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Mayday #1-5
Mayday
April 1971. The CIA is handed the espionage coup of the decade when a KGB general defects with a list of all Soviet intelligence assets in Asia. Including spies within the US Army in Vietnam. All Jack Hudson has to do is get the defector and his microfilm from Hong Kong to California... and keep Palm Springs' overzealous FBI office from turning everything into a freakshow. All Codename: Felix has to do is kill the defector and get the microfilm back to the USSR, by any means possible. Easy, right? Now throw in a beautiful woman, a fast car, and a whole lot of drugs. The bloody new thriller from ALEX DE CAMPI (NO MERCY, Grindhouse, Archie vs Predator), TONY PARKER (This Damned Band) and BLOND!
136 pages, Paperback
First published May 23, 2017
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About the author
Alex de Campi
260 books238 followersAlex de Campi is a New York-based writer with an extensive backlist of critically-acclaimed graphic novels including Eisner-nominated heist noir Bad Girls (Simon & Schuster) and Twisted Romance (Image Comics). Her most recent book was her debut prose novel The Scottish Boy (Unbound). She lives with her daughter, their cat, and a Deafblind pit bull named Tango.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 12, 2017
Since I had just read the terrific spy thriller comic Velvet by Ed Brubaker, I saw this at the library and sat down to read it through. It suffers by comparison, but maybe it suffers by comparison to most spy thrillers. And maybe doesn't care. The story, set in 1971, involves the CIA and FBI, Soviet defects, and a roll of film everyone is chasing down. And acid, since it is 1971, so hippies must be involved, which creates several opportunities for psychedelic artwork by Parker and Blond. And a woman who for some reason walks into a gas station naked to go to the bathroom. And other women who walk around naked. Because it is 1971 and this is what newly liberated and/or stoned women do, apparently. And there's grindhouse level violence all the way through. Gone are the days of John LeCarre’s The Spy that Came in From the Cold where spies think through complex moral questions. Kill ‘em all, de Campi sez. And that might be the point, that she is camping up (pun intended) the spy thriller genre.
The story is interspersed with actual photographs and quips from 1971, such as Ronald Reagan at the Berkeley student anti-war protests: “If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with. No more appeasement.” Or Jane Fonda: “Stealing isn’t theft. Property is theft.” Quotes from H. Rap Brown and Charles Manson. This adds to the effect of insanity of the times, the end of the short hippie period ending in madness, in Helter Skelter. The story, with more characters than you have ever seen in a five comic volume, is just a tad confusing because of that. And de Campi has Russians speaking Russian, some English, and some squiggly incomprehensible symbols in addition to that for reasons I could never make out. It's the sixties! People mumble and speak Martian!
It’s reported that in the making of Apocalypse Now, Coppola and Company took a lot of acid to explore the effect of the sixties Vietnam madness. Maybe that’s what de Campi and Company were doing as they made this comic: Acid. And I never figured out why this spy thriller is called Mayday. But hey, if you like your ultra-violence on almost every page, this one is for you. It’s colorful (mostly red) and not boring. And all the women all look like voluptuous 1971 Playboy models throughout (Don’t ask me how I would know that.). If you are looking for a comic with strong complex women like Velvet, forget it, but that's not what this is about. It's about the end of the sixties, seen through the lens of a spy thriller. De Campi’s next spy comic will be set in the disco era, I bet. Blood on the dance floor. In the end I see something to like about this; it's a mashup of spy thriller and grindhouse slaughter, ala Quentin Tarantino. So it's weird, unique, kind of interesting in that respect, just having a bit of bloody fun. But to me at least, not completely coherent.
The story is interspersed with actual photographs and quips from 1971, such as Ronald Reagan at the Berkeley student anti-war protests: “If it takes a bloodbath, let’s get it over with. No more appeasement.” Or Jane Fonda: “Stealing isn’t theft. Property is theft.” Quotes from H. Rap Brown and Charles Manson. This adds to the effect of insanity of the times, the end of the short hippie period ending in madness, in Helter Skelter. The story, with more characters than you have ever seen in a five comic volume, is just a tad confusing because of that. And de Campi has Russians speaking Russian, some English, and some squiggly incomprehensible symbols in addition to that for reasons I could never make out. It's the sixties! People mumble and speak Martian!
