EARTH 2 / DREDD – UNDERBELLY [Reviews]: Oh, the In’MUTANT’ity…

Finding  a recurring theme through this stash of funnybooks was a tough trick, seeing how the publishers ranged from DC, 2000 AD, Marvel, and IDW. That was until this parish noticed this freaky foursome all featured mutants, you know, if you don’t mind my inclusion a “truth serumed” villain — or, hell, even an Earth 2 Thomas Wayne — in this week’s particular Fistful of Comics.

Close enough, right?

Either way…there was a lot of disparity in the quality here, so you ought to pay attention to see which [in]mutated comic is just right the right one for you.

EARTH 2 ANNUAL #2

This issue starts in 1979! The summer of…love? Alien and the Muppet Movie came out that year. As did Star Trek: The Movie and Mad Max and Rocky II and The Jerk! And this issue starts with a Jerk shooting Bruce Wayne’s parents. Not really a spoiler alert; we all know Joe Chill killed Bruce’s parents. But in this universe, it happened in 1979 and Bruce had been Batman since at least 1994. So, you know, he probably went and saw Michael Keaton as Batman in 1989 and thought, what a good idea!

Also, one of the villains of the book is named Frankie Francavilla, after Francesco Francavilla, who is just a titan of comics art. Too friggin’ cool.

Not hard to guess which flight he took.

After a scene of Batman truth-seruming Frankie, we get another flashback to 1971, where we learn that Doctor Thomas Wayne, Bruce’s dad, helped Frankie (here, it’s laid bare that his real name is Francesco Francavilla…so yeah, pretty cool) in a pinch. Frankie gets shot, soon-to-be Doctor Tommy Wayne saves his life, so Frankie throws a party in his honor. A swingin’ 70s party too. So you know, flashy dames, disco balls, and Jarvis Pennyworth as Tommy’s butler/bodyguard.