A return to Tromaville is in order and you know that means we must visit Troma’s favorite son, Melvin! Of course, better known as The Toxic Avenger! Ahoy Comics is launching this new line of toxic adventures with this first issue. So, let’s dive into the toxic muck and see what they have in store.

The Toxic Avenger #1

Written By: Matt Bors

Art By: Fred Harper

Colors By: Lee Loughridge

Letters By: Rob Steen

Edited By: Tom Peyer

Published By: Ahoy Comics

***Minor Spoilers Possible***

Just Another Day in Tromaville

The Toxic Avenger #1 is a new origin story for the titular main character Melvin AKA the Toxic Avenger AKA Toxie. Some bullies throw some sludge on him and as he tries to escape a train derails and spreads toxic waste in Tromaville. Melvin & the bullies are directly hit which turns them into mutant freaks.

Meanwhile, the mayor of Tromaville Sam Seiple is being led around by Lydia Flick who has been sent to Tromaville by Washington Biohazard Solutions. She says she is there to make Tromaville beautiful again. However, it appears that there is more to this story than she is telling.

The Tutu is Manly

Matt Bors does a great job of introducing us to Tromaville and all our main characters. Starting out with a new origin story for a beloved character like Toxie is a challenge and Matt does a great job with that. The character is made to feel fresh well still being familiar to us readers.

The choice of telling the story in reverse is an interesting one. It makes the initial pages confusing, well shading light on everything as you go. Personally, this style didn’t work for me and would have been a better service to the story to just go in chronological order. Sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, just keep it simple.

The art in this book is fantastic. The art has a retro feel to it, well still being detailed and original. The character design for Toxie is cool. Sometimes when you change up a loved character it can be challenging. But Fred Harper succeeded in this reinvention and then some. The rest of the characters, especially Pluto look amazing as well. Big shout outs to Lee Loughridge whose colors really make the art pop.

Check Out My Review of Babs #2

Final Thoughts

The Toxic Avenger #1 is a good first issue and origin story for the launch of this Toxie line. The art and storytelling set the table for what should be a good run of comics. The only thing that holds this issue back from being great is the odd lay out for the story. Hopefully going forward the gimmicks will be left out and the story will be front and center as it should be.

Final Grade: 7.5/10

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