After too long we know have two more books featuring The Straw-Man by Barry Reese. And like his other recent books, these are now from his own Reese Unlimited imprint.
This series is set in modern times within Reese’s own Reese Universe, in a small town known as Grove’s Folly that is near Sovereign City. However, other than a reference to one of Lazarus Gray‘s associates, none of Reese’s prior characters appear in this series.
This series takes more inspiration from Marvel Comics horror titles of the ’70s, such as Man-Thing, Dr. Strange, Tomb of Dracula, and the rest. More superhero than pulp, but fun reads. Be aware that there are some adult situations.
Each book is made up of a series of six linked short stories involving The Straw-Man. Not quite a hero, but not quite a villain, he is a new supernatural entity in this universe. The first book explained how he came about. As he is more of a help than otherwise, the local sheriff starts to call upon his help. Further, some of the world’s superheroes start working with him as well, if reluctantly. He will gain new foes as well as allies in these volumes.
In Book 3, we are introduced to a new foe for The Straw-Man, Sable, as well as several new allies. Sable is born due to the efforts of several witches and is a powerful foe, especially once aided by an agent of Heaven. Can she be defeated, and if so, will she return in future volumes?
New allies include the latest person to be Catalyst, this time a young woman. We had met the previous Catalyst in the Peregrine series. Another is a young woman who is given the powers and mantle of The American Crusader, an atomic-powered Golden Age comicbook hero. And finally, a young woman connected to our characters becomes the Ephemera. Not so much a superhero, her role is to ensure that departed souls do get to where they need to go, whether Heaven or Hell, and not hang around. Her abilities become important during the fight against Sable.
And in the last story, we meet a superhero from an alternate universe named MOTA. He is based on a classic Gold Key Comics superhero known as The Man of the Atom, though most may know of him as Dr. Solar from the Valiant Comics revival. Will we see him in future volumes?
In between Book 3 and 4, the first Dark Society volume occurs. This tells of a new international superhero team being formed that will include The Straw-Man as well as The American Crusader.
In Book 4, the carnival is back in town. And it is the seventh anniversary of when a little boy went missing as well. There are no coincidences. The Straw-Man winds up confronting a wendigo and is told there is a killer working at the carnival. A wizard named Uzodel will be the main foe in this book, and we learn of his connection to The Straw-Man.
At the same time, Kyoko Jenkins, the mother of the new Catalyst, is being released from the prison Tartarus. We learn that after the events of Omnium Gatherum that the Nature Twins are now the wardens of Assistance Unlimited’s prison.
Uzodel teams up with another character named Umbra, who takes on The Straw-Man and others and defeat them. After that, Uzodel changes Grove’s Folly into a fantasy world. Can it be restored to normal? Another member of the Dark Society, Singularity, shows up. Will she be able to do it? There are further adventures here as well, but you’ll find out what’s in them when you read them.
The timeline at the end of the volumes has been updated, with several new and upcoming works. However, it really needs to be better formatted for reading, as do these volumes in general. For instance, years and book titles should be bolded and the like.
There are several other new Reese books out recently: Dark Society, Vols. 1 and 2 (with many more planned). Reviews of these will be coming soon. Coming at some point, I assume, will be the next Lazarus Gray volume as well as Grimalkin. I have no idea of further Straw-Man volumes.
