Reviewer: John Babos
Story Title: Contact
Written by: J. Michael Straczynski
Penciled by: Gary Frank
Inked by: John Sibal
Colored by: Soto
Lettered by: Chris Eliopoulos
Editor: Mike Raicht
Story Editor and Chief: Joe Quesada
Publisher: Marvel Comics
Supreme Power is Marvel’s newest offering from their MAX mature readers line – a contemporization of their fan-favorite cult-followed Squadron Supreme franchise by uber-scribe J. Michael Straczynski and penciller-supreme Gary Frank.
For the uninitiated, the Squadron Supreme (SS) inspiration for this current MAX series is itself an homage, to a point, to DC’s Justice League of America of olde. All the classic JLA / super-team hero archetypes are part of the classic SS and the MAX reboot:.
Hyperion > Superman
Power Princess > Wonder Woman
Nighthawk > Batman
Doctor Spectrum > Green Lantern
Amphibian > Aquaman
Whizzer (renamed Blur in this series) > Flash
Nuke > Firestorm
While the SS was created by veteran scribe Roy Thomas and legendary penciller John Buscema, in 1971’s Avengers #85, it is the 1985/86 maxi-series written by Mark Gruenwald that is remembered as the team’s defining tale.
While the SS was deliberately modeled after the heroes of the JLA, the Gruenwald work strove to use these archetypes in a more down-to-earth heroes-walk-among-us type of way. His work seemingly intended to infuse the arguably one-dimensional archetypes with a depth and sense of complex social justice, and examine the results – to brilliant effect or horrible outcome – depending on your view.
The 2003 MAX SS reimagination seems have garnered quite a buzz with two A-list creators bringing a contemporary spin on the SS – but, let’s be clear – this is NOT the SS that folks will remember, nor is this any longer a poor man’s JLA.
The Squadron Supreme of olde has morphed into Super Power for today’s generation. Is Supreme Power the name of the super-team or the concept / subtext for the book? Time will tell.
The Story
The world of Supreme Power #1 is a cold pragmatic one – with the debut issue focusing solely on Hyperion, although the book ends with a glimpse of the beginnings of the origin of another Supremer.
While I won’t spoil the issue for you, the origin of Hyperion is reinterpreted with a very heavy Big Brother presence. Straczynski marks the passage of time for Mark Milton, the boy who would grow into Hyperion, in an interesting way. Readers literally see Mark in front of the TV, over one page, seeing the world events of the respective times unfold – covering President Ronald Reagan’s first inauguration (1981) to the Tianamen Square protest (1989). This bit was really well done.
Overall, on the writing side, Straczynski presents a very dark world to readers. Gritty realism or pessimistic view – I can’t decide which one. Clearly though, Hyperion will turn out to be a product of this world – flaws and all – and should make the character all the more an interesting contrast to DC’s big blue boy scout – himself undergoing his own retooling in a twelve issue maxi-series called Superman: Birthright.
While the first issue has its moments, it is very slow and very exposition heavy. Straczynski has said that Supreme Power will not be plot-focused, but character-focused – meaning that readers will just move with the characters as they travel. This approach is definitely evident in issue #1.
While it is still too early to tell whether this book will be a tortoise or a hare, it is clear that fans want to see what’s going to happen next. The buzz has made this book a chart-topper, almost unheard of for a mature readers – and thus more limited audience – book.
Gary Frank continues to be one of my all-time favorite pencillers. His drawn facial expressions evoke emotions, his pacing is dynamic, and he really understands how to “tell” a story. While the book is text heavy, there are some silent panels where Franks pencils do the talking. Great stuff.
A solid creative team, with a solid promotional effort, on characters that are cared about – Supreme Power seems to have all the ingredients for enduring success.
Although, one could argue that the mature readers moments in Supreme Power #1 really didn’t add anything to the story.
Overall, this debut issue is worth a gander if your old enough to pick it up,
The Gimmick
The first issue comes with two versions – a “regular” no-frills version and a “Special Edition”. For an extra few dollars, the variant covered Special Edition actually has a wealth of extra goodies including:
1) Penciller Gary Frank’s sketchbook – a great art profile spoiled by one unnecessary mature readers moment – 14 extra pages
2) A colour reprint of Avengers #85 from 1979 – the Squadron Supreme’s first appearance – 20 extra pages
3) A colour reprint of Avengers #86 from 1979 – the Squadron Supreme’s second appearance – 20 extra pages
4) An introduction preceding the reprints – 1 extra page
So, for an extra $ 2.00 U.S. or an extra $3.20 Canadian, you get a whopping 55 extra pages on top of the 22 page lead story — that’s like getting three and half comic books for under the cost of two regular no-frills issues of Supreme Power #1.
While I am not a big proponent of gimmick covers, this book actually gives readers more, with the gimmick actually being significantly more content in the book in addition to a variant cover by Marvel bad-boy Joe Quesada.
Final Thought
Pick up Marvel’s Supreme Power #1 and DC’s Superman: Birthright #2 and compare the archetypes – its an interesting side-by-side comparison. Both books are recommended picks by me this week.