It’s reported that in the making of Apocalypse Now, Coppola and Company took a lot of acid to explore the effect of the sixties Vietnam madness. Maybe that’s what de Campi and Company were doing as they made this comic: Acid. And I never figured out why this spy thriller is called Mayday. But hey, if you like your ultra-violence on almost every page, this one is for you. It’s colorful (mostly red) and not boring. And all the women all look like voluptuous 1971 Playboy models throughout (Don’t ask me how I would know that.). If you are looking for a comic with strong complex women like Velvet, forget it, but that's not what this is about. It's about the end of the sixties, seen through the lens of a spy thriller. De Campi’s next spy comic will be set in the disco era, I bet. Blood on the dance floor. In the end I see something to like about this; it's a mashup of spy thriller and grindhouse slaughter, ala Quentin Tarantino. So it's weird, unique, kind of interesting in that respect, just having a bit of bloody fun. But to me at least, not completely coherent.
May 30, 2025
🅡🅔🅥🅘🅔🅦
Mayday
2016
Comic book
Rating: 3.5/5
Mayday is a gritty, stylish, and wildly ambitious miniseries that smashes together Cold War espionage, counterculture chaos, and grindhouse flair into a five-issue ride that’s equal parts thrilling and disorienting. Set in 1971, this series follows two young Soviet operatives sent to California to assassinate a defector and retrieve vital intelligence, only to find themselves seduced and swallowed by the American dream’s darkest corners.
De Campi crafts a confident narrative that mixes history with hallucinogens, often blurring the line between reality and delusion. Tapping into the era’s paranoia and idealism, giving us characters who feel at once mythic and damaged. The dialogue crackles along, and there’s a love for the period’s theme, politics, and aesthetics.
Where the series stumbles is in its pacing and cohesion. The series’ short length works against its rich premise, character development feels rushed, and certain plot points don’t land with the intended impact. If you’re looking for a clean, tightly wrapped spy story, you may feel frustrated by the comic’s indulgence in chaos and style over substance.
The series succeeds as an audacious experiment. The artwork enhances the trippy atmosphere, especially during drug-fueled sequences that spiral into visual splendour. It’s a bold, bloody postcard from a time of upheaval, with a psychedelic heart and grindhouse teeth. It won’t be for everyone, but fans of offbeat, edgy storytelling will find a lot to admire, and maybe even love, in its messy ambition.
#mayday#2016#comics#comicbooks#comicbookcommunity#comicbooklover#booklover#bookworm#comicbookreview#comicbookcollection#comicbookcollector#comicbookcollecting#dupreewenttothemovies#books#bookrecommendations#readingtime#readingaddict#readingcommunity#readinglist#readingbooks#readingisfun#alwaysreading#ilovereading#lovereading#readreadread#readersgonnaread#alexdecampi#book#imagecomics#graphicnovel
Mayday
2016
Comic book
Rating: 3.5/5
Mayday is a gritty, stylish, and wildly ambitious miniseries that smashes together Cold War espionage, counterculture chaos, and grindhouse flair into a five-issue ride that’s equal parts thrilling and disorienting. Set in 1971, this series follows two young Soviet operatives sent to California to assassinate a defector and retrieve vital intelligence, only to find themselves seduced and swallowed by the American dream’s darkest corners.
De Campi crafts a confident narrative that mixes history with hallucinogens, often blurring the line between reality and delusion. Tapping into the era’s paranoia and idealism, giving us characters who feel at once mythic and damaged. The dialogue crackles along, and there’s a love for the period’s theme, politics, and aesthetics.
Where the series stumbles is in its pacing and cohesion. The series’ short length works against its rich premise, character development feels rushed, and certain plot points don’t land with the intended impact. If you’re looking for a clean, tightly wrapped spy story, you may feel frustrated by the comic’s indulgence in chaos and style over substance.
