Exciting Comics #2 - Antarctic Press Comics

EXCITING COMICS No. 2, February 2019

Undeniably “building a universe one brick at a time”, Issue Two of “Exciting Comics” probably gave the majority of its “faithful followers and comic connoisseurs” precisely what they wanted with its mixture of modern-day super-heroics, Egyptian mummery and a poignant flashback to the Forties. But whilst some of this anthology’s arguably all-too brief tales managed to provide plenty of closure to those readers eager to better understand the “deadly power” imbuing the Crimson Scorpion or witness the legacy of Madam Mask being passed from geriatric Geema to her grand-daughter, there’s a distinct feeling to its overall pacing, particularly where its artwork is concerned, that strongly suggests much of this thirty-two page periodical was rather rushed.

For starters, Carlos Tron’s storyboards for “The Revenge Syndicate” appear a little Spartan for the majority of Bradley Golden and John Crowther’s narrative. Sure, the collaborative writers have penned an interesting sub-plot to the exploits of Black Jaq in the guise of the Murder Prophet, the Griever and Black Rat cold-bloodedly murdering both Benny and Fats McQueen. Yet that doesn’t debatably explain why numerous scenes are padded out with depictions of the heroine working her day job, or a security guard following a few rats through the corridors of the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Shoddier still is David Doub’s disconcerting finale for Madam Mask, where the latest incarnation of the bullet-resistant costumed crime-fighter miraculously manages to save her grandma from a fiery death only to have her elderly inspiration expire of old age straight afterwards; “Geema, You… You can’t leave me… You can’t. Nooo!!” Disappointingly illustrated by Larry Jarrell, to the point where it’s hard to believe “Spike” drew this adventure’s prodigiously pencilled previous instalment, matters abruptly turn even more surreal as the tale ends with Diana inexplicably being surrounded by the living dead in a graveyard..?

Perhaps this compilation comic’s most successful asset is therefore the concluding chapter to Professor Samuel Kocian’s exploits thwarting a terrorist cell in an ancient temple, several hours drive from Cairo. Appearing rather cartoony to the eye, courtesy of Joseph Olesco’s quite humorous sketching style, this twelve-page central feature is absolutely packed full of automatic gun-play, knife-fights, poisonous gas and everything else a reader might well expect from a pacifist protagonist suddenly empowered by a mystic scorpion.

Writers: Bradley Golden & John Crowther, David Furr and David Doub