The Mask Strikes Back

A fun comic to read. While there were some confusing parts (are those ravens metaphors for Loki?), it lives up to the quality expectations set up by the first series. Funny, violent, and nice to look at, this comic (like its predecessor) is a worthwhile read.

Old school comic, violent, gory, no punches pulled. It's like bugs bunny became a serial killer.

The third volume of The Mask series, this entry finds the source of the "Big Head" power falling into the hands of four teenage friends. The kids proceed to take turns wearing the Mask, with each of their vastly different personalities revealing themselves differently through their well-meaning - yet ultimately chaotic and destructive - animated actions, all the while being chased down by Walter, Kellaway, and Kathy from the previous series.The art and story are both adequate in this continuation of the Mask saga, but in the end it still ends up feeling a bit flat. This is mostly due to the teenage friends that act as the vehicle for the Mask; as they take turns attempting to harness the powers of the mask only to fail time and time again, we find each one learning the same lesson (the powers of chaos cannot - will not - be tamed) that we've already seen various characters learn in previous issues. Losing the After School Special message would have left room for a greater variety of Mask-related lunacy, and prevented the growing feeling of deja vu that the reader is ultimately left with.

If you aren't already aware, the Mask is off the walls bonkers. In this book, a group of teens find the mask and each one proceeds to take a turn wearing it. The cops and an old foe are hunting down the returned Big Head. Since he is able to change shape easily and shrugs off most damage, there isn't much that can phase him.The tone of the book is mostly consistent even though there are four different personalities that need to contend with the mask. They all try to use it to achieve their dreams with varying results. I haven't read the other books in the series, but I have seen the movie. There are a couple points where I didn't know what the characters were referring to as a result. This is ok because I was able to get the gist of it and those moments weren't key to the story.The creators clearly had a lot of fun with this book. The trading of the mask between the characters allows them to delve into four different aspects of Big Head without having to start over each time. A couple of these stand out a bit more to me because of the awesome art that came out of it. It can get cartoony at times, which works with this character. The colors are fantastic. Most of the time they make the illustrations pop off the page. This was such a fun book, although there isn't a lot of depth to it.

While I am an avid "Big Head" enthusiast, and a die hard Arcudi/Mahnke fan, this rag fails to deliver the same level of excitement as its predecessors. Being the first series to be released after the movie I was expecting a slightly sillier story and a little more fluff, however, I did not expect the 60 to zero shift of violence and gore that made the original so gruesomely attention grabbing. Big head is no longer a maniacal sadist with a passion for pranks, rather a prankster with a passion for...pranks. It came off as almost childish, where we once saw a repertoire of battle axes and guns, Big Head now fights with toys and other goofy gadgets, massive explosions merely blacken the faces of annoyed cops, gone are the outrageous zoot suits, the course language, the gratuitous "gaping hole being blown through someone" (I don't recall a single death) and (most noticeably) the "DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED FOR MATURE READERS" warning that once grazed the back cover. The art is dynamite, the story line is decent, the content is overall disappointing. Not a terrible read, but not a good one by any means.

Just so it's clear with everyone. The Jim Carrey film 'The Mask' was based on the late 80's early 90's character. Originally appearing in Mayhem 1-4, the original stories were often mean spirited with the blackest of humor and quite violent and gory.This trade is the 4th story by the Arcudi/ Manke team and in many ways owes much to the film rather than the comics that is continues. Why? Well the mask in this version is far more cartoony and less brutal as the film portrayed him to be.I warn fans who came in because of the prior comic to expect a more toned down tale. On the other hand this and Joker/Mask would easily be the comics I'd hand the casual film 'Mask' fan who was interested in the origins of the character.

Whenever I've bought a comic book, I've skimmed through it to see what I'm up against, and when I did so here, I wasn't that impressed.Luckily, that impression wasn't entirely correct. I quite enjoyed the first half of The Mask striking back, as the first two wearers saw what the artifact was doing to them, and the price it took.But the second half, eh, not so much. Besides one wearer going a little bit nuts and the last wearer becoming an oddly attired hero, there wasn't much going on. In fact, the only thing of any real interest to me in the second half was not The MASK (or "Bighead" as his wearers are called) at all, but his omnipotent foil, Walter, that untalkative ten foot tall hulk that refuses to die even more forcibly than the MASK. And by the end, we learn that he may be the only thing that melon-headed menace fears...

other than what i said in the title the book is exactly as it should be.