About Heroes

Writer: Jim Starlin

Artist: Jim Starlin & Matt Banning

 

Attention new readers, this is not the comic for you.  Go read up on Wikipedia about the New Gods, read the Fourth World Omnibus', and then return to this book if you dare.  I'm no expert but even my average knowledge of the New Gods didn't help me much in reading this book.  I know what the Anti-Life Equation is, who all the main players were, and the basic gist of the New Gods concept but reading this book I still felt utterly lost, like I was missing a major piece of the puzzle. Jim Starlin writes this cosmic tale and fills it with little or no action, setting up whatever may be to come with musings from Darkseid and Metron about how something is amiss in the Universe.  We're told that New Gods are dying, but there is no disturbance in the Source whenever they die.  Newer readers may not know these concepts and Starlin makes little attempt to give newer readers any background.  Older readers may welcome this lack of expository dialougue but for a first issue that's supposed to attract new readers this issue could definately use some. 

 

There is a small bit with a hologram of Highfather (who died?) explaining the origin of New Genesis and Apokalips and his finding of the Source, but there is nothing about the Anti-Life equation, what it does, or who posesses it.  Apparently Darkseid has part of the Anti-Life equation (since when?), and Scott Free, Mister Miracle posesses the whole thing but does not use it.  All this may be lost on new readers because there's no explanation of what the Anti-Life equation is (it lets you control people).  Most of the issue's plot points may have been lost on me because of the lack of exposition which would have helped me understand the plot. Jim Starlin does the art here as well and does a good job.  This is the first Starlin work I've ever read or seen so he's mostly impressing me with his art in this issue.  He's no George Perez, and his regular guys look to me on the tall Skinny side, but he's definately not as bad as Al Barrionuevo on Teen Titans.  I will pick up the second issue of this 8-issue mini-series since DC's website says it is coming out this month on Halloween, but if that fails to grab me I won't continue with this mini, whatever it's importance to Final Crisis may be down the line.  D