‘Weirdworld’ – Aaron, Del Mundo (Marvel)

Just a very quick one today as it’s been another crazy day and there’s still a whole load of work to get through before I can go to bed. Too much to do and not quite enough Graeme to do it all… But anyway 😊

I first came across ‘Weirdworld’ years ago, when I was hiding out in ‘Time Trek’ (a lovely little comic in Bromley which is sadly long gone now), trying not to have to go back to an office that I hated. As much as I love Marvel, I’m always a little wary about jumping into their series as it always seems to rely on a knowledge of continuity that I just don’t have. ‘WeirdWorld’ was a first issue though and the cover suggested that I’d be in for a story unlike the regular Marvel fare. So I did what I always do… I picked it up, enjoyed the hell out of it, promised myself that I’d keep an eye open for the following issues and… completely forgot about it. To be fair, there were a lot of other things happening then and forgetting a comic book was so easily done. But again, anyway… 😉

‘Weirdworld’ came up again in conversation a couple of weeks ago, thanks to that veritable oracle of geekdom @AnthonyPerconti, and I knew I’d have to give the whole thing a go this time. So that’s exactly what I did.

A real of swords and sorcery and strange perverted science. A realm where one barbarian walks alone on a dark and savage quest through all things weird and fantastic from throughout Marvel History. His name is Arkon, and he’s a lost man in a lost world. Follow him if you dare! For Arkon must battle underwater apes, contend with a Crystal Warrior and traverse the swamp of the Man-Things – as evil sorceress Morgan Le Fay and army of Lava Men and gun-toting ogres lay siege to Arkon’s home of Polemachus! Plus: Behold the coming of Skull the Slayer! What happens when a fugitive from the concrete jungle is thrust into a world of all things unimaginable? It’s simple really. He goes utterly insane.

Until I read ‘Weirdworld’, I don’t think I’d ever read a comic that really impressed on me how little I actually know about the Marvel universe but at the same time, told a story that required no knowledge of continuity whatsoever. Arkon has a quest to fulfil and must fight whatever stands in his way until he… Well, that would be telling but if you haven’t read this book already, lets just say that the ending is a good one. In the meantime though, as you’re travelling with Arkon, you’re travelling through this incredibly lush landscape, amazingly drawn by Del Mundo but filled, by Aaron, full of ‘Marvel Minutiae’ that must be a constant stream of Easter Eggs for the long time Marvel reader but still a great example, for the likes of me, of how you can build a completely engaging world from what are essentially castoffs. Which funnily enough, feels like the whole point of Weirdworld. If you find yourself there then you were already lost, it’s how you deal with what comes after that will define you and to a point, determine how long you will survive there.

So, a bit of a meditation on the nature of loss and what it’s like to be lost. Some will use it as a means of redemption but Arkon… Arkon doesn’t, he uses it as motivation to spur himself on. Arkon may be lost but at least he knows where he needs to be and that bloody minded determination turns what initially looks like a fairly run of the mill Sword & Sorcery tale into something totally compelling. Arkon just doesn’t stop, no matter what, and I had to keep reading, just to see where he ended up. Which brings us onto the ending and… Nope, still not going to tell you 😉

It took me a while but I’m glad that I finally got round to reading the rest of ‘Weirdworld’, an engaging mix of stunning artwork and a plot to match.