Bronx Heroes in Trumpland

Felix and Sciacca’s slapstick satire follows two superheroes fighting to take down a superpowered Donald Trump, ultimately falling flat from over-the-top delivery. Time-traveling superhero Astron Star Soldier vows on “Twatter” to stop the hatred growing after the 2016 election, jumping forward to the year 2026 and finding America in ruins under facist rule. He then travels back to 1974 to enlist fellow superhero Black Power, but the two must first deal with Trump’s hypnotic wife Malaria; Mike “Captain MAGA” Pence, Trump’s sentient, evil toupee with beady eyes; and a hoard of buglike deplorables. Eventually the heroes launch Trump into deep space and prepare to celebrate, but they also realize a similarly grotesquely caricatured Hillary Clinton and her Blue Wave squad might not have the best of intentions for America. The creators clearly cracked themselves up collaborating on this parody, which heavily takes inspiration from and is an attempted homage to Jack Kirby’s art and style. But the inconsistently rhyming script and juvenile humor (“Let my golden powers shower you with love” declares a bikini-top-clad Malaria) and generally incoherent story line make it hard to not groan. Even readers who have entirely like-minded political views are likely to dismiss the juvenile humor in this mishmashed parody. [em](Apr.) [/em]