Under the Net with
Jake Estrada
Mucho Man
Welcome to the 18th edition of Under the Net.
Hey everyone, welcome to another edition of Under the Net.
This is Spanish title known as Mucho Man. I was scoping out the net looking for
hidden gems and came upon this title. Here is my review.
I will be rating the elements of the book on a scale of one
through five.
One is poor, two is mediocre, three is fair, four is good,
and five is excellent.
The Art
The art was very nice. I liked how the comic was drawn; it
had all kinds of crazy things thrown in for good measure that gave me a 1970’s
comic vibe. The comic is in black and white. We get the exploits of many
characters in the comic, and it was wonderfully put together artistically. The
use of spreads was nice. They had a clear understanding of panel dynamics.
ART: 4 STARS
The Writing
The story at times flowed nicely, but at some points, it
dragged. The story opens with the El Pistolero. He has a very huge hat, fires
guns, and is considered Mexico’s first and greatest hero. As I said, at times
it flows nicely and other times I had to force myself to read the story. The
action picks up some and eventually he is presumed dead.
When we get to the
brunt of the story, we soon get to a wrestling match, and I did lose interest
in the story at this point. I had to push myself to read the comic further to
give it a proper review.
Then we were introduced to Mucho man, and saw him punching
fish. Fish were instantly dying, and it gave me this huge wtf moment as I
busted out laughing reading these panels. I was like, “Oh man, this is so much
like a bad 1970’s Santos movie!” as our masked hero went to town with killer fish
from outer space or some other crazy idea. I was like, “This is nuts!” I kept
pushing forward.
Then, Fish Man appears, throws some sharks and other things,
and that issue ends.
I have to say that the writing is okay. It gives us a basic
story, but I felt like maybe we needed to be introduced to Mucho Man sooner,
and he should have been fighting the fish a heck of a lot faster. But, I give
the crew my props. Keep writing your crazy tales. We need more comics that go
out on the limb like this sometimes. J
WRITING: 3 STARS
Originality
The series is based in Mexico. It is great to see a different
setting and the use classical-type characters such as Mexicans and wrestlers to
be heroes. It has that 1970’s vibe and certain B’ness to it. It comes from a
source of comics I haven’t seen a while. It also reminds me of other classic
hero comics. I love the fact that it has an ethnic cast, and it plays with its
stereotypes well.
ORIGINALITY: 3 STARS
The Pros
The art is nicely done. The visuals are great, and it flows
very well. You can see that a lot of work has been put into this comic to give
it a very professional, polished look. The effects work great and each page
illustration adds to the layer of the comic. With no dialogue, it flows well.
The Cons
With the dialogue, it gets bogged down. It slows it down,
and it makes it a long, boring read at times. If you can get past some of the
scenes and get to the ultimate fighting fish fight, you will laugh at least.
Now, that’s if you can get past the wrestling match. I think many people may
just not get past it, and it would be a shame. I would tell my readers to check
it out and give it a chance, at least for the fighting fish part.
My Final Word
If you want 1970’s masked wrestlers who will kick your door
down and kill your living fish, then read this comic!!
To read the first issue go here:
Enjoy folks!
Jake Estrada
Email me at estradajake@yahoo.com for website/story
suggestions. Thanks.
Jake Estrada is a published author who holds degrees in
Multimedia Design and Criminal Justice. He is a father to three wonderful
children and married to his beautiful wife, Beth. You can find his comics at http://graphicly.com/estrada-media
and other fine online stores.
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