Super #1

super1
Written by Joshua Crowther
Drawn by Bruno Chiroleu
Published by Jay Crow Comics

This little indie comic caught my eye while browsing new comics on Comixology last week, and it was only .99 cents, so I picked it up. The story takes place both in the present and in serious of flashbacks dating back to three years earlier. The two main characters are John Colbert who has some kind of job (it’s a tad unclear) working with the Defense Intelligence Agency. His wife recently left him and moved away with their young son because of his dedication to his job. And the other main character is Mark Baur, a teenager from a small town who lived on a farm with his parents. His father died three years ago, and he tried to help his mother run the farm but it eventually went into foreclosure.

What draws these two characters together is a modern day war going on in a fictional Middle Eastern country called Surran. John is called into the DIA because of an unidentified “flying object” that has been interfering in the conflict, and he is tasked with investigating it. We see that the object is actually Mark. He somehow has gained superpowers, of the classic Superman variety (he can fly, is superstrong, and invulnerable), and is using them to try to save people and put an end to the conflict. Through his ongoing internal monologues we can see that Mark feels a strong sense of responsibility to use his powers for the greater good of humanity, but he doesn’t want to just “dress up in a silly costume and hunt petty criminals like some sort of comic superhero” so that’s why he’s overseas. But he still wonders if he’s doing the right thing. And a final flashback in the end shows that Mark is still struggling with his own emotional problems.

I’m going to give a double grade on this book. Although it’s a set-up issue and still leaves many details unknown (especially the cause and limits of Mark’s powers), it feels very ambitious. Writer Joshua Crowther is clearly attempting to tells a story that’s beyond the traditional superhero tale, and explore the possible effects that a person with these types of powers could have in the real world. The way he cuts back and forth between present and past also flows seamlessly, and I look forward to seeing where Crowther goes with this series. So for this issue he gets:

Unfortunately the art, by Bruno Chiroleu, is not quite as good as the writing, and is the only weak link here. For a story that isn’t back to back action, and has a lot of slow dialog scenes, I feel like it could use some really dynamic art to help sell it. It’s not bad, but it’s not spectacular either. It’s just pretty average. So he gets: