Wherein Erica is really, really struggling to deal with all of this.
Creative Staff:
Story: Frank J. Barbiere
Art: Joe Bennett
What They Say:
A BOLD NEW STEP FOR THE GOLD KEY UNIVERSE! Solar is reborn! But who bears the mantle and what will become of the original Doctor Solar? Can this new player stop the extraterrestrial threat that looms over earth, and not destroy herself in the process?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Oh, Erica… things are just not going well for you at all.
With all that’s going on with her father and her coping with the way the two are now seemingly bonded in a way and only she can see him, that’s bad enough. Coping with all the powers that have now been transferred to her? Even more difficult. Having him spout off equations all the time to get her to use the powers properly to deal with the threats? Now that’s real pressure. With them having dealt with the aliens, or at least some of them, that have been observing and getting involved, there’s a bigger scale to events that’s slowly coming into the picture, but it’s all grounded by the way Erica wants none of this and is just desperately trying to get answers to what’s going on. And honestly, she doesn’t want them from her dad for a variety of reasons and that completely and utterly makes sense.
So it makes sense that she goes to someone that she doesn’t know well, doesn’t like, but knows her father and may provide a bit more useful context. Preston is just such a man, but he’s working out of a motel at the moment and is in a panic himself over things that have been going on since Phil ended up going through this transformation. Erica’s kind of dismissive of him in a way, but she’s also coping with her father talking to her at the same time which just makes things more complicated and frustrating. But he’s also very aware of what Phil was when he was in physical form and that means he has to deal with the power she’s containing, which gives us the whole Solar suit for her to wear. Thankfully, it’s not made into a huge leering kind of thing but rather is dealt with in a kind of grimy way that’s appealing as it’s completely not her. Luckily, there’s an out to it, which makes sense considering what they have the power to deal with, but it’s just stage setting in order to get us to the meat of things.
The book works a couple of tracks here beyond that, both of which are interesting. Erica’s encounter with the arrival of the new alien (and aliens) lets her cut loose and it’s laid out beautifully in a kind of simple but engaging way as she tries to figure out her powers more with Phil’s help but also finding her