Advance Review: ‘The Wrong Earth: Trapped On Teen Planet’ Shows What Fun Multiverse Stories Can Be
by Olly MacNamee
Summary
Dragonfly, Stinger and Deuce journey to an Archie Comics’ inspired parallel Earth for a fun adventure that respectfully and humorously pastiches the characters and conventions of these funny books. A fun and frothy adventure that never takes itself seriously, and neither should the reader. Sit back and enjoy the journey!
Overall
10/10Across the two series of AHOY Comics’ The Wrong Earth we have seen the more grim and gritty Dragonfly of Earth-Omega soften and come to enjoy his time on the more quaint and innocent world of Earth-Alpha. And in The Wrong Earth: Trapped on Teen Planet one shot he’s in danger of becoming even more content as he travels to an all-too familiar parallel world not too dissimilar to the octogenarian Archie Andrews with an art style to match. A fun romp through a world of soda fountains, high school dances and the mildest of perils. A humorous homage to the Archie comics of the past and a great example of the kind of fun to be had in the multiverse any comic book company could have. It’s just AHOY Comics are doing it this time.
Already a series that has satire both worlds of The Dark Knight Returns and Batman ’66, with Dragonfly, Stinger and Deuce travelling to this new world writer Gail Simone’s dials up the silliness a notch or two. And, after the initial intro art by penciller Walter Geovani and inker Rob Lean, we get a spot on pastiche of Archie comic book art courtesy of Bill Morrison.
The humour is very much a tongue-in-cheek friendly poke at the kind of stories, characters and conventions you’d find in any Archie comic book, but with the addition of more super heroic action as the more realistic world of Earth-Alpha comes crashing through to the cartoon world of this teen planet.
As the first of a number of one shot specials being put out to celebrate goofiness of The Wrong Earth it’s a great statement of intent and plays to the creators’’ various strengths. A fun, done-in-one story that works extremely well as a jumping on point for nay new readers yet to discover this wonderful comic book series. With these specials and the previous two series, editor and co-creator Tom Peyer is slowly building a multiverse of mirth that, for me at least, is far more fun to vista that the big two’s more dour and dangerous multiverses at the moment. If you’re a sucker for multiverses, mirth and mayhem, then you’ll definitely want to pick this one up.
The Wrong Earth: Trapped on Teen Planet is out Wednesday 2nd March from AHOY Comics