Do you remember the days when superhero comics used to be fun and not contests to see which publisher could come up with the grimmest and grittiest antihero? When heroes fought villains and not one another? When Marvel Comics actually acknowledged the existence of the Fantastic Four? 😉
Well, it’s just that sort of nostalgic approach you’ll find in the pages of The Formidables #1, now on sale from French publishing house Oniric Comics, and available in English-language print and digital formats through online distributor Indy Planet. Created by writer/artist Christophe Malgrain, The Formidables are a quartet of superheroes battling evil in 1950s America, with their first challenge coming in the form of a Communist super-villain—who’s disguised as a white supremacist!
It’s a unique take on the genre, with Chris examining topics like race relations and sexual identity in a Cold War setting, with an appropriate amount of punching and explosions mixed in, of course—we are talking superhero comics, after all!
So, naturally, the question you’re thinking of is, why would I be promoting some other publisher’s superhero comic, here at the SWC blog? Well, if you know me by now, it’s probably because I’m somehow involved in the project—and I am! Not only is Chris Malgrain my old creative partner from the one-off comic Stan Lee’s Alexa (and a contributor to the 13 Days of Pan-demonium gallery), but I’ve also signed on to be Oniric’s U.S editor for their English-language translations. (What that means is I tweak Chris’s dialogue and captions to make them sound a bit more “American.”)
The Formidables #1 can be purchased right now from Indy Planet, so visit its product page for ordering information.
