Comic book review: Justice Inc #2- The Avenger is old and new, whilst Batman is just old, and old

Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 24th September 2014


I’m reading this book for The Shadow, and if the other two characters bring anything to the table then that’s just a bonus. Issue #2 gave me some interesting insights into the character, personality and special abilities of The Shadow, so that alone is reason enough for me to both enjoy and appreciate the book.

Okay, so the art isn’t that special. There’s a lack of atmosphere in the shading, and the colouring is far too pastel and bright for my liking. But again, going back to The Shadow, he’s drawn exactly like The Shadow should be drawn, so that’s enough for me.

The story in issue #2 of Justice Inc is brief, as it should be in an issue #2. Most of the action takes place in-flight, with the character that will become ‘The Avenger’ going through his Bruce Wayne moment of horror that will come to define his subsequent crime-fighting career. The dialogue, again as it was in the first issue, is very amusing, but amusing without being silly and ridiculous as you’ll find in the dialogue of far too many mainstream comic books today. Oh, and there was a hint of a femme-fatale in this book, and I’m perfectly happy with that as every old fashioned pulp book needs a sexy bad femme-fatale to spice things up a bit.

Far too many comic books and comic book writers of today are stuck in the 1990’s, and are either unwilling or unable to negotiate the post 9/11 world that we are all living in today. Plus, the mainstream obsession with political correctness and it’s diversionary issues to do with race, gender and sexuality is depressing beyond belief, and makes most of the books put out by DC and Marvel today unreadable for any educated and awakened mind.  Justice Inc is not stuck in the 1990’s, and so far I detect no hint of Rockefeller funded liberalism in the book. Whilst Marvel stays in the 1990’s, trying to get attention by playing out tired old race and gender issues, Justice Inc is bypassing 1970’s feminism altogether by going back to the pulp days of the late 1930’s and 1940’s. It’s using the old heroes and personalities of that period, putting them all in the proverbial blender and having a good old time with the results of that delicious mix.

However, you must bear in mind that if you decide to take a chance on Justice Inc you’re going to get a story that is in no way contemporaneous with current geo-political events. This is a book set in the safe past with characters like Einstein and Howard Hughes, very well known historical figures that are uncontroversial, safe and easy to play around with in a comic book. It’s not a brave book. It’s a comic book that has taken elements of the pulp history of the comic book genre and decided to play out the old stories once again, but for a new audience. These are pulp heroes of the 1940's and that’s where their playground is, not a post 9/11 world, the world that we are all living in today.

If the majority of comic books available today were stuck in the 1940’s it would drive me absolutely nuts. I’m sure they’d be preferable to the liberal nonsense that dominates DC and Marvel today, but I’d still hate it, and every week on this blog I’d be calling them out on their inability to reflect the world of 2014. I give Dynamite comics a pass on this book for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I’m a huge fan of the Shadow, and anything with The Shadow in it is fine by me. Sure I’d like him to be brought into this NSA spying/criminal banks/ puppet politician’s era, but there’s something about his character that appeals to me. It’s probably because he’s independent, morally upright and utterly ruthless with criminal lowlifes. Secondly, this delving back into the 1940’s is interesting because it’s only being done in these Shadow books. I know it’s safe and easy, but at the moment it’s a nice change from the norm, and anything that breaks from the norm at the moment has to be good.

Setting aside my Shadow fandom for a moment, Justice Inc #2 is worth investing your time and money in because you are seeing the re-birth of a super hero known as The Avenger. That’s interesting as The Avenger is a character that has not yet been done to death. He’s an old character, but somewhat of a lost one, somebody who from what I’ve researched appears to be very interesting, and I welcome his reintroduction into the comic book world of today. Contrast that to the character of Batman who gets his origin story redone every couple of years or so in DC comics. Heck, the story is even being redone on mainstream television at the moment in a show called ‘Gotham.’ The Avenger is old, but new. Batman is just old, and old. Get the book because of the re-birth of The Avenger, that alone is good enough a reason to read it, but if like myself you are a huge fan of the awesomeness that is The Shadow, you’ll want to pick this book up as well.

Rating: 7/10

Comic book review: Justice Inc #1- The fascinating re-birth of The Avenger

Writer: Michael Uslan
Artist: Giovanni Timpano
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Released: 20th August 2014

I had to re-read a couple of the pages in this book, going back over them a few times to fully understand what was going on, but it was a rewarding experience as the book was so enjoyable. What made it so enjoyable? Three things, the characters, the contemporary references and the fast moving tension filled script.

First off, the characters were fascinating to me. They are old pulp fiction comic book heroes from the 1930’s and 40’s, but there’s a wonderfully contemporary feel about them in this book. Writer Michael Uslan has been very clever here, using contemporary news stories to link the old heroes to the current times. I won’t spoil the plot, but it involves the Large Hadron Collider, a missing passenger plane and worm holes in time. These contemporary themes are mixed with old science fiction (H.G Wells) and Albert Einstein’s theories on the laws of physics and string theory. Add to the mix a very modern distrust of the government and a villain determined to use the powers of the occult to bring in a new age of mysticism and you have something that’s a little confusing, a little too packed, but something very interesting indeed.

I’m not going to get too carried away with the book at this stage as the art is not going to wow anybody, and the ending doesn’t really pack the punch that it should do, but there’s so much happening, and it’s such a joy to read. The research carried out for the production of this book must have been immense and the characters are so intriguing that I cannot help but be impressed by it all. There’s a lightness and air of fun about the script as well. It’s not lead weight and overly serious, it’s fun to read and the dialogue has moments of humour throughout (“It’s a dinosaur. A dinosaur I tell you.”).

After reading this comic book I went onto the Internet and did a bit of research about the character called ‘The Avenger.’ He sounds like a very interesting guy to me, so I’m absolutely thrilled that he’s back in contemporary comics, and I have my fingers crossed that he’ll be a huge fan favourite and stay around for a long, long time. I knew nothing about him before reading this book, but because of the way that writer Michael Uslan has re-introduced him, he’s become somebody that I’m very excited about. Please check out the link at the end of this review, and then read Justice Inc #1, and I’m sure you’ll agree with me on this point. I bought this book for The Shadow, but it’s the Avenger character that is going to keep me coming back.

I highly recommend this book, and even though the ending isn’t quite as strong as it should be, that’s not a big concern, as what has been established here is a template for what is to come next. It both fascinates and impresses me to see these old pulp heroes very cleverly brought into 2014, yet not seem dated at all. This is how to re-introduce old comic book characters and make them seem relevant to the world of 2014. I just hope that modern readers will take a chance with them. Justice Inc #1 is a clever book, an intriguing book and a book that’s just a heck of a lot of fun to read.

Rating: 8/10

For further information about 'The Avenger.' Please have a read of this fascinating info from our ever reliable friends at wikipedia-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Avenger_(character)