Writer: Tony Digerolamo
Artists: Chris Moreno(p), Jay Moreno(i)
Publisher: Kenzer & Company
This issue of Travelers takes multiple cultural and pop references and catapults them into each other. In lesser hands the smashup may have resulted in a royal mess with myriad casualties. In the hands of Tony Digerolamo and the Morenos, you get a laugh out loud funny comic book.
In The Simpsons, Zorro dueled the Scarlet Pimpernel. In Travelers, our heroes are sent to Stalag 13 overseen by dragon gangsters and created by a Scottish king based upon Groundskeeper Willie; his children just may allude to the Chuck Jones bears. You cannot have Stalag 13 without Klink and Schultz. The transformation from Nazis to Scotsmen is surprisingly effective. The caricatures are dead on and provide hilarious foils for Dan who makes a good substitute for Colonel Hogan.
Also on tap for spoofing is The Great Escape one of the best action movies ever made. Sgt. Tariff nicely fills in for Steve McQueen, and a tunnel offers the reader a good joke toward the end. Best of all, you never see the joke coming. In fact none of the story is predictable.
Lest you think that Travelers is all fun and games, Mr. Digerolamo and the Morenos in two scenes evolve volcanic drama. One of these scenes involves a less educated member of the band, yet you feel for that person. You stop laughing a moment and see her as a fully dimensional character. You feel sorry for her. You see her as more than comedy relief and are in fact relieved when humor retakes the mood. Compare this feeling to the nausea you experienced upon seeing Power Girl turned into a sexist joke in a particularly noisome issue of JSA.
If after reading the review, you find yourself a little confused by the names, do not worry. You will not be at sea when reading the book. Mr. Digerolamo does not automatically assume you are a faithful Travelers reader. I dip in the book only occasion simply because the fantasy genre isn't a favorite. Although in the tail end of a storyarc, I did not feel lost. Mr. Digerolamo explains without tedious exposition what has occurred and reveals the characterization through dialogue and interaction. By the end of the book, you will know who these characters are.
Travelers is moving to a new publisher. While once at home at Kenzer and Company, the book will be moving in April to Wingnut (www.wingnutgames.com). A special subscription rate and deal is being offered, and if you fear the post office will deliver your book in pieces--something that once used to happen habitually with my some of my books--I'm sure your local comic book store will be able to hook you up.
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