Let me say that I'm thrilled to see Doc Savage back in publication, since I've long been a fan of his pulp adventures.And we suddenly have a wealth of Doc comics, as the Man of Bronze also stars in the First Wave mini-series.
For those not familiar with the character, Doc is Dr. Clark Savage, Jr., the original "superman." He has no special powers, but through a lifetime of training he has honed his body and mind to near-perfection, and devotes his efforts to helping those in need, which often brings him up against fantastic menaces and powerful foes.
He's aided by his five assistants - Ham (an attorney), Monk (a chemist), Renny (an engineer), Long Tom (an electrical engineer) and Johnny (an archaeologist).
DC is not creating these as period pieces, but the creative team is going the extra mile to place the series in its own reality (much like Batman: The Animated Series did), where you can easily interpret the adventures as being modern - or set in a bygone age.
The story by Paul Malmont captures that pulp feel, as the story starts with an attack on Doc and accelerates from there as Doc's allies and his headquarters suffer a devastating assault from the sky.
The only thing about this comic that didn't work for me was Howard Porter's art - which is surprising, since I really liked his work on Justice League. But here his work seems thin in places, and the faces of the characters just seem too simple. Plus, I don't care for the visualization of Doc's aides - Monk just looks like another guy in a hat, instead of having simian features. Maybe it's just that I have my own pictures of the team in my head, and the art is different.
Still, complaints about the art aside, I enjoyed this issue and look forward to further adventures.
The issue also includes a backup feature starring The Avenger (no relation to Marvel's super-team), who heads up the team known as Justice, Inc.
It's a short feature written by Jason Starr with some excellent art by Scotty Hampton - and while it's too early to tell much about it, so far the story's off to a good start.
Grade: B+
2 comments:
You're a better man than I, Chuck.
I looked forward to this book, being a long-time fan and reader of Doc Savage and The Avenger. I'm collecting all the Sanctum reprints
now. The idea of Paul Malmont as writer was a plus. The art on The
Avenger back feature is good. But the art on the Doc Savage lead feature is so off-putting that I put the mag back on the rack after paging through it. It's just that...wrong.
Glad you liked it; hope it's a success...but DC is not getting my
money for this. Sad.
Sam Kujava
Sam, I'm with you - I think the art is a mistake, but I'm also a longtime "Doc" fan, so I'm willing to hang with it for a while to see if Porter works it out or if another artist is brought on. I always think back to Barry Smith's start on Conan, which was shaky at best - and then, in short order, he became amazing. Granted, it happens rarely - but I can hope, can't I?
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