Street Fighting Man #1
Created by: Derek Jessome and Jeff Knott
Grandway Comics
2020
THE STREET FIGHTING MAN SURFACES IN GRANDWAY CITY–AND IN THE MIDDLE OF A COMMUNITY WARZONE! THE FUGITIVE SUPER-ADVENTURER SOON LEARNS HE MUST PROTECT HIS NEW NEIGHBORS FROM A RUTHLESS STREET GANG–A GANG IN LEAGUE WITH AN AWESOME, ALL-POWERFUL SATANIC FORCE! DON’T MISS THIS ONE!
For the passed three weeks, I’ve been reviewing a single company’s books, and enjoying them immensely. Grandway Comics specializes in the kind of comic books I grew up with – easy to read morality tales about shiningly bright heroes and wickedly dark villains. They are fun, nostalgic reads that make me feel just like watching old 80s cartoons does – like I’m a kid again, at least for a few minutes. These may be great books for actual kids, but I want to acknowledge how important that feeling is for an adult, too. These books have a little magic in them.
And so far, Street Fighting Man is my favorite by far. The art is consistent with all the others, which is perfectly serviceable. It doesn’t match up to the best of modern day Marvel or anything, but there’s plenty of colors, highly detailed backgrounds, and the characters all look great. But what really makes Street Fighting Man shine is the writing. It’s purposefully over-the-top 70s disco cheese, and it is glorious. Kids may enjoy it, but it is perfect for any one who actually remembers the books and films from this era. If you changed the copyright date and told me this was actually made back then, I would believe you without hesitation.
I ended my review of the first of these titles with a lament that there may not be a large market for these books, and I still think that is true. But I’d like to say, now that I’m wrapping up my time with Grandway, that there should be. Each one of these titles is pure fun, and that’s the point of comic books in the first place. If you get the chance to support this company or these titles, you should. There should be a market for this. It is something special in an industry that worries too much about just moving issues.
Cheesy, But Oh, So Fun!
A fantastic throwback to more simplistic times. They may be youth-oriented, but there's still plenty of fun for older audiences in a trip down memory lane.
Brian Reed
Brian has been reading comics since January, 1987, when the death of Optimus Prime rocked his young world. Once a regular presenter on The Nerdstravaganza Podcast, Brian now writes for Florida Geek Scene.
