A review by Ross Joseph
A review by Ross JosephStory and Art by: Joe Simon, Jack Kirby, Alek Sheikman, Norman Felchle, Sandy Plunkett, Dave Elliott, Toby Cypress, Sakti Yuwono, Rian Hughes, Dave Gibbons, Bambos Georgiou, Dominic Regan, Bill Sienkiewicz, Scott Hampton, Jim Steranko, Madeleine Holly-Rosing, Emily Hu, Alan Moore, Michael T. Gilbert, Barnaby Bagenda, Jessica Kholinne, James Robinson, D’Israeli, Depth Radius, Kevin Eastman and Simon Bisley
Published: Atomeka/Titan Comics
Review: Another review and another anthology series from Atomeka/Titan Comics. In my previous review, Monster Massacre, I failed to mention that the anthology type of short stories was a very interesting concept. It had a little something for everyone in both story and art. This time with A1: The World’s Greatest Comics, the concept felt a whole lot more refined. Once again, comic creators from past and present come together, bringing all their talents to create this fun and exciting comic book.
I’m going to call it a comic book and not a hardcover collection, although technically it is.
A1: The World’s Greatest Comics isn’t the greatest but it has fewer forgettable shorts and more exciting issues. Its also fun as a simple pick up and read comic book much like Monster Massacre. Read it at your own pace in any order of your liking.
A few stand out shorts are worth mentioning.
First up is Odyssey by Dave Elliott, Toby Cypress & Sakti Yuwono. Highly inspired by Captain America, right down to the origin story, it a fun adventure taking place in modern times. Odyssey has some interesting almost caricature-type art which adds some humor to the story in the places where the story can get a little serious. I appreciated that because it off-set the tone brilliantly. The story was well done, and once again, can I now get a full story with these characters? Pretty please?
Next up is Weird’s Finest by Bambos Georgiou. Like Odyssey, this story is heavily, HEAVILY inspired by Batman and Superman characters. This short stars Zuberman and Batguy. Confined to the Batpit, its a fun and very real take on the characters DC comics has been publishing for over 70 years. The art is super colorful and ripped from the Adam West era, yet has a serious tone to it. Zuberman explains how he floats microns above the ground because he doesn’t want to crush it beneath him. As he explains, it would be like a human stepping in wet mud. I was utterly shocked and surprised by this satirical take on the World’s Finest from DC. A great read and worth the price alone.
Finally a quick mention has to go to The Weirding Willows by Dave Elliott, Barnaby Bagenda & Jessica Kholinne. A twisted tale featuring Alice from Wonderland in a strange short.
Reading back through all the stories, it seems the ones I enjoyed the most were heavily inspired by already established properties. Never a bad thing, and when handled like they have been in A1: The World’s Greatest Comics they provide for some fun entertainment.
Rating: ★★★☆☆ 3/5. The better stories easily outweigh the more forgettable ones.