Super villains and spies take over Oni Press this October with the release of ARMAGEDDON & SON, a new 96 page original graphic novel by John Layman (PUFFED) and Dave Dumeer. ARMAGEDDON & SON is a deconstruction of the spy genre that’s one part high-octane summer blockbuster, and one part twisted black humor.
ARMAGEDDON & SON is the story of Alphonse Feeney, a James Bond style evil villain, who, after a lifetime of planning to destroy the world, is having a serious run of bad luck. His henchmen, who he’s treated in normal super villain style- namely killing them when they get mouthy- have shown an uncanny talent for surviving, and they’ve teamed up against him to get revenge and destroy the world- with Feeney’s own plan! Feeney is forced to team up with his nemesis, the super agent known as The Falcon, to stop his own assassination and save the world, but will he be able to overcome his own tendency for destruction to do it?
“I’d watch these action movies and see the villain ruthlessly dispose of one of his henchmen after being disappointed by him, or take one out so he wouldn’t have to share any of the glory-or profits, and I kept thinking, why would anybody possibly work for a guy like that?” commented Layman.
He continued, “We have these stereotypes of the megalomaniacal super villain, the suave super agent, the loyal henchmen; they show up in every spy movie and we never really think twice about them. It was fun to play with those, shake them around a little.”
Joining the unlikely alliance of Alphonse Feeney and The Falcon is Feeney’s son, Doon, a slacker screw-up who is reunited with the evil spy dad he never knew he had. As he gets swept into the world of international intrigue, the question remains: does the global destruction gene run in their family? If it does he’ll have to push it to the side; there’s a world to save!
“At the center of ARMAGEDDON & SON is the dilemma of father and son relationships,” said Randal C. Jarrell, managing editor. “Every guy needs a father, but what do you do when yours is an insane evil genius, hell bent on destroying the world? Do you go into the family business, or just phone on Father’s Day?”
“John has a keen grasp of the conventions that make spy movies what they are, and he twists them around to great effect,” Jarrell continued. “You won’t look at spy movies the same way again.”
Layman concluded, “This is no Austin Powers-this is humor at its darkest. When your “hero” is a pathological killer whose tendency to kill is so second nature that he can’t stop no matter how much danger he causes, that’s the only way it can be.”
ARMAGEDDON & SON is a 96 page trade paperback featuring black and white story and art. It shi
