Okay, so, apparently I have a big thing for Brian K. Vaughan’s work.
I’m a ride-or-die Saga fan, and while I do miss that series, I think it’s good that the creative team has given it time to breathe before bringing it back. I also enjoyed Paper Girls, Vol. 1, which I read a few weeks ago and which I intend to pour through. I own a copy of Y: The Last Man, and that one’s coming up soon in the TBR pile.
But this is something else. A unique blend of superhero mythos, science fiction, politics, post-9/11 New York City paranoia, and so much more.
I’ve heard it being compared to Superman-meets-West Wing and please, God, no. The West Wing makes me barf with its noblesse oblige glorification of white liberalist politics. At the heart of this story, Vaughan is asking important questions: What makes a hero? How do we do the most good with what we’ve been given? What is the cost of compromise?
In a four episode graphic novel, Vaughan uses his fertile mind to plumb the depths of these questions. And he may be the greatest dialogue writer I’ve ever read, in prose or graphic novels. He has a unique ability to define his characters by how they talk, almost like Elmore Leonard but better.
This would have worked out well enough as a standalone but seeing that it’s nine volumes fascinates me as to the direction he will take this series. I will be reading all of them, of course.