.I.L.E.N.T.; as a result, the heroes leave H.A.T.E., stealing a vehicle called the Shockwave Rider. They destroy the U.W.M.D.s that the Beyond Corporation and H.A.T.E. have hidden around the United States, while pursued by H.A.T.E. Director Dirk Anger, a parody of Nick Fury. The U.W.M.D.s include Fin Fang Foom, Broccoli Men, Ultra Samurai and the Mindless Ones. Using the Shockwave Rider as a mobile base of operations (the vehicle is larger on the inside than without, much like the TARDIS of Doctor Who), Nextwave is able to rapidly mount missions in widely separated locations including central Illinois, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Nevada.
The plot summary doesn’t really cover just how hilarious this comic is though. It’s basically a bunch of barely has-been heroes that have become jaded and cynical over time and are fighting against the rather insane, dress-wearing Dirk Anger. The art is great, the story is hilarious and it’s got a lot of style to it. If you have any interest at all in anything super hero related I recommend looking this up on your favorite bit torrent site and maybe even buying a copy if you enjoy it as much as I did.
