Written by Brian Buccellato
Art by Stefano Simeone
Published by Image Comics
I generally love comic books that go with a different spin on familiar territory.
I love to see a good twist happen, and reframe some of the older tropes we have come to know. It makes a lot of these stories stand out more and it gives us a newer way to look at stories. This book definitely gives us all of that and more. When I first saw the cover to the paperback, I didn’t think we would get there, but this overall is actually a pretty interesting and fun read.
The book starts us off by introducing us to Ruben Kwan. He is a character who is in a different mood than we see most lead characters as. He is a fifty year old firefighter.
Sounds exciting, right?
Unfortunately, Ruben is anything but a hero.
He literally sits behind a desk and does paperwork all day. He leads a simple mundane life. He is anything but an actual hero. Even worse, his father was a big deal firefighter in his time. This means that Ruben is constantly living in his father’s shadow and everybody knows it.
It isn’t an easy thing for him. You can kind of predict what is going to happen. Ruben is introduced as a character who is lost in his thoughts as the book begins. The legacy of his father’s heroism haunts him. It seems like this is as good as it is going to get for him. Life has not given him a lot to work with at this point. He’s got a family and kids. His wife loves him and his kids don’t really respect him. He’s basically stuck in what he feels is a really crappy place.
One day, Ruben gets superpowers.
Now this is the part that I think anyone could see coming. It was pretty obvious. However, writer Brian Buccellato decides that he isn’t just going to go with the usual narrative. He’s totally not content doing that at all. Instead, he decides to subvert expectations and twist this story into some really cool and exciting places. The creativity that is shown here is appreciated and we actually do get to some new places with the storytelling.
I loved that the set up takes awhile before Ruben gets his superpowers. You get a really “lived in” sense for the characters before the “fantastic” elements start occurring. You also get to know who they are and relate to them. Brian Buccellato takes his time letting the story actually breathe, so much so that it doesn’t ever get bogged down in nonsense. It also feels very natural, in every sense of the word, throughout. Each scene feels like a natural extension from the previous and it is very impressive.
A lot of the book is dedicated to exploring Ruben’s character and all of the various aspects of him.
It is wonderful to witness. The book really goes places that we haven’t been before, and it even answers some questions that we may not have thought of from previous superhero comics. It also is very emotional, and the creators let the characters all have their moments to shine. Every character is so unique and well developed that is really is impressive.
We even get a “villain” but they are of a different sort for sure.
I love how everything in the book leads up to a different kind of “final confrontation.” It is all very well thought out and designed for sure. All of the beats leading up to the ending are very natural and make sense. By the end of the book, I was happy to have read it. There is a ton to love. But first and foremost they gave us a new kind of hero, and one that we can truly root for.
The best part of this book is that it isn’t dark, gritty and depressing. Rather, it is fun, exciting and just plain enjoyable.
Writer Brian Buccellato does top shelf work here, turning in a great script with emotionally resonant scenes and terrific characters. Artist Stefano Simeone does an equally great job drawing this book and keeping the whole thing interesting with a great sense of design and killer art. Overall, I loved this series and wouldn’t mind reading it again. It’s that well done.
RATING: A
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