Catalyst Comix

If you’re looking for a series of stories that shine a strange light on the traditional superhero tale, you’ll find it here. Reprising but also reenvisioning some of the heroes of the Comics Greatest World imprint from the 1990s, Casey (Sex, The Bounce) writes nine interconnected issues featuring the likes of Frank “Titan” Wells, Amazing Grace, and the Agents of Change. Readers will appreciate Casey’s unpredictability, such as when she begins the very first story with an apocalypse. Add in narration that is humorous, off-beat, and richly allusive with frequent homages to pop culture and oddball superhero characters. Artists McDaid, Maybury, and Farinas are each well-suited to the stories they illustrate—McDaid’s explosive pages in the Frank Wells story line is especially powerful. Colorist Brad Simpson fuses the styles of the different artists with a palette that makes each chapter part of a very cohesive visual narrative. All in all, this collection may well prove to be the “catalyst” for an engaging new approach to these little-known heroes. (July)