Comic Bento November 2016: Remember the Titans

Comic Bento is a blind subscription box service that provides four or five graphic novels each month. Each monthly box is tied together as part of a theme. The theme for the November 2016 box is Remember the Titans. These books feature characters that are larger than life.

The first book this month is Hulk: Season One (Fred van Lente and Tom Fowler; 2012; Marvel). The Hulk is the perfect character to include in this box because he is such a brute. I don't think I've read a Hulk book yet, so this is perfect for me. Plus, Fred van Lente is writing it. I've read a couple of his other books and they were great. I'm excited to see what he will do with the character. The art looks good, although it is more cartoony than I have come to expect from more recent Marvel products. It seems to fit the character well. There is a sample at the end of the book from another Hulk series that has more realistic art, which looks awesome.

Next up is Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris, Volume 1: Colossus of Mars (Arvid Nelson and Carlos Rafael; 2011; Dynamite Entertainment). If you haven't already, go read A Princess of Mars. This book is based on Edgar Rice Burroughs' series set on Mars. It follows the character Dejah Thoris hundreds of years before she meets John Carter. One thing that I can say about the art is that there is a ton of skin. I'm not sure how this will affect my reading of the book, but I am interested in delving back into this fantastic world.

The third book featured in this box is Thrud the Barbarian (Carl Critchlow; 2013; Titan Comics). Thrud is big of muscle and tiny of head. He'd rather fight his way out of a situation than have to think at all. The book made me think of Conan right away, and it appears to be a parody of the famous character. Comic Bento has done a great job of picking out some pretty humorous books. I hope this follows that trend. Plus, the art looks fantastic.

Fourth, we have Kaijumax Season One (Zander Cannon; 2016; Oni Press). So this book is about a prison for giant monsters like the ones that Godzilla faces off against. I don't think anything else needs to be said about the story. The art is really different on this one, but it seems to fit the story perfectly.

Finally, there is The Champions: No Time for Losers (Tony Isabella and Bill Mantlo; 2016; Marvel). That's right, there are five books for November. This one features Hercules, along with some friends, battling some pretty big opponents. This book collects some classic issues from back in the 70s. I can definitely tell that these are some older comics just flipping through the book, but hey it should be fun to read nonetheless. My only real quibble with this one is that it isn't bound like a normal trade, but is styled after the floppy books.