Review: Mondo #1

Let’s be honest from the get go this is just a differenttake on the Incredible Hulk. It’s the classic, “what if I created theIncredible Hulk.” Now granted once you read the book it is very different andvery strange, but it’s just the Hulk; scrawny guy that turns into a musclefreak. Frankly the comic isn’t bad, in fact it’s quite good but I’m going toscore it low based on originality. When it comes to telling a story the saying,“there is nothing new under the sun is true”, but for some reason there is thisstigma in the comic industry that there are no new characters to put into these old stories.

I have read so and so’s take on the Justice League or Avengers or the X-Men or the Teen Titans too many damn times. I don’t know when DC and Marvel’scharacters became the only characters in comics, but it’s not true. It’s allabout execution, but when you do something that’s as obvious as the Hulk I justdon’t care. Slate that, if you just want to show me what you would do if yougot a chance to write the Hulk or Justice League then create something original andwait until DC/Marvel offers you the chance. Otherwise I don’t care. Sure there areinteresting takes where the execution has been good. The Red Ten and Gloryare great examples of doing this without it being so damn obvious.

Mondo is about anold man that doesn’t talk and works in a chicken factory. He’s in charge ofputting chickens in a nuclear reactor that makes them increase in size. He’spicked on by people at work and constantly harassed by basically everyone forabsolutely no reason other than being drawn smaller than everyone else. One daya chicken begins harassing him and scares the shit out of him. It leaves him athreatening egg on his door step and frankly I wasn’t sure of its intent. Comedic? Serious? Stupid?

The thing is that the book is drawn and written very well,but I just couldn’t care due to the concept. It’s evident from the setting andthe social commentary in the book that this is the not too distant future withhealth codes that are pale in comparison of todays. I get that there is plentyof subtext to the issue. But it’s just the Hulk. What’s worse is there doesn’tseem to be a reason for everyone to be picking on the main character. Someonethat doesn’t talk in the work place is a blessing. I would kill for that andyet at this factory he’s shunned for not saying a word.

I’m sure everyone will be crapping their pants for this booktoday, but it didn’t grab me. It’s a well-constructed comic for sure. TedMcKeever knows storytelling and how to construct a page that tells a narrativewith the pictures as much as it does with words, but it’s not for me. There isnothing here that I haven’t seen in some form or another somewhere else.Granted this may be your first time reading a book that’s basically the Hulkand not from Marvel; and more power to you if you like it, but I didn’t. Youcan have a fanboy freak out on me if you want, but the fact is I understandeverything this book is trying to do, but that doesn’t make it any good. The art was however... incredible... seriously it was and pun intended.

Score: 2/5 (The art is the saving grace)

Writer/Artist: Ted McKeever

Publisher: Shadowline/Image Comics

Price: $4.99

Release Date: 2/15/2012

Comments

[Eric]

creepy freaky fun but it is nothing new that's what I thought a twist on the Hulk story "B-GOK"