A satirical one-shot from superstar writer Mark Russell spotlighting both gritty vigilante Dragonfly and his cheerful counterpart, Dragonflyman! On Earth-Alpha, Dragonflyman and his billionaire alter-ego Richard Fame work to bring citizens together. On Earth-Omega, the Dragonfly busts heads and breaks unions with a savage intensity. But they both share one goal: build a new sports stadium with Richard Fame's name on it! All five Wrong Earth specials feature covers by co-creator Jamal Igle and a special incentive variant cover by legendary artist Gene Ha.
'The Wrong Earth: Fame & Fortune' is a textbook example of how comics can inform and infuriate while holding a mirror up to the real world. The scam of publicly-funded stadiums is real and possible virtually anywhere. It's just as likely to happen in a fictional setting where even well-intentioned billionaires lose control. This is one of Mark Russell's greatest hits. Read Full Review
The Wrong Earth: Fame or Fortune #1 is emotionally conflicting. That first story is beautifully thematic and cleverly written, taking us on a real journey that is soul-crushing in its conclusion. Russell subverts one of the key elements of The Wrong Earth by making both Dragonman and Dragonflyman quite similar by the end of the comic. I ended this issue feeling repulsed by both of them as they jointly demonstrated how awful they are as humans. But I do believe that was the intention of the one-shot, and it is effective if it is. And the storytelling through panel layouts may be some of the most intelligent Ive ever seen. Read Full Review
It's written with the superb class consciousness and comedy that I've come to expect from Mark Russell, portraying corrupt business practice in two different lights simultaneously, to contrast how their approaches differ, but their results are largely the same. What's missing is a heart to the story, as Russell typically provides a glimmer of hope to root for, but not so much here.
As for the backup story, I don't think I get it...
I usually like Russell's work and don't disagree with his viewpoint, but this felt like a real misstep from the high concept of the series. The Wrong Earth is powered by the contrast between Earths Alpha and Omega; they should be polar opposites, but here Russell is adding shades of grey to Alpha, and that just doesn't work as well as when he does the same to a cheery concept from the past like the Flintstones.
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