Copra Round 4 (Copra

Copra #19-24

by Michel Fiffe

The return of the world’s favorite revenge team is marked by back-to-back brutality and psychedelic suspense. Our team gets served the same penalties they’ve dished out in the wake of a prison break, an unstoppable assassin, and a seminal showdown. Keep up as COPRA’s kill list gets checked off at the peak of their mondo bizarro bloodlust. Collects COPRA #19-24

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fiction, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 31, 2019

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

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiffe is approaching David Mack from Kabuki levels of inventiveness to his art. Lots of varying artistic and coloring techniques merged seamlessly together. Issue 21 is particularly fantastic. His action sequences are so inventive and dynamic.

[Alex E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Round four brings on one of the, if not one of the deadliest of foes we have been introduced to. And that's saying a lot in a book with such eccentric and dangerous characters.

Fiffe gets back into the action after a bit of a repast last volume, by having the team go on a mission that ends up being a trap. And when the ball drops, not all of them make it out alive. The great thing about Copra, is that when things go bad, they have permanent outcomes that there is no coming back from. So there's a real sense of danger purveying throughout the whole book.

The art, as always, is inventive and dynamic. Some of the visuals hearken back to the more psychedelic aspects of the first 2 volumes, but this one leans a bit heavier on the action side of things.

As always, Micheal Fiffe gives us a fun comic book that leaves you feeling the way you did if you ever read comics as a kid. There's a ton to really sink your teeth into, and the creativity that is expressed makes you that much more vested in the book. Recommended for anyone who likes superhero comics.

[Kyle Dinges · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volume 4 of Copra by Michel Fiffe and if you've made it this far you know the score. Copra is awesome. It's one of the most creative and unique books being published.

Volume 4 ties up some loose ends from the previous volumes regarding Lloyd and Boomer, as well as introducing some new crew members and setting up the next big arc. Like always, Fiffe manages to keep it fresh by changing view points from issue to issue and letting you get inside the head of different characters instead of using the same narrative format every time. There's some rough patches but by this point, he's got the kinks worked out and it's a well oiled machine. He somehow manages to capture the over-the-top nature of the mid 80s and 90s boom comics without falling into the style over substance pitfall that riddled that entire era.

Issue 21 that's included here is a true masterclass in action sequencing. All of Fiffe's bag of tricks are on display, playing with minimalist colors, inks, layouts, and more to make for perfect action beats. It's what makes him one of the best artists out there, like Jack Kirby in psychedelics. He's so unique and it's on display in all its glory in issue 21 and the rest of this volume.

I dig the cliffhanger this one ends on and I'm excited for the potential paths it's setting up for the next arc. Can't wait to keep reading.

[Bill Coffin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fairly strange series about a ragtag group of super-mercenaries sent on suicide missions. It is ambitious and original while also being derivative and amateurish. It had many strengths, each one countered by a serious flaw in the work. It is the kind of series you want to support because it is in its way, a triumph of self-publishing. And yet, there are so many times it pushes you away with its weirdness, or a serious lapse in its quality.

First, the good. Michel Fiffe brings a truly original energy to this story, and the way in which the narrative unspools can be pretty interesting. Visually, some amazing stuff is done with composition and layout. And there is a willingness to defy genre that is admirable,

Now, the bad. This book is basically a collection of Fiffe’s favorite characters from other published comics, with their serial numbers filed off. And in some cases, not even that - the Punisher guy still walks around with a skull on his chest, and the Deadshot guy looks very much like Deadshot. How Image got away with publishing this without a letter from both Marvel and DC’s legal departments will remains a great mystery.

Now, the ugly. The story often takes weird skips without transition, making it hard to follow. The lettering is often difficult to read because it just isn’t done well. The action gets psychedelic, which sometimes is perfect and sometimes just looks weird and off-putting.

All in all, COPRA is a series with a lot to recommend it, but with some serious caveats along the way. One imagines that if Fiffe simply wrote and penciled this, had an editor, and also had a different inker and lettered, this would have figured out its own problems and become something truly spectacular and meta. But it doesn’t do these things and never quite shakes the feeling that you’re not reading a published comic, but the pages of your friend’s high school drawing book.

[Jesús · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best Copra volume since Round One. I love Michel Fiffe’s madly brilliant mash-up of OG Suicide Squad, convoluted espionage thriller, psychedelic cosmic voyage, and gory pulp fiction. His distinct visual style ties it all together, and his kinetic pacing keeps it all moving at a steady clip. Fantastic.

[Ben Zimmerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series just keeps delivering. We're getting into the endgame now. All the pieces are lining up for the final strike. The art is, if possible, even more vibrant here. This series is ambitious in a way most people wouldn't notice. It's in little artistic details. The crazy panel layouts and chunky line work reveal genius at least once an issue. Fiffe really does something impressive here. The story isn't my thing, but the art alone is worth reading this for.

[Zack Quaintance · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s difficult to articulate what makes Copra such an excellent read. There’s an almost intangible quality to the way the material is approached — knowing right when to dole out a character moment, when to go wildly abstract, when to revisit a past conflict — that makes it such an immersive and rewarding read.

[ISMOTU · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michel Fiffe's spectacular homage to Ostrander's Suicide Squad continues to be awesome.

[Justin Decloux · Rating 5 out of 5]

I frigging love CORPA so much.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to put a finger on why I love this book so much. Action packed, in depth character development, lean and expressive art that explodes off every page. One of the best out there.

[Daniel Kovacs Rezsuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michel Fiffe should make one book for each late 80s/early 90s team of anti-heroes. I love his vision, style and the way he handles action scenes.

[António Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

É fanfic de Suicide Squad, na verdade, mas com uma criatividade na arte que é qualquer coisa...

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been trying to think of how I can describe this series. Without getting into too much of my personal history, I was bullied as a youth for reading superhero comics . I eventually stopped reading comics, so when I came back to them it was conditioned by those bullies. I usually read comics that some might call Graphic Novels, but to me they're all comic books. In this regard, I feel that I am missing a fair amount of references that Mr. Fiffe is making with his series. However, the way he tells a story and draws is absolutely stunning. Every round that I read, I feel like I am reading a comic book if Alfred Hitchcock wrote comics. The seamless transitions feel like "Rope", the suspense, the internal dialogue, the character development, it all feels like this movie. I look forward to his next installment and often recommend this series to people (they might be hardcore nerds that will appreciate the references or they might be like me and just really appreciate the style and what he is capable of accomplishing within a page).

[Fred · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just re-read the entire series to keep in fresh in my mind. This is for every long time comic fan. It's being at the birth of a new comics world, but still recognizing beats & characters from the past.

[Reuvenc]

Got this from the library. Nothing in it left an impression, although that assessment (needless to say, though, as always) may speak more for my own state than for any quality possessed by the work itself.