After reading the first two issues of the Forager mini-series, two things are obvious to me: the Allreds are big fans of Jack Kirby, and they must be having an absolute blast working on this book.
This series is a love letter to the King, and like issue one, several of his creations make an appearance in issue two. Forager finds himself on the outskirts the snow-covered land of Nanda Parbat with a gun in his face, courtesy of Sarge Clay from The Losers. Clay isn’t alone, however; he’s joined on the next page by Sandman and Sandy the Golden Boy, the original Blue Beetle and Loser teammate Gunner MacKay.
A comical case of mistaken identity (thanks to Sandy) leads the heroes to think Forager is actually Golden Age hero Red Bee. The Bee-Bug joke becomes a bit of a running joke, one that works exceedingly well with another bug-themed hero on the case.
The heroes find themselves hot on the heels of series villain General Electric (I said it last issue and I’ll say it again: I love Kirby’s brain!) and his army of plug soldiers. No, really. The Losers brought backup in the form of the Bazooka Boys, the familiarly named Brooklyn Brand and Buddy Blankenship. Longtime DC readers will know exactly who these men are.
Forager takes off to find a way into Nanda Parbat, and Sandy is dispatched to keep an eye on him. When the pair make it inside the mystical city, we see that General Electric and Chagra (he’ll be important next issue, I’ll wager) have Rama Kushna trapped in a cage and the rest of the Losers are mining for the mineral Orichalcum.
Mayhem ensues when Chagra double-crosses the General and things go even further sideways when a half-dozen abominable snowmen appear. No, I’m not making this up…this series is completely bonkers.
The Allreds have again treated us to an incredible four-colour ride, and the wait for the next issue is going to feel interminable. If you’re not reading this series, you absolutely should be. Hurry up, issue #3!
