The Rise of "Old" Characters
Comic Reviews for the week ending 2/9/2025
Good morning, my friend,
It’s another week and another top pick starring two characters who have entered the Public Domain.
Why do I push for more attention to the classics in pulp, sci-fi, and adventure?
It's partly because the superhero market in comics has gotten Stale with a capital “S.”
Don’t get me wrong, I love Superman and Spider-Man, but there are only so many variants you can introduce or world-ending crises where the heroes wind up right back where they started.
Variety is the spice of life, so if the Big 2 aren’t willing to open their spice rack of characters who’ve been left on the shelf too long (I’m looking at you, Firestorm and Blue Devil), there’s a treasure chest of public domain and almost public domain characters anyone can pick up and build into an original universe.
In the past year, we’ve seen one banger after another with Public Domain, Classic, or, if you prefer, “Old” properties like Jonny Quest, Space Ghost, Transformers, G.I. Joe, Terror & Fury (see below), and Conan.
Why do those characters work so well?
I guess it’s because those characters were created at a time when fiction creators had a better, clearer vision of heroism and adventure.
You’ll be hard-pressed not to find a Marvel comic with one or more pages dedicated to characters talking while eating or tackling a real-life socio-political issue in a world where that issue doesn’t make sense.
The creators immersed themselves in their fictional world, fed it, and gave it life.
Those worlds still exist. Take them. They’re now yours.
-Gabe
Next, our Pick of the Week for the most entertaining comic is…
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Now, let’s get on to this week’s reviews (and a little catch-up)
[Pick of the Week] TERROR & FURY #2 – Review
GREEN HORNET/MISS FURY #2 – Review
FRANKENSTEIN: NEW WORLD – THE SEA OF FOREVER #1 – Review
SAVAGE TALES: WINTER 2025 SPECIAL #1 – Review
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Transformers #17 (Image Comics)
Geiger #11 (Image Comics)
Spawn #361 (Image Comics)
Jupiter’s Legacy: Finale #4 (Dark Horse Comics)
The Hexiles (Mad Cave Studios)
Flash Gordon #6 (Mad Cave Studios)
Grimm Tales of Terror (Vol. 5) #2 (Zenescope Entertainment)
Marvel Viewers’ Choice (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to vote)
DC Viewers’ Choice (Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to vote)
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