Mr Yang Fights Aliens #1 - Indie Review

The major comic companies get enough reviews and press, it’s time for the creator-owned and indie series to get some love and judgment. Indie review takes up-and-coming indie and creator-owned series and puts them through the review process so you can confidently support the best of the small press and passion driven projects in the comic industry.

The Info Bit

Title: Mr. Yang Fights Aliens

Genre/s: Sci-Fi/Kung Fu/Comedy

Writer: Mickey Lam

Penciler: Mickey Lam

Letterer: Mickey Lam

Publisher: Illustrator: Lam

Number of Issues: 1 (limited series)

Page Count: 25

Price: £1 digital, £5 physical

The Review Bit

Mr. Yang Fights Aliens is a new, multi-part series from a comics new comer by the name of Mickey Lam. An ex-high school biology teacher turned professional illustrator, Lam tells the tongue-in-cheek tale of a fictional teacher who must fight aliens and try to have a budding social life while keeping up his scholarly duties.

Mr. Yang Fights Aliens takes place in London, which is beautifully depicted throughout much of the comic. The first two pages alone are filled with calm and serene backgrounds, wonderfully drawn, that will set you at ease and leave you utterly unprepared for the sharp twist in the comic’s story that drops on page 3. Things go from perfectly normal to setting up a twisted pair of antagonists at the drop of a hat and far earlier than one might traditionally expect in a story’s development. But this is actually quite great and really pulled me into the book. So what is the twist? Well, the title gives it away…the administration of Saint-Remington Academy is partially staffed with human eating aliens! But these aren’t your traditional Greys or 1950’s sci-fi beasts. The aliens of Mr. Yang are more like a dark and twisted version of something you’d find in Maurice Sendak’s Where The Wild Things Are.

The story opens up with science teacher Jamie Yang dealing with the traditional struggles of a modern teacher. Unbeknownst to him, aliens have not only infiltrated London, but are working in his very school and snacking on its delinquent students. But at the early half of this comic, Mr. Yang is too busy dealing with work to even enjoy a social life, let alone take notice of potential alien co-workers. Yet, when night falls and an alien abduction begins outside of Mr. Yang’s house, he must help the innocent bystanders that could soon be extraterrestrial meals. Yang’s cheesy one liners and exceptional martial skills help him fight back some of the aliens and discover the men and women of London who have been abducted by the dastardly monsters from beyond the stars. With the help of one of his students, he is even able to quickly shed his shirt, revealing his well toned body, and fight his way back planet-side. Where he ends up back in London, however, is something altogether different and hilarious. You’ll just have to pick up the comic to find out what comes next.

The dialog of Mr. Yang Fights Aliens reminds me heavily of the problems I had with comics prior to the 1970’s in America. The narrating protagonists often feel an unnecessary need to inform the reader through dialog or thought bubbles of what actions they are clearly being drawn as doing. Aside from being unnecessary, it can become a bit irking when it is done in excess. But with the style of story being presented, and the sometimes cheesy lines that match up with the equally goofy title of this comic it actually all rather works like a funny B-movie. I truly found myself laughing out loud a few times at lines like the brilliant “Sir! They’ve just cut that guy’s balls off and put it in a test tube!”, which was thankfully not shown on panel, but followed with a Steven Seagal-esque “I’ve heard enough” before the action kicked in again. Don’t expect any epic monologues of Shakespearean quality in this comic, but there are quite a few B-movie style gems I want to share with others.

At first glance you might think Mr. Yang is rather simplistic in its art. But as you read through the pages of part 1 you’ll quickly come to love it and feel it is perfect in many respects for what the comic is. The design of the aliens, while somewhat cute in their monstrous appearance, is actually quite great. I particularly love their transformation scene and graphic devouring of a student through silhouetted black and whites on page 3. But unfortunately it also looks like Lam’s art still needs to grow in certain areas, such as human faces. In various panels and from some perspectives his facial drawings look rather nice, but many seem somewhat inconsistent and poorly done. It seems alternate perspectives on these faces are a bit of a weak spot in his art, but this doesn’t slow down the story in any way. If anything, half the time I am more caught up in Lam’s richly detailed backgrounds with stunning architectural depictions of London locations. Many first-time-published artists lack background detail, causing a lot of indie comics to appear more like Japanese manga. Mr. Yang certainly doesn’t face that problem. Furthermore, Lam is quite talented with his action, making the martial skills of Mr. Yang look rather impressive against the various aliens he comes up against. Based on how Lam draws Mr. Yang, I actually wouldn’t mind him penciling a comic about Bruce Lee or Marvel’s Shang Chi a few years from now. Oh, and for those curious about the Chinese written on the comics cover? It’s the creator’s name in hanzi (Chinese characters).

The Rating Bit

Mr. Yang Fights Aliens is a wonderfully funny and beautifully cheesy comic that will undoubtedly have B-movie fans laughing and demanding SyFy jump on this as their next film. While the comic’s art ranges throughout the book, with some panels and figures standing out as quite impressive and others sadly lacking, it is enjoyable and befitting the story. I, for one, am rather looking forward to more of Mr Yang and his battle against extraterrestrials, feeling a need to give this hilarious first part a welcome 8 out of 10. You can find out more about Mr. Yang Fights Aliens and pick up your copy on the creator’s Etsy.