- Lazer Brain Comics #2!
- Higgins House Productions!
- Created/Written/Illustrated by Ryan L. Higgins!
- 32 full-color action-packed pages!!!
Do you like on-going adventure stories about kids who have to SAVE THE WORLD? Well, this comic kicks off TWO of those types of tales! Even if that’s NOT your jam you need to check this out because this could be the comic book that changes your mind!
Using GRAY MAN, a cosmic-powered super-hero animated by his own mind, Filo must thwart an alien invasion and stay one step ahead of government agents who want Filo’s power for themselves!
Nova Nasser has always stood up to bullies! On a field trip to an Egyptian Museum her defiance is noted by a mystical being who gives her superpowers! Now, as RED CAT, Nova must thwart the dark intentions of an evil sorcerer while keeping her own rage in check!
The sensational second issue of Lazer Brain Comics featuring two scintillating stories! Filo Farnsworth’s school is surrounded by evil aliens; good thing he has a remote-controlled super-hero he calls GRAYMAN! Also, The Righteous Red Cat returns to take on the cretinous CROC MEN!
In June of 2022, I had the honor of reviewing a fantastic piece of work by Ryan Higgins. It was a glorious throwback to when comics were fun & full of action, with more colorful characters than you could shake a stick at. Having read many titles trying to fly the “all-ages” flag, I’ve learned that there’s more to targeting that broad a range in an audience than just leaving the swear words and eviscerations out.
(Kids, if you don’t know what an “evisceration” is, you should probably talk to your parents before trying to read a comic that has any in it.)
Moving on from issue one, Ryan Higgins keeps the ball rolling with Lazer Brain Comics #2. Without wasting any time, he dives right into the stories in progress as Every Kid Filo Farnsworth defends his friends from alien invaders & The Red Cat prevents the theft of an ancient artifact. In writing his stories, Ryan is able to walk the fine line between self-aware comic banter & over the top dialogue-heavy narratives. By “self-aware”, I mean that when someone does go off on a diatribe, they’re almost immediately pulled right down by someone else who wants to know why they’re talking like a 50’s comic book character. It’s an outstanding play that gives a nod to the classics and a wink to the audience before the eye rolling gets too serious.
Juggling all the comic-creating duties, Ryan has a pretty fair hand at the art as well. His style is a little to the left of the grittier, cleaner look popular in modern work, favoring a more cartoony style well suited to the tone he’s aiming for. Ryan’s action has a good sense of dynamic flow, following in the footsteps of pioneers like Kirby, Eisner, & Ditko without parroting them outright. His artistic choices soften the instances where the consequences of violence creep in, obscuring the little bit of blood there is without fully ignoring it… a tactic that I honestly believe to be more responsible than showing the fighting and ignoring the fact that bad things can happen as a result.
A comic with a classic look and feel, Lazer Brain is a beautiful piece of work. Ryan Higgins deserves all the praise and recognition, not only as a talented comic creator but also as one who chooses to avoid the popular path of more mature material. Stories like what he’s bringing to the page are what got me hooked into comics in the first place, and that he’s able to capture that feeling while avoiding the many pitfalls therein earns my regard. Take a look at what’s happening over in his neck of the internet… it could be what you’ve been looking for.
(And if you’re of comics podcast mindset, check out the Geek Gossip Podcast hosted by brothers Jack & Arty Higgins…)
Final Score: 10/13
