Savage Is The Word

I was going to write today about how pleased I am that the Sigilverse of CrossGen had returned under the Marvel banner; and to refute Mark Waid’s comments over at Newsarama that the Sigilverse suffered under the “forced shared-universe nonsense”. His words in an interview last August. I was a follower of many of the CrossGen titles, and was bitterly disappointed as the company folded during the Negation War crossover, which I had been eagerly awaiting.? This was one major event I had been salivating over at the very thought, for easily more than a year.

Thus when I read Karl Kesel’s words, I was blown away.

“That is so hard to guess,” Kesel wrote. “All depends on if their strategy is to Marvel-ize them, or leave the CrossGen universe floating on its own as an alternate universe. There are a lot of titles that wouldn’t have much stand-alone strength. It’s probably stronger as its own stand-alone universe with visiting privileges.”

Yes, please Marvelize them. Full visitor privileges. That way they will survive longer I think. Keep them to their own universe for a while, but then just think, the Avengers vs The Negation? Mary Jane Watson, Sigil Bearer? Okay, that last one is a strech, but you get the point. After all, Marvel has integrated weirder concepts in the past, from Conan to Rom Spaceknight and the Shogun Warriors. And hey, where is Circuit Breaker these days?

However, I must bring to your attention one of Moonstone’s latest offerings, that of ‘Savage Beauty’, by Mike Bullock and Jose Massaroli. After my diatribe about over-exposed female characters on Wednesday, I picked up this issue expecting very little, but I was blown away by it.

The art is reminescent of the highlights of Eclipse comics, a wonderfully pulp feeling that is only reinforced by the quality of the story. Savage is the word, as the story showcases some of the worst abuses we hear of coming out of certain regions of Africa. The central character is an identity assumed so far by at least two women, that of Anaya the goddess. Whether there is any supernatural force at work here, I don’t know, nor do I care. I am happy to let this story take me where it wants.

This is not your standard jungle hero fare, and I highly recommend it.