‘The Beef’ Sends Up Superheroes And Anti-Heroes In This Week’s Best Comics

The last time Tyler Shainline and Shaky Kane teamed up for Image, it was for an affectionate parody of Silver Age comics and their Cold War propaganda, The Bulletproof Coffin. And now, five years after that book wrapped up, they’re back, still sending up comics, this time with a straight-faced parody of both horror comics and Silver Age heroes.

Chuck Carter has spent his whole life killing cattle, like his old man before him. Chuck’s been pushed around by the sons of the meat-packing plant’s owner, who fell right out of an EC Comics in all their oafishness and sociopathic behavior. And Chuck’s constant consumption of various chemicals in meat and soda form combined with his rage over a damsel being threatened will make him THE BEEF!

If all this sounds fairly conventional, well, to a degree it kind of is, at least so far, even if you can make out the crisp outlines of what Shainline is up to in his plot. What makes it stand out this issue, in particular, is Kane. Kane’s deliberately flat, grotesque style makes the book a queasy thing even before you get into the vivid gore and violence. This social satire is really just getting started, and if their past work is any indication, Shainline and Kane will make it worth the trip.

Daniel Kibblesmith and Carlos Villa take on the task of explaining the most enigmatic hero in the Marvel universe. OK, not really, Lockjaw’s not that terribly complicated. He’s just a good boy. But Dennis, the former D-Man, is a bit more complicated, and, as his life hits a gentle nadir, he finds himself tagging along with Lockjaw and hitting on Ka-Zar. Hey, wouldn’t you Kibblesmith and Villa know they’re not probing the depths of philosophy here, but Dennis is so sharply drawn, and Lockjaw is so adorable, you’ll fall in love.

Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivela expand on their story of a reporter in 1970s Detroit, filling in both her past and her current role, which goes well beyond keeping the Detroit police honest. It turns out Abbott is an avatar of The Light, at least according to a questionable mystic, but even if she isn’t, she’s still got a big pile of problems to deal with, and a ticking clock on all of them. This is rapidly becoming one of the more unique and exciting horror thrillers on stands crowded with them, and worth every panel.

DC’s Metal has, ever so slightly, been teasing the competition, with a string of heroes riffing on Marvel’s stable. But Jeff Lemire and Ivan Reis almost push it to the point of mockery in this book riffing on the Fantastic Four, as a stretchy guy, a giant walking tank, an invisible woman and… OK, the metaphor falls down a bit since Mr. Teriffic is nothing like the Human Torch, but still, the parallels and tone are unmistakably a tribute. That doesn’t mean it’s not fun, however, not least because Lemire and Reis are clearly having a ball throwing back to the Silver Age’s sense of out-there adventure.

There’s nothing quite like a good bit of historical pulp, and this particular set, uniting Teddy Roosevelt and a host of turn-of-the-century luminaries, is a great example. Adam Glass and Patrick Olliffe know what they’re up to here, and they keep the plot brisk and pulpy. A nice touch is that it captures the personalities of the various historical figures without overselling it. Sometimes this kind of thing can lean too heavily on either research or the audience’s forgiveness, but this threads that needle perfectly to feel grounded without losing any sense of pulp thrills.

Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #300, Marvel: Chip Zdarsky and Adam Kubert Jr. pay tribute to the superhero fights of yore while launching a whole new arc.

Motor Crush #10, Image Comics: Brendan Fletcher, Cameron Stewart, and Babs Tarr’s tale of a futuristic motorcycle racer kicks into a higher gear with this issue. Get caught up on this incredibly fun action comic.

Hungry Ghosts #2, Dark Horse: Anthony Bourdain’s food-themed horror anthology continues, this time hopping to the Mediterranean

Rick Veitch’s The One #1, IDW Publishing: Outshined a bit by Watchmen, Rick Veitch’s reinvention, and deconstruction, of superheroics is getting a second chance from IDW in this reprinting.

Mera: Queen Of Atlantis #1, DC Comics: Dan Abnett and Lan Medina put a wounded Mera, stuck on land, in the foreground in a quite good meat-and-potatoes superhero book.

Letter 44: The End, Oni Press ($20, Softcover): If the world was going to end… would it take humanity with it Charles Soule and Alberto Jimenez finish their epic about first contact and humanity’s escape into space.

Glitterbomb: The Fame Game, Image Comics ($17, Softcover): Jim Zub and Djibril Morissette-Phan meditate on fame and its cost in this witty, unnerving horror comic.

Jack Kirby: 100, DC Comics ($20, Softcover): DC pulls out all the stops to celebrate Jack Kirby’s centennial.