It’s no surprise by now that a Minor Threats title may pull in threads from other media, while creating its own, unique story and characters. But it’s still a delight every time it happens. And that’s true with the kick-off to the latest mini from the burgeoning franchise, From the World of Minor Threats: The Brood #1.
Written by Heath Corson, with series impresarios Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum, and art by I.N.J. Culbard, the book is basically King Lear with supervillains. Or, as I’ve been corrected on this, Succession with supervillains. Either way, the genius behind a supervillain dynasty is dying, and he needs to choose one of his three children to take over the family business.
What Corson and company do so nicely here is perfectly balance the story between these four plus characters. Napoleon Archimedes, a genius supervillain who seems weirdly reminiscent of Vector from the Despicable Me series, is the aging father and despite his 98-pound-weakling body, he cuts an impressive figure. And the three children are distinct personalities, too: the magic one; the science one; and the one who wants nothing to do with the business. They all also are distinct and unique, and provided ably with backstories that give them motivations and life beyond what you might expect.
All credit is due, too, to Culbard, who crafts iconic looks for these characters out of the gate. One of the joys of Minor Threats has been truly original characters, not just analogues for those existing in Marvel and DC. The same is true here with the weird, wild family at the center of these series.
The Brood is nimble, light, fresh and intriguing, and despite the clear antecedent in Shakespeare’s centuries old play — or HBO’s series, whichever you prefer — feels like something new and exciting. It may be called Minor Threats, but this is, just a few series in, already a major new superhero (and villain) universe.
From The World Of Minor Threats: The Brood #1 Rating:
From The World Of Minor Threats: The Brood #1 Official Synopsis:
From the world of the hit Minor Threats series comes a family drama starring the planet’s most feared villains.
Napoleon Archimedes is the archnemesis of The Searcher, and he’s fought her to a standstill for over four decades in the futuristic metropolis of Meteor Falls. But now, as he confronts his mortality, he’s forced to name a successor from his three extraordinary children: Athena, Benjamin, and Spookshow. Each brilliant, cunning … and unlucky enough to be the child of the world’s greatest supervillain.
See, Napoleon believed he was smart enough to have it all: Raise a family AND conquer the world. Then he thought: Why not combine them? Take the kids on as partners. Create a dynasty… None of it went according to plan. Who will rise above the betrayal, failure, and dysfunction to seize the family business?
Join us for an unlikely coming-of-age story, that wrestles with the concussions and repercussions of getting raised by a once-in-a-generation criminal mind. Think your father is manipulative, cold and demanding…? Wait until you meet Napoleon.
• Writer/Producer Heath Corson joins Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum for an all-new Minor Threats story!
• Four issue series.
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