Mask Strikes Back Uk

The Mask

by John Arcudi

Rick, Ben, Hugo, and Archie are four teens with a fixation on that melon-headed menace, The Mask. When they each get a shot at wearing the empowering emerald artifact, they figure it's a dream come true! And it is! Power, fame, and ultimate wish fulfillment are at arm's reach! But so is the mute man-monster, Walter, and arm's reach is far too close when he's involved!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Graphic Novels Comics, Crime, Fiction, Humor

Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

John Arcudi has made a name for himself by scripting comics that manage to combine long-running subplots with impeccable characterization and action sequences, making for some of the most exciting and consistently good comics out today.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 5 out of 5]

This time four teenagers get the Mask and havoc ensues. The art and coloring are top notch. The vibrant colors make the Mask look like a cartoon come to life while Mahnke's detailed pencils get better with each outing.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you aren't already aware, the Mask is off the walls bonkers. In this book, a group of teens find the mask and each one proceeds to take a turn wearing it. The cops and an old foe are hunting down the returned Big Head. Since he is able to change shape easily and shrugs off most damage, there isn't much that can phase him.

The tone of the book is mostly consistent even though there are four different personalities that need to contend with the mask. They all try to use it to achieve their dreams with varying results. I haven't read the other books in the series, but I have seen the movie. There are a couple points where I didn't know what the characters were referring to as a result. This is ok because I was able to get the gist of it and those moments weren't key to the story.

The creators clearly had a lot of fun with this book. The trading of the mask between the characters allows them to delve into four different aspects of Big Head without having to start over each time. A couple of these stand out a bit more to me because of the awesome art that came out of it. It can get cartoony at times, which works with this character. The colors are fantastic. Most of the time they make the illustrations pop off the page. This was such a fun book, although there isn't a lot of depth to it.

[William O’Pomegranate · Rating 1 out of 5]

The art is great, but that's mostly where the good things end with this one. It's completely jarring to read this after reading the last two. This is a milquetoast version of the Mask. They spell out incredibly obvious stuff so even the dumbest of readers can follow along with what's going on. They remove most of the violence and all of the consequences. I think this could have worked if it had been a reboot of the series, but it doesn't have a place in the literary universe the authors have already established.

Spoilers Below
Big Head is no longer homicidal. He more closely resembles the movie character. The powers of Big Head are no longer intoxicating. Four people try on Big Head and within a day all decide it's not for them. And who are these people? Teenagers. You know, individuals not known for their incredible self-control.

A young kid, maybe ten years old, at one point asks Big Head for his autograph. I could believe a kid might ask for Jim Carrey's character for an autograph. But this is the comics' Big Head, the guy who killed 30 police officers, an entire wedding party, and half of the cities mobsters. What kind of kid is going up to this homicidal maniac for an autograph?

[Jackie Stargrove · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally got to finish the series of this that I had a single issue of as a kid, totally confusing and disconnected from the movie, weirder and more violent and tons of fun.

[Malcolm Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a bit of an odd one from the series. It directly follows on from the events of the first two books and often refers to scenes from both of them, but is also very much its own story, or rather, collection of four short stories. With the exception of the police and Walter chasing the Mask, each embodiment of the Mask has its own spin as each of the friends attempts to get the Mask to do their bidding. Tonally, this is much lighter than the previous stories with significantly less blood and death. There's one scene with Walter and some nails which feels very much out of place in this volume and adds nothing to the story.
Still vibrantly and gloriously illustrated, this is a somewhat pointless addition to the series but is still a lot of fun.

[Brett Plaxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a lot of fun, really cool to watch the art style evolve and become more refined as time went on. Also cool to see the Mask being handled by 4 teenagers and how they handle the Big Head persona

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stupid silly violence isn't usually my thing, but I've always loved the Mask. This collects the stories of four misfit friends who get a hold of the Mask and think they can control it.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

4-star art, 1-star story. The forward was accurate to call “The Mask” the work of “Doug Mahnke and the other guy.”

[Chans · Rating 4 out of 5]

8/10

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

great art, weakest story of the omnibus by far

[Guillermo Pereira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny ending.

[S. Wilson]

The third volume of The Mask series, this entry finds the source of the "Big Head" power falling into the hands of four teenage friends. The kids proceed to take turns wearing the Mask, with each of their vastly different personalities revealing themselves differently through their well-meaning - yet ultimately chaotic and destructive - animated actions, all the while being chased down by Walter, Kellaway, and Kathy from the previous series.

The art and story are both adequate in this continuation of the Mask saga, but in the end it still ends up feeling a bit flat. This is mostly due to the teenage friends that act as the vehicle for the Mask; as they take turns attempting to harness the powers of the mask only to fail time and time again, we find each one learning the same lesson (the powers of chaos cannot - will not - be tamed) that we've already seen various characters learn in previous issues. Losing the After School Special message would have left room for a greater variety of Mask-related lunacy, and prevented the growing feeling of deja vu that the reader is ultimately left with.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, this was the last mini-series done by the creative team that made the character as famous as he was before he appeared in the Jim Carrey movie, and that movie had only a handful of things in common with the source material. The original Mask was actually routinely dispensing with lethal force since the sorts of things he could shrug off were fatal to normal people. There was nothing gentle or heroic or harmless about anyone wearing the thing.

Anyway, this mini-series shows four young friends find the mask, and each tries to use it to his own advantage. Naturally none of them succeed, and the closest the Mask has to an archenemy, the silent giant killer Walter, is hot on the guys' trail.

This is fun, but don't expect a continuation of the movie beyond the absolute basics of the mask makes people into living cartoon characters.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course I've seen the movie, but I've never read any of the comics until now. This volume springs directly from the others preceding it and some knowledge of what went on before would have cleared a few things up for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed this anyway. A series of youths try on the mask with various results, while being pursued by the hulking Walter. Not much plot but a hell of a lot of mayhem and wackiness, with some very funny moments and great hyper-90s art by Doug Manke. Really entertaining. I will try to go back and investigate the rest of this series.

[Kit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rereading these most delightful of books makes me feel kind of sad and wistful for a time when I had to hide these suckers in my closet or hunt them down week after week in bargain bins at Frank and Sons on a SoCal morning.
Few comics will ever give me the visceral satisfaction of Doug Mahnke's art.

[Roberto Diaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun, over the top third act of the trilogy of mini series about the mystical green Mask. Unlike anything like the movies, with gorgeous art by Doug Mahnke (N52 Green Lantern) and his co-creator John Arcudi at the script, makes me want to revisit this iconic 90's property once again.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Again if you like to dip your toe into the Mask lore. Then I give to you .....this lovely trade .