You know, there are times when I pause and sit back at my office desk and contemplate things other than the work that is at hand. There are moments in the middle of a droning conversation where I’ll admittedly tune out a speaker and, still nodding “um-hmm’s”, and “yeah’s”, daydream about life’s more important questions and dilemmas.
Like: All these comic book superheroes and super-villains – how do they pay for their wonderful toys? What happens when they can’t pay for them?
Well, contemplate and daydream no longer. That’s the premise of the new monthly series for Dark Horse Comics, The Paybacks!
Follow me after the jump for the answer to comicdom’s toughest question!
The Paybacks #1
Written by: Donny Cates and Eliot Rahal
Illustrated by: Geoff Shaw
Published by: Dark Horse Comics
OK. How awesome is that cover? A Batman-esque character on his knees in plaintive cry as his Batmobile-esque vehicle is being repossessed.
It’s pretty frickin’ funny!
Many might hold superheroes in high esteem and reverence – where making them look ordinary and, at times, foolish, is a sin against Jack Kirby or Stan Lee or Bob Kane or something. But let’s face it: they’re ripe for ridicule – especially because so many older, male adults are the people actually buying and reading superhero comic books. (Still, I like to think there’s something cute and admirable in boyish interests. There is, right? There has to be!)
Anyway, they’ve got capes and masks and weird, four-colour symbols on their chests and wander around trying to do good but usually create chaos instead. (Um, there’s something called a Po-lice De-part-ment that can investigate crimes and right wrongs. Ever heard of it?)
Yeah, superheroes and super-villains might be ridiculous, but we love them all the same – and, in the hands of great writers and artists, they’re catalysts for great stories.
The Paybacks takes pop-culture comic book heroes and villains and places them in a real world full of loans, student debt and IOU’s. They’ve got to fund their crime spree or crime-fighting endeavours in some way, don’t they? Maybe they do as we do when we’re looking to borrow a few bucks, and visit their local branch of Bank of America, TD Canada Trust, or Barclay’s.
Sure, The Paybacks may seem a little bit like a Mad Magazine entry (and there’s nothing wrong with a little Mad Magazine!), but there’s a greater story at play here, and, at the end of the day, it’s an entertaining one. You can catch a sneak peek of the first issue right here.
Repo your venerated superheroes and super-villains and make the run to your local comic book shop today and pick up the Paybacks #1!
Filed under: 2015, comics, Dark Horse, Dark Horse Comics, JP, JP Fallavollita, super hero, the Wednesday run Tagged: comedy, comic book, comics, Dark Horse, Dark Horse Comics, Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal, Geoff Shaw, JP, jp fallavollita, loans, repo, repossession, superhero, The Paybacks, the wednesday run
