Image Comics 2018
Written by Eddie Gorodetsky & Marc Andreyko
Illustrated by Stephen Sadowski
Coloured by Hi-Fi Colour Design
Lettered/’Designed by A Larger World Studios
For a few years in his early 20s, Nick Wilson had super powers and all the acclaim associated with them. When those powers vanished, so did his fame, sending him from national hero to late-night punchline. By the time we pick up his story, he is not yet 30 and barely an answer in a trivia contest. Faced with a life in a rear-view mirror full of lost powers, faded glory, former enemies, ex-girlfriends, and forgotten grudges, Nick struggles to figure out who he is today. Packing on an extra 20 pounds and peering through a medicinal marijuana haze, he is trying to build a future when all that’s left is just a man who hasn’t been super for a very long time.
I like this it’s a got a very different point of view from what we normally see and Nick’s life couldn’t have fallen much farther than it did, or so it would seem. While at this juncture I cannot tell if Nick wouldn’t have ended up like this to begin with from what I am seeing I would guess that even if he’d never had the powers he wouldn’t have ended up in a much better place. Also I’m kind of wondering if his hero days are actually behind him?
The way that this is structured is extremely well done and as far as slice of life stories go this one is right up there with the best of them. I mean we get a lot of information about Nick and the characterisation is strong. It also makes us wonder about him, his past, how he got powers and why he lost them as well why he never tried to get a real job and move on with his life instead of getting lost in a marijuana haze. We do get rather involved with his life as the story moves through the pages and that’s a rather nice thing to see.
I will also say this seeing Nick turn down what he did and then go to lunch with his high school girlfriend well it was the kind of writing that gives the reader hope where the character is concerned. There is still that whole good guy in him wanting to come back out and these instances kind of show that and it makes for the potential of a return to the real world. There’s only so much a man can do impersonating himself at children’s birthday parties while smoking a boat load of pot at home to pass the time.
Why doesn’t Stephen get more work? I mean with the way he uses page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows he’s got a great eye for storytelling. Plus the linework and attention to detail here is fantastic, the faces yeah those are some wow factors here. Yes I’d like to see more utilisation of backgrounds but it’s okay because of the way he uses them when he does and how he uses the panels when he doesn’t. He’s a solid visual storyteller who has some of the cleanest work around and it’s a joy to see.
So with all the events we see here and how the lead up to the last page and the promise of what’s to come actually has more curious than I thought I’d be. There really this is great mixture of anticipation and wonder, as in wondering what the heck is going on, to how this leaves you that you know you are coming back next issue.
A creative, interesting and uniquely different look at life after superhero-ing all wrapped up in some gorgeous visuals.