It occurs to me that my Justice League piece would probably have fit better in this meta-thread, esp. as I have another "Hey, here's a cool tale that fits in to the Masks framework so neatly" item to recommend. Wayward is an Image comic by Jim Zub (w) and Steve Cummings (a), about teenagers on the forefront of a weather change in magical and myth in Japan, struggling to define themselves as people within a highly conformist society, while also dealing with supernatural threats -- and wondering if they are actually the good guys in the power struggle, or if their still-mysterious talents are blessings or curses. (Oh, and to add an additional meta level, the traditional spirit world and their desire to destroy what they cannot control echoes the conventional world that doesn't understand these special teens, or teens in general, and would destroy what it cannot control.) I've also seen a reference to it as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Japan," which captures a bit of it, but leaves a lot out as well. Anyway, it's full of delightful manga-esque tropes, but with a PoV more approachable to Western storytelling. The characters could be fit into any number of playbooks (Transformed, Delinquent, Bull, Doomed, Nova), and the story works as both scary mythology, teen angst, magical kids ... There are places where I think the pacing is too fast, the character development too rapid, but that's partly me, too. I highly recommend it for anyone who hasn't read it. I've been a fan since issue 1, but just got around to reading the deluxe h/c I got of the first ten issues (including some great text pieces on Japanese monster stories from a literary and historical perspective) and wanted to share*. It was fascinating going through stories I'd already read and suddenly having an additional Masks perspective to see them from. --- * Available for borrowing by locals.
