2.17.2015

Serial Box #2: The Midas Flesh Vol. 1


Welcome to Serial Box! Here, I talk about comics that I've been checking out recently. This week:

Written by Ryan North
Illustrated by Braden Lamb and Shelli Paroline
Goodreads Description 
We've all heard of the Midas Touch. You know, the Greek myth about the man who did a number on himself by wishing everything he touched to turn to gold? Well, you haven't heard everything.

Joey and her space crew have decided to return to Earth--a planet completely sectioned off, abandoned, and covered in gold--to find out exactly what happened to this once thriving planet and see if they can use that knowledge against the evil empire that's tracking them down. As luck would have it, they just landed the most powerful weapon in the universe: some ancient dead guy's body.

The totally unpredictable first collection of Ryan North's debut original print comic book series The Midas Touch, featuring art by illustration dynamos Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb, will leave the reader reeling from start to gilded finish.
The first four issues of an eight-issue series, the first volume of The Midas Flesh is awesome. It's a totally original story, so there's no worrying about catching up or who or what you'll be able to recognize. I love the premise most of all: I was already familiar with the story of King Midas, so this was a really interesting twist on his story.

I've also been getting more and more into space stories recently. The Midas Flesh follows the pretty typical space opera plot of "rebels" vs. some kind of evil empire/ society/ fleet, here called "The Federation," so you know kind of what to expect in that field. Still, the mixture of futuristic with mythological keeps things pretty interesting and fresh, which was really nice. I'll be picking up the second volume for sure, but all eight issues are already out and available to read if you can track them down online or at your local comic shop.

Also, reading this is another tally towards my Diverse Books Challenge! So happy to see a Muslin girl named Fatty, short for Fatima, in this book. She's one of the three protagonists and has frequent speaking roles and is heavily involved in the daily activities of their ship. Ms. Marvel has been getting a lot of (very well-deserved) praise recently, but it's nice to see that more comic publishers are branching out as well.

 Volume 2 will be published on June 9th, 2015.