Copra Round 7

Copra Versus #1-5

by Michel Fiffe

Michel Fiffe's biggest book yet covers a lot of COPRA's earliest adventure, a deep look at their rogues gallery, and their latest mega arc that paves the way for the big finale! From brand new issues and long out-of-print rarities, to previously unseen comics and tons of extras from an army of guest cartoonists, COPRA Round Seven has it all!   Collects COPRA #25, 42-45 & COPRA VERSUS #1-5

Genres: Comics

304 pages, Paperback

Published June 20, 2023

About the author

Michel Fiffe is the creator of the action series COPRA, published by Bergen Street Press, and the intimately surreal Zegas, collected by Fantagraphics. He's worked with Marvel, Valiant, and BOOM! and continues to serialize COPRA when he's not writing massive essays on comics of note. Fiffe has produced Bloodstrike: Brutalists (Image Comics) and G.I. Joe: Sierra Muerte (IDW) in their entirety and has recently launched a new title, Negativeland.

Reviews

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I frickin' love these series!

[Doug Downing · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm on the fence with Copra. I like Fiffe's personality and sensibility, but I didn't find Rounds 1 & 2 all that fulfilling. Come to think of it, I haven't read superhero comics since I was a kid—and don't know a suicide squad from a cheerleading one—so what am I doing reading this? If anything, I suspect the series might be more fun to ingest as single issues.

Enter Round 7. The cover is just too beautiful and candy-colored to pass up. I guess I figured, I like the series enough I ought to own a piece of it, and this may as well be that piece. It consists of a smaller-than-usual 4-issue arc (#42-45, post-Ochizon Saga), supersized with holdovers like a key flashback issue (#25) and a limited 5-issue Copra Versus series, each section copiously explained by the artist. I gotta say: I like the production on this. The matte paper feels like a better choice than the ‘dry paper towel’ aesthetic of earlier volumes, offering slightly more vivid color and a smoother, more pleasant texture.

Is it OK to read this without having finished Rounds 1-6? I'll find out. My general observation is that it can take a *long* time to read each page in a Copra comic. So long, it gets fatiguing. It's counter-intuitive for an action series and not ideal for any genre. But as a collection, I'm inclined to give this high marks for variety and value. 300+ pages. Plus, we're being brought fully up to speed: Read this, and you're ready for the latest issue when it arrives in Fall 2023.

UPDATE: The new run (#42-45) actually reads faster than earlier volumes! As a series, Copra is grim in its worldview, dry and studied, violent: Superhero noir. Though I admire aspects, I'm not sure the genre is a good fit for me. But as I said, this volume offers a cornucopia, including autobiographical shorts, pin-ups, and tributes. All that, plus some nice storytelling twists, makes it my favorite so far.

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Copra is back and self published once again!

I wonder why Michel Fiffe decided to move away from Image after only a trade or two - but the good thing is, the title loses none of it's steam as it delivers what Copra is known for yet again. We get plenty of fighting, plenty of story building, and a little bit of ...not sure what's going on here. I mean, to be fair, you can totally follow the plot and get the major beats, but sometimes Fiffe goes on a bit of a tangent, and some of the details are missing.

But unlike the writing, the art doesn't pull any punches when it comes to details. THe book looks and feels great. There is a visceral energy that comes off the page, and really, a big part of why I read this book is because of Fiffe's art. There isn't really another comic quite like it, and it's very fun to read because of that energy. The book looks great, and I think it might be some of Fiffe's best work art wise.

I'm looking forward to see where the plot goes from here, as we are left with the team toppling a dystopian government and the promise of bad times ahead.

[Collin Carefoot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michel Fiffe’s work has never failed to impress me.

[Ed · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Versus stories are experiments that don’t entirely work but the new stories are straight fire.

[Billy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiffe packs in so many extra goodies into this volume.