Peter Cannon is a comic book property with a rather unusal history. Born as part of Charlton Comics' short-lived Action Heroes Line, creator Pete "PAM" Morisi managed to keep the rights to the character for himself.
This prevented Bill Black from using Cannon in his attempt to revive the characters in the early '80s, before the characters were sold to DC. During Crisis, DC showed Cannon as a Flash-like super speedster.
An entry in Who's Who followed with a long dry period. In the 1990s, DC revived the character with his original powers, transporting him to London, where he faced various menaces for 12 issues and hung out with Justice League Europe.
Now Dynamite is giving the character a go. The first issue is a little lacking. It's all setup with no action, and very little pay off for anybody who read any of the promotional literature.
Most of the setup is provided through a conversation between a Military-Industrial type general and a Fox News surrogate. There is some foreshadowing of coming menaces, including some from the original series. Others seem like they were created for Batman and The Outsiders in 1985. The Duke of Oil would feel right at home.
The art is the usual Dynamite house look, complete with the odd coloring that so many of their books have. I think this actually harms the book, as Peter Cannon's unusual costume and art are part of what made the character so memorable.
The backup feature is an ashcan version of a story that was to go into DC's late, lamented, Secret Origins series, but was never published. Drawn by Morisi, it's great to see tha unvarnished original.
Unfortunately, the primary feature suffers from the comparison.
Grade: C
1 comment:
I must agree, I was let down. Dynamite has a way of doing that with characters.
Beau Smith
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