Welcome to an all new edition of Parlay points, the complementary comic book blog to the ODPH Podcast! For this blog post, we’re taking a look at a book which has been generating some buzz for the past few weeks and it’s rightly justified. 20TH CENTURY MEN by Deniz Camp, S. Morian and Aditya Bidikar for Image Comics is a fascinating read which presents a world of individuals and “heroes” in a vision that is simply all its’ own. Honestly, there isn’t anything at the LCS currently that is such a creative mix of so many narratives with nothing being held back . It is not your average comic book and that’s a very good thing to be.

Before we get started with the blog, there are some graphic images in the preview below. Take that in consideration before moving forward. If you’re all good, Let’s take a deeper dive into the debut issue and see what all the hype is about, shall we?

20TH CENTURY MEN - On Sale August 17th
Deniz Camp, S. Morian and Aditya Bidikar (Cover B: Igor Kordey)
Credit: Image Comics

20TH CENTURY MEN - On Sale August 17th
Deniz Camp, S. Morian and Aditya Bidikar
Credit: Image Comics

*** POSSIBLE SPOILER WARNING ***

The issue starts are in 1969 Vietnam. As a mysterious colonel arrives to an army base, he becomes witness to a horrific scene. As the soldiers take him to see “the Tin man”, they come across what appears to be a deadly marker with bodies and body parts all around the land. The marker looks as a warning sign to anyone trying to come through that they will not be well received. Readers will have no question about the intensity of the story they are about to embark on.

From here, the book jumps to 1948 Moscow. A mother and son are confronted by Russian police where they take the boy, Petar Platonov away to an unknown future at the time. That future is shown later in 1987 Kabul. Platonov is know known as ‘The Iron Star”, an armed walking weapon that is the “hero” this world needs. The Iron Star “influences a conference of dignitaries into coming to terms on their disagreements.

From this point, Readers are taken into a journey into the mind of Petar and what his role is being the Iron Star appears to be. It is a cold picture of reality but it’s balanced out from a connection and conversation with Azra, an Afghan woman who’s committed to helping her people. The interactions she has with Petar seems as she is the only person in this world who sees he’s more than a weapon.

Their conversation is cut brief as Petar is debriefed about another situation in an all too familiar place to him. What does Jalalabad mean to him? During this time, a threat is introduced that will be a major cause of concern. Who is this threat? What are their motives? How does Petar and Azra tie into this? For those answers, you need to check this issue out. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed you did!.

Wow….this is a very excellent and intense read. Camp dives into presenting this unapologetic, harsh world with a hero that is forged from its powerful landscape. Petar has many layers to his character and scars that he wears (figuratively and literally). The amount of hard moments he has lived thru has made him a reflection of the times he currently stands in. Some of his interactions with others read devoid of all emotions except for his time with Azra. While appearing in only a few moments, she represents hope in this unforgiving tale. With the overall themes of politics and war looming throughout, combining that realism into a “hero”’s story such as Petar’s is almost unheard of. Camp answers that challenge with a very compelling tale that stands out from many other books.

Morian’s art crafts this dark, unapologetic story that captures the gravity of the times these characters live in. “War Is Hell” is brought to life with the imagery in the flashback sequences. For a book like this to work, nothing can be restrained. From the opening scenes in Vietnam 1969 to the Jalalabad sequence, Morain depicts these moments with the gripping realness of this dire scenarios. The conversations with Azra show off the human elements of these characters which gives a solid contrast to the overall feel of this book. Once readers get to the “big bad” of the story, Morian’s subtle use of cigar smoke (in one panel in particular) and facial expressions speak volumes of what this character is adding to the story at hand. The art complements the writing perfectly to establish the broken climate readers are about to enter.

Overall, 20th Century Men #1 presents such a distinctive vision of creativity that simply can’t be ignored. Camp and Morian (along with Bidikar) welcome readers into a very multi-layered story with exceptional art to guide them through what is an ever-changing volatile environment. This is one book to make a point to check out at the local comic shops for NCBD.

Hit me up on Twitter and let me know what you thought of 20th Century Men #1. Thanks for reading!

20TH CENTURY MEN (IMAGE COMICS)

Ken M