That being said, looking at this comic:
Which proclaims the "MAX Comics" that is known for subject matter too rough for mainstream comics, and the "explicit content" to reiterate the point...I know that I am probably going to be very out of my element and quite uncomfortable with this issue. But there is a reason to my acting out of character.
This guy.
I am a huge fan of Garth Ennis. Within me is a writer's soul, and so I am drawn to particularly gifted authors. Garth is, in my inexpert opinion, one of the greatest character creators of our time. Seriously--Jesse Custer is one of the best characters to have come out of comics in a long time; The Boys has a brilliantly crafted team; and the rumors I have heard of "Just a Pilgrim" and "Hitman" (among his many other works) have peaked my literary interest...but I have never had the courage to read more than the first trade of Preacher. Because of my proclivities regarding entertainment, I know from experience that Ennis is known for his graphic, sometimes controversial, work which is likely to frighten and offend me.
Don't get me wrong--I respect that he is the author here and I am the reader, and I do not want to impose on his creative expression because I frankly do not feel it is my place. Many will disagree with me when I say this, but I am a firm believer that literature is not for the reader but for the author; what the consumer thinks and wants to happen should have no bearing on what the writer crafts because it impedes the natural writing process. I sincerely do not wish Ennis to change his work because it may cause the loss of what makes his books so great.
That being said, if I cannot overcome my squeamishness and prudishness--if step outside my comfort zone--then I am closing myself off to a great deal of enjoyable experiences.
SO! A lot of talk about a writer that did not even have a hand in this book and about my own preferences; back to "Supreme Power 1".
This is written by Kyle Higgins, whom I am pretty unfamiliar with. Evidently, he is a comic book writer as well as a film director; he has been working on Batman and Supreme Power, but is rumored to be "helming the Nightwing and Deathstroke relaunches in the Fall". All of this speaks highly to him, in my opinion. He isn't on some no-name C-listers; he's actually on some pretty big, awesome titles.
Kind of sexy too. Just saying.....
Anyways, the penciller is Manuel Garcia, which (by the way) is not a good name to try and Google unless you want nine million hits =/ Inkers are Michel Lancome and Mark Pennington.
The cover art of this issue doesn't make overly excited, to be honest. From the whispers I have heard of this issue, it looks like the costumed individual on the cover is a superhero gone crazed...but forgive me if I am a little unimpressed with the premise. The anguish and rage expressed on his face is done well, but frankly, the scene brings to mind a highly-powered hero that recently (and very publicly) lost his marbles.
Remember that guy? He was awesome, albeit a little mishandled by his writers (yes, I said it--they wrote him right into the damned ground, which to me is a travesty; a rant for another post). The image of his Supreme Power character in a rage is neat, sure, but I can't help but compare him to the rampage of the late Robert Reynolds, and it falls short.
The costume is also somewhat uninspired as well, but I feel like that was somewhat their intent--he is supposed to look like the generic super-powered individual. Looks like a Captain America costume redesign from the cutting room floor, though. Which admittedly makes the "standing on a pile of mangled soldiers' bodies" element of the cover even more unnerving.
That is unfair, it really is. I shouldn't compare characters. The jewel in the glove intrigues me though.
Okay! Finally cracking open the issue. This will probably be the longest post I have written yet, as much as I have been wandering off on tangents.
Squadron Supreme?? Where have I heard that name before? Is that the Marvel analog of the Justice League from DC??? Or am I just 100% off-base?
The panel where he is bringing the passenger plane down and his powers are activated is very pretty, but maybe a little TOO pretty for a male character, if you know what I mean. I cannot for the life of me remember which character this brings to mind, but my first two thoughts were Jewel (Jessica Jones) and Emma Frost because of the prismatic color show, but I don't think Jones ever did that....I can't remember exactly.
Hyperion left the team after trying to use his powers in a way that was apparently not condoned by Captain Ledger here....I am confused; this is the first issue of a series, but it still feels like I have missed out on a ton of back story that will inform this issue. That is just not fair, guys--1st issues are meant to be jumping on points for new readers, and I all ready feel left out. My husband (Michael, which is silly to clarify since I am fairly certain you are the only one that reads this blog, lol) would say that I am too impatient--I want to know the story before I read it, I don't like waiting for the answers. His advice would be to just keep reading, so I am going to keep going and hope that it begins to enlighten me.
Malik Haspen looks pretty neat; it's sad that Ledger disintegrated him. At first I was scandalized--Heroes don't kill!!--but then I realized that I have been given no indication that this Doctor Spectrum is opposed to murder. In fact, by his own admission, he is a soldier, and soldiers are protectors, but are also warriors, fighters, killers.
The crystal taking over Ledger's body when he is endangered is kind of a neat concept, especially since he is confused and disoriented when he comes back to. It does make me think--is this alien crystal the only power that he posses, or is he a hero in and of his own right??
I just finished the issue--at the end of the story was a preview written by Ed Brubaker and illustrated by Steve McNiven about Captain America....I don't think that was a good choice, lol. Taking a veteran author like Brubaker, putting him on a title that he has proven to be particularly adept at, and pairing him with a fantastic artist at the end of a comic that made me compare the main character to Steve Rogers every other page? It just makes a stark contrast in which the Supreme Power comic comes off looking very worse for wear. Maybe that is just my own personal interpretation, but...
I mean--look at the awesome.
Anyways, overall, not terribly impressed by the issue overall. Maybe it's because I don't know the characters and because somehow I had gotten it into my head that this was a different comic than it turned out to be, but I was actually pretty bored. Also--not that I am complaining, mind you--but I had been steeling myself to read this comic branded with "explicit content", but I have read Tiny Titans that were rougher than this one.
I don't feel anything was accomplished--there was little to no character development; the only villain defeated in the book was a nobody I had never heard of and I got no indication of his power level before he was disintegrated; and the "big reveal" at the end of the book meant very little to me though I could tell Higgins really wanted me to care because he had the protagonist rhapsodizing about Hyperion throughout the comic. The only thing I noticed was that Mark is now sporting a beard, but since I never learned why he left in the first place, I can only assume that chin-growth WAS his objective.
Also, in light of the issue, the cover art makes NO damned sense. Seriously. I am going back and looking at it, and I have no idea what the fuck they were trying to get across there. I don't get it--he didn't fight many soldiers; he fought one guy for twenty seconds and then an alien crystal on his hand reduced him to a skeleton. How is that depicted on the cover at all?
I don't know. All this pomp and circumstance and so many words to say--dude...huh???
~Andie
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