Battle Chasers

I think I read Battle Chasers #1 when it was released back in 1998. It didn't grab me. Primarily, it wasn't the sort of fantasy I was interested in at that (I was a bit more finicky then than I am now), and the delays I heard about that the series was plagued with never caused me to regret that decision.

But, you know, time passes. I have a greater appreciation for Madureira's influences today than I did then, and novelty and variety in my reading is more important. So, when I saw the entire series (Of the original run. The 2023 follow-up issues haven't been collected.) for pretty cheap in digital format, I picked it up.

The plot of Battle Chasers is pretty standard fantasy stuff. The young daughter of a warrior is pursued by the forces of evil, but luckily, she's able to assemble a band of reluctant heroes around her--and wield powerful magical artifacts that once belonged to her father--to save the land. 

Late 90s time capsule that it is, it's a lot. There's a lot of detail on the page; bombastic characters with bombastic designs. Coloring and lettering are really in your face, exuberant with the capabilities that digital technology offered (and to be fair, a certain excessiveness is sometimes still observed today's comics in those areas). It also feels earnest and bursting with ideas, which if not really novel, are at least pretty cool.

I wish there had been more of it to see how it developed. I hear there was eventually an computer game, which is really probably bringing the concept full circle.

My Favorite Comics of 2025

 Most of my comics reading in 2025 was of DC in the early 80s for my ongoing series on my other blog. I did manage to continue to follow I number of series I have enjoyed beyond this year: Batman/Superman: World's Finest (DC), Batman & Robin: Year One (DC), G.I. Joe (Energon Universe, Skybound), W0rldtr33 (Image), and Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (VIZ). I also checked out a number of other series, limited series, and graphic novels.

Listed here are my favorites. Some will be whole limited series; some will be individual issues. They are in no particular order other than when they occurred to me.

Batman/Superman: World's Finest (2022-) #44: This is another Robin/Supergirl team-up, a rare but recurring feature in the title, but always welcome. The interaction of the two junior heroes is always humorous in Waid's rendition of the characters.

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1: While this whole series has been good so far, the first issue was such a pleasant surprise it deserves special mention.

Hobtown Mystery Stories Vol. 3: The Secret of the Saucer: This might be my least favorite installment of this series, but it's such a good series that it makes this list. This one is told in reverse essentially, so that the main characters memory mental dislocation caused by exposure to an alien "spacecraft" can be to a degree experienced by the reader. It makes catching the flow of events and picking up the plot threads related to the deeper mysteries of Hobtown that much harder, though, so I'm not sure it was the best choice. Still a great read.

Drome: I've talked about this graphic novel by Jesse Lonergan before, so I won't repeat that all here, but it's great.

Bug Wars: I really enjoy "small hero" stories and genre works with good worldbuilding. This has both!

Comics I Liked This Week

 Not all of these were new last week, but that's when I got around to reading 'em!

Absolute Martian Manhunter #1: I a fan of Martian Manhunter and particularly a fan of new interpretations of the character from the DeMatteis/Badger limited series, to American Secrets, to the underappreciated series by Orlando and Rossmo. This title sits firmly in that tradition with a first issue that is something like the traditional origin of Martian Manhunter meets Shade, the Changing Girl, and I dig it.

An FBI agent, Jones, is nearly killed in a bombing and since he's been having hallucinations and seems disconnected from his life. As he (against orders) investigates the bomber and tries to make sense of his motives he discovers the was only saved by somehow bonding with an alien intelligence. Or possibly that Other is a manifestation of something already within him--maybe his own mind? At this point, it's unclear. Deniz Camp's story is intriguing and well done, but I feel like the really star here is the psychedelic art of Javier Rodriguez, that reminds me of the pop art inspired comics work of Guy Pellaert or Alberto Solsona.

Bug Wars #1: This one is on issue 2, I think. Slade Slaymaker, along with his brother and mother, is forced to move back into the home where his entomologist father died a grisly death. It's a home with secrets. Not the least of which is that there are warring tribes of diminutive insect-riding humanoids having epic battles in the unkept backyard!

Ad copy calls this "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids meets Conan" but I feel like Aaron and Asrar are fulfilling the promise of Sword of Atom or the Hulk stories set in Jarella's world in a gritter, modern way.

The Seasons #1: This title from Remender and Azceta is actually on issue 3 now. The series is set in an alternate 1920s (I think).   A decade ago, the parents of the Seasons sisters disappeared. Now Autumn has discovered where they might be, and how it might be connected to a creepy carnival that has just arrived in New Gaullia where Spring Seasons is. Will Spring be able to avoid falling prey to the carnival's clowns?

Remender said that they wanted to do something that paid homage to "paid homage to Tintin, Miyazaki, Winsor McCay, and Jeff Smith’s Bone." I feel like those influences are very much on display in the style and setting of the first issue. There's also a tinge of horror lurking in the background that adds intrigue to the whimsy.