The series succeeds as an audacious experiment. The artwork enhances the trippy atmosphere, especially during drug-fueled sequences that spiral into visual splendour. It’s a bold, bloody postcard from a time of upheaval, with a psychedelic heart and grindhouse teeth. It won’t be for everyone, but fans of offbeat, edgy storytelling will find a lot to admire, and maybe even love, in its messy ambition.
#mayday#2016#comics#comicbooks#comicbookcommunity#comicbooklover#booklover#bookworm#comicbookreview#comicbookcollection#comicbookcollector#comicbookcollecting#dupreewenttothemovies#books#bookrecommendations#readingtime#readingaddict#readingcommunity#readinglist#readingbooks#readingisfun#alwaysreading#ilovereading#lovereading#readreadread#readersgonnaread#alexdecampi#book#imagecomics#graphicnovel
May 28, 2017
The essence of the story was good. In 1971 a Russian general defects to America with a list of 300 Soviet spies that have infiltrated the U.S. Two Russian spies now must take out this general and make it out of the U.S. The book has a lot of action which is great. However, there are way too many characters in the book for a 5 issue comic. I couldn't keep all of the CIA and KGB agents straight. Also, a lot of dialogue was just squiggly lines. I'm assuming de Campi was trying to portray the Russians only understanding some English. But it didn't work. It just made the book confusing.
Received an advance copy from Image and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Received an advance copy from Image and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
April 29, 2019
Violence toward the end was a bit dragged out but all in all this was a well constructed story. I had to reread each chapter to get a full understanding but worth the effort.
Picked up at the library and read a third time worth it.
Picked up at the library and read a third time worth it.
December 26, 2020
This 1971-set graphic novel kicks off with a Soviet general defecting to the US with a list of Sovet agents operating in Southeast Asia, including those embedded with US troops in Vietnam. The FBI stashes him in a fancy LA safehouse, but before the CIA can arrive to take over, the general is kidnapped by a team of Soviet agents, one KGB and one GRU. En route to San Francisco with the general, the agents decide to party in the desert with some 60s remnants who dose them with LSD and then bad things happen... The story then becomes a running chase and series of action scenes, as the FBI and CIA team try to recover the general and the list of agents before they can make it to the Soviet consulate in San Francisco. A lot of people are killed along the way, with the climax unfolding amidst the real-life anti-war march on April 24.
Although loaded down with visual and cultural markers of the era, when the summer of love had burned out (there's even a Spotify playlist that's cued to scenes in the book), I can't say I found it particularly compelling. It felt too much like a mishmash, with way too many characters and motivations crammed in with no room to breathe. There are flashes of interesting art (notably, the drug-fueled desert scene), but it's inconsistent -- too much of the book felt flat, without any depth to the panels, with some of the action scenes over reliant on what I assume are digital blur effects. Readers interested in non-superhero/supernatural period-based comics should consider checking it out, but be aware it's got a strong pulp throughline of sex and violence.
Although loaded down with visual and cultural markers of the era, when the summer of love had burned out (there's even a Spotify playlist that's cued to scenes in the book), I can't say I found it particularly compelling. It felt too much like a mishmash, with way too many characters and motivations crammed in with no room to breathe. There are flashes of interesting art (notably, the drug-fueled desert scene), but it's inconsistent -- too much of the book felt flat, without any depth to the panels, with some of the action scenes over reliant on what I assume are digital blur effects. Readers interested in non-superhero/supernatural period-based comics should consider checking it out, but be aware it's got a strong pulp throughline of sex and violence.
May 9, 2017
Although there will be a majority of comic book fans that will be reading the likes of Marvel and DC to what superhero antics are going on, it’s always nice to seek out of original works that have nothing to do with people wearing capes and spandex. That’s why a lot of the best comics currently being published are from Image, such as the always terrific Saga. However, every publisher gets to have their missteps, and sadly Mayday falls into that category.
Please click here for my full review.
Please click here for my full review.
May 29, 2017
1970s comic collection about the Cold War – quite good stuff
Violent series involving KGB vs CIA conflicts, often bloody, but also involving drug-taking. The two operatives loose in California are being pursued by both sides. Felix manages to evade all his pursuers.
It is well-illustrated and relatively interesting. Unfortunately the lettering is difficult to read in the digital edition. Still engaging, the story wraps up in this volume but there's another volume to come.
Violent series involving KGB vs CIA conflicts, often bloody, but also involving drug-taking. The two operatives loose in California are being pursued by both sides. Felix manages to evade all his pursuers.
It is well-illustrated and relatively interesting. Unfortunately the lettering is difficult to read in the digital edition. Still engaging, the story wraps up in this volume but there's another volume to come.
June 11, 2017
I read comics and graphic novels but Mayday by Alex de Campi was not of of my favorites. The period piece (1971) story line centers on cold war CIA vs KGB but I felt the story had been done better in books and that the art work had been better in other graphic novels and it was too grind house roughie for me. I wanted some character development so I could hate someone or root for someone, but I got neither.
May 30, 2017
I appreciate this books grindhouse spy aesthetic but it's just not as exciting or fun as I wanted it to be. The story is confusing for something that should be so simple. And the art has a nice style but some of the layouts just add to the confusion.
April 9, 2017
1971: an inter-agency Cold War clusterfuck collides with the souring of the West Coast hippy dream. A very filmic comic, but unlike many such, one which still approaches the medium with thought, craft and respect, rather than just treating it as a convenient way to pitch.
June 7, 2017
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Mayday is a difficult book to review - I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. Yet I didn't feel 'meh' about it either. The art and story are solid and I enjoyed seeing the 1970s milieu. Perhaps the best way to describe the issue I had with Mayday is that it was ambivalent in too many places. Our anti-hero is neither likable nor not-likable, the panels and art are creative and yet too obvious in several places, and even the cover (a burning communist hammer/sickle) and title are hard to discern and/or decipher.Story: A soviet official has defected with a list of spies in several sensitive US areas. He is escorted to a safe house in Palm Springs. But two deep undercover agents - each diametrically different - have been tasked with removing the official permanently and taking back the film exposing the spies. Felix used to fly MIG jets but one day killed a fellow officer. Rose is a honey trap. As they travel across California, attempting to get to San Francisco, they are chased by the FBI. But Felix won't be caught easily - even when the vulnerable Rose makes bad decisions.
The story is fully fleshed out and each of the characters has a distinct back story. Felix is, of course, fascinating in his ability to survive each new situation thrown at him. We should be rooting for him as he goes on his killing spree - and I'm not quite sure the author did enough to makes us really want him to get away. Rose, on the other hand, is just as interesting in her very different way that creates friction but also emotion between the two. Felix is determined to save her even knowing that the mission pretty much means their death, even by their own country. Even when Rose isn't able to save herself.
Where the story falls flat for me is the chase by the FBI. De Campi did almost too good a job of portraying the swaggering Americans as they likely would be viewed by non-Americans - brash, bold, and honestly kind of stupid in their unshakable self belief. Jack Hudson is a man of reason but we needed more to like him other than that he's not as stupid or over-the-top as his superiors. The story really sagged in the scenes that featured him or the FBI.
I imagine I will have to read this several times to understand why it was named "Mayday" (sounds like an air crash, not a cold war spy thriller). Similarly, it took me several days to realize the cover was a stylized communist flag - I thought it was a plane that was blown up and falling to the ground (because of the Mayday title).
The drug induced psychedelic scenes painted like day glow Jefferson Airplane or Grateful Dead concert posters were cliche and too easy - a disappointment even though the translation was done well. And I'm still not sure if I should be happy or sad at how the book ended - and who died and who didn't. There were several pages of just clutter, sensationalism (a full page frontal nude woman running into a gas station bathroom because "her eyeballs were floating"), or just boring (the FBI offices). But the author and artists know how to tell a story and I enjoyed the twists and turns of this hyper violent "French Connection" style thriller. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
May 29, 2017
A pretty crazy ride.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews