Written by DeWayne Feenstra
Art by Ray-Anthony Height
Colors by Paul Little
Letters by Erica Schultz
Published by Action Lab Entertainment

“THE ORIGIN OF MIDNIGHT TIGER”

The title says it all. This is an origin story. Gavin Shaw is a young Black teenager, living in Los Angeles. This appears to be set in a traditional superhero universe like DC and Marvel. We open with Gavin and his friend Dex are playing video games in Dex’s bedroom. Dex is a big superhero fan, but Gavin complains about how superheroes are always around for big world-saving events but can’t do anything about everyday problems live poverty and street-crime. While riding his bike home Gavin witnesses a battle between a superhero named Lionsblood and a supervillain named Hyena. During the battle Gavin gets seriously injured by the Hyena and ends up in the hospital. Feeling guilty about what happened, Lionsblood later sneaks into the hospital and injects Gavin with some of his own blood, which accelerates his healing. Later, while recuperating at home, Gavin notices that his speed and agility have been greatly enhanced. He then orders himself a costume off of a cosplay website, and puts it on when it arrives. TO BE CONTINUED

A great first issue, I loved the set-up. Introduced the main character, Gavin, as well as the supporting cast (his friends Dex and Ryan and his father). Still a few mysteries to be solved (did Lionsblood know his blood would also give Gavin super-powers? What’s the connection between Lionsblood and Hyena?). I liked the fact that, as I mentioned, it feels like it takes place in a larger world. There were off-hand references to other superheroes and teams (The Conglomerate, The Icons, The Omegan, Omega Girl) that made it feel like we’re getting in on the ground floor of a while new superhero universe. It reminds me of how I felt when first reading the early Image Comics titles. DeWayne Feenstra’s writing is stellar here. And he is ably backed by Ray-Anthony Height’s clean artwork, which is nicely colored by Paul Little.

This is a digital comic, and it is formatted in a way that is ideal for tablets, like an iPad, very easy to scroll from panel to panel, although I can see that it may take some getting used to for you Luddites who still read printed-comics. But it’s worth it. And this first issue is only .99 cents! I very highly recommend it.

MIDNIGHT TIGER #0