It's been just over a year since director Macon Blair premiered his new reboot of The Toxic Avenger at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The new film stars Peter Dinklage as the eponymous hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength, along with Elijah Wood, Kevin Bacon, and more—but has unfortunately struggled to find support for a wider distribution, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The reasons for this are unclear, though early reviews of the film have reported that it does indeed follow in the Troma Films' tradition of excessive gore (though perhaps with less lo-fi camp than most Troma films are known for). Perhaps the film will do the rounds at a few more film festivals—but for now, you'll have to keep waiting to see Peter Dinklage in a pink tutu killing bad guys with a mop.
The good news is, Ahoy Comics is launching a new Toxic Avenger comic book, with the first issue dropping on October 9, 2024—and wow, is it an absolute delight. The new series is written by The Nib founder Matt Bors, whose unique style of earnestly sardonic sociopolitical commentary sets the perfect tone for artist Fred Harper's grotesquely cartoonish line work.
Unlike the rumored hyper-violence of the Toxie movie reboot, the new Toxic Avenger comic seems to take its atmospheric cue more from the Saturday morning hijinks of the ill-fated Toxic Crusaders, by way of that aforementioned Tromavillian high camp. The new Toxic Avenger series is hardly aimed at kids, but there is a playfulness to the surface level sheen that makes the scathing commentary even more accessible. Most people will likely recognize Bors' sense of humor from his iconic "Mr. Gotcha" comic (though you should also read his work on Justice Warriors). His work on Toxic Avenger has a similar vibe—only this time, Bors and Harper cram a Mr. Gotcha's worth of gags into nearly every single panel in the comic. It's a rich reading experience that rewards multiple re-reads, and not just because of its fun non-linear narrative approach.
While the basics of The Toxic Avenger story are still there—98-pound weakling, accidentally doused in toxic waste while wearing a tutu for some inexplicable reason, mutates into a giant toxic superhero—Bors and Harper smartly update the rest of the world around ol' Toxie for the modern day. The plot cleverly alludes to a myriad of current events, from COVID quarantine fever dreams to the East Palestine train derailment fiasco, and pulls it all together with an obligatory social media frenzy (along with the subsequent disinformation cover-up). That might sound like a lot, but the real strength of the comic lies in the fact that it's not. It all works together organically, just like the toxic waste that transforms poor Melvin. And those political allusions also get blend perfectly with the layers of Mr. Gotcha-isms and other sight gags, and that rich layering is also like the toxic waste that transforms poor Melvin. Or something.
Toxic Avenger hits comic stores on October 9, 2024.
Previously:
• Watch the first trailer for the new Toxic Avenger reboot starring Peter Dinklage
