About Heroes

Authors: Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti
Artist: Daniel Acuna (can't figure out how to get the swirly on there yet!)
Colors: Javi Montes

This ain't yo daddy's Freedom Fighters....technically because most of those guys are dead. I remember the team of Quesada and Palmiotti...what happened to those two? They were as good as Byrne and Austin, Lee and Williams, and so on. Well if this is any sign of what Palmiotti can do without Quesada, sign my ass up! I did not go into this book expecting a great read, hell I wasn't even expecting a decent read, because of all the shit that The Battle for Bludhaven was.

Well, The Battle for Bludhaven is finally over and Dark forces within the government (SHADE) are out to eliminate American's freedom and the one man that represents it: Uncle Sam! We begin at a rally for Presidential candidate Knight, father of Stormy Knight (Phantom Lady). This sequence is interrupted by SHADE attacking an Intergang Drug Lord at his grandson's birthday party. Firebrand being the representative of Uncle Sam attacks Senator Knight and is later captured.

The pacing in this book is perfect: it’s not compressed, but you really don't feel like you fly by it. All the information you need to know is there, no previous knowledge of Uncle Sam or Battle for Bludhaven (Thank God!) is needed. It gives you this information and does it in a way that still keeps the book exciting. We get to know more about the characters, like the sad Dollman, Human Bomb, the Phantom Lady, and the new Ray's God like powers and to quote a friend: the fuck that is Father Time. While Uncle Sam's an appearance in this book, his presence is still felt. Uncle Sam in hiding and Father Time showing his mug around, that really is a deep political metaphor in today's times, yeah it’s that multilayered. Gray and Palmiotti are definitely putting their own political views in this book.

But the story is not the only good thing about this book. The art by Daniel Acuna is amazing; his blend of photo-realism and pop is perfect and works in this book. The character designs, the angles, and the facial expressions are all perfect. The colors are not to be overlooked either, Montes brings this book's art and makes it shine, although at times a little too much. Sometimes it feels like there are just too many white spots on the pages. This book is great, I am confused at times, you can't really tell who the good guys or who the bad guys are, I loves it!
I never gave a shit about these characters in the past (well for some, their previous incarnations), but I'll be damned if I am going to miss the second issue. A