Comic Book Review: My Hero Magademia

John F. Trent |

Mar 28, 2018

“I’m gonna beat them up and we’re gonna make comics great again!”

My Hero Magademia by Timothy Lim and Mark Pelligrini takes Donald Trump’s election and presidency and turns it into a hilarious superhero romp. It’s a highly political book that is unabashedly pro-Donald Trump and the book makes it clear from the very first page when we are introduced to the Trump-like heroic figure known as Wall Might.

Mark Pelligrini’s script and dialogue reads like a classic fairy tale. It succinctly introduces us to the characters, both heroes and villains, and the challenges the heroes face. It’s a simple plot, but it’s fun and exciting. The script and dialogue combine excellently with the artwork. It even includes hilarious boxes explaining some of the action techniques. The first one we see is described as a super combo finish called “Landslide Victory.” And the action sequence by Wall Might lives up to the name.

There are a number of jokes which will make you laugh out loud that not only take shots at the overall political climate in the United States, but at the two major comic book publishers, DC Comics and Marvel Comics as well. It’s not afraid to offend and be funny doing it.

There are a number of elements in the story that will make it feel very familiar. It combines elements of Nickelodeon’s Avatar with Dragon Ball Z to great effect. There’s even some Godzilla references. Each of the characters taps into their own elemental power. For example, Wall-Might uses the power of the Earth against his enemies while Flotus wields hydrokinetic powers. There’s even a coming of age theme which is just classic well-done storytelling.

While the script and dialogue will have you laughing, the art doesn’t shy away from situational humor either. Timothy Lim not only provides his own laughs, but his art is dynamic and exciting. Each panel gives you a different perspective. Even when he draws three panels in a row of the same character, you get drastically different emotions and can see how the character’s internal through process is working even without the dialogue bubbles.

The action sequences are just absolutely awesome. Wall-Might’s superhero landing sends the ground crashing around him and his enemies flying in the background. You can almost feel the force of the impact as he lands on the ground. The villain designs are also pretty cool. It combines zombies with the swamp to create these extraordinarily creepy characters. Just looking at them makes you want to revolt. As for the main villain though, the character design couldn’t be any better.

Brett R. Smith’s colors do an excellent job of bringing Lim’s art to life. He does a really good job with the lighting to draw your eye to the action. His choice of colors for the characters especially the Swamp creatures is perfect. The sickening green makes you almost revolt when you first see them. He also does a great job of showcasing emotion with his color palette.

The Verdict

My Hero Magademia is a laugh out loud political comic that takes the best of the best of Japanese franchises and combines them to create an exciting and action-packed story. Mark Pelligrini’s script and dialogue has a number of hilarious moments and reads like a classic fairy tale. It allows you to easily jump into the story and keep you engaged. Timothy Lim’s artwork is just stunning. He is able to add provide plenty of situational humor, but there’s also jaw-dropping action sequences and some really awesome creature designs. It definitely has a manga-style to it. If your not afraid of an overtly political book, you will have a fun time with My Hero Magademia.