Advance Review: Steve Skroce Asks “What If?” In ‘Tales Of Wonder’ #2

What if Captain America and the Avengers and the Fantastic Four weren’t figments of comic book creators’ imaginations but rather were actual freedom fighters that a writer and illustrator met in their youth?

That’s the premise behind Tales of Wonder, written and illustrated by Steve Skroce.

Skroce, though, uses that setup only as the jumping off point for his limited series. It is as much a satire of comic book culture and personalities as it is an alternative history of comics.

Take Stu Reeds (a fill-in for Stan Lee) and Jake Crumsby (aka Jack Kirby). In real life, Lee took credit for … well just about everything, often denigrating the role played by the artists he worked with. In Tales of Wonder, Jake harbors resentment toward Stu for the constant slights in the creation of America’s Freedom Force (the Marvel’s The Avengers, only bigger).

And when we learn that the two actually met AFF when they were young soldiers during World War II. Instead of being incredibly creative, the pair acted more like journalists, recording much of what they saw and expanding it for comic books and later movies.

This second issue takes a turn from the premiere, with Jake and Stu reconnecting with the heroic team decades after they first met. Only a year has passed for Man-Bear, Fly-Boy, and the Ugly American, but Stu and Jake are now old men. Except they’re not now. The heroes are able to de-age people, which they plan on commercializing.

Skroce focuses the issue on the original meeting between the groups and what has happened since then. It’s a lot of exposition and little action, but he handles it in a way that still feels engaging for the reader. (There are some funny in-jokes targeting creators including Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld). But there are plenty of clumsy moments as well, including a forced fight that leads to the appearance — finally — of the bad guy Atum Black.

Skroce’s illustrations make every character feel unique; there’s no mistaking one for another. His fight scenes are a hodgepodge. It’s easy to understand what’s happening, but there’s a lot to sort through.

It feels as if the remaining three issues will give readers a more straightforward story now that the exposition is largely revealed. But who knows? Skroce may surprise us again and take things in an entirely different direction.

Tales of Wonder #2 — written and illustrated by Steve Skroce, colored by Ian Herring, and lettered by Pat Brosseau — will be available Wednesday in comic book stores and on digital platforms from Image Comics.