Comics

The Southern Knights was a good indie b&w series of the 1980s about four Atlanta-based superheroes, Electrode, Dragon, Connie and Kristen. Last week’s NC Comicon filled my one gap with EARLY DAYS OF THE SOUTHERN KNIGHTS Vol. 2 by Henry Vogel and various artists, which introduces us to hitmen Carl and Larry, the crime cartel Viper and its mysterious leader (“What worries me is, where do the bodies go?”), fills us in on Connie and Kristen’s childhoods and introduces the sorcerer Aramis, thawed out of suspended animation. A fun series which avoids the usual Southern stereotypes and also throws in some Southern in-jokes.
THE BIG BOOK OF BARRY WEEN, BOY GENIUS by Judd Winick chronicles the adventures of 10-year-old super-genius Barry and his decidedly not-genius best friend Jeremy as they cope with crushes, telepathic gorillas, time travel, interdimensional wormholes and the burden of being smarter than everyone else. At its best, this could be either insanely funny or very poignant (the ending, while it isn’t dark exactly, is a gut-wrencher) though a lot of issues read like Dexter’s Laboratory with more f-bombs dropped. But even those are entertaining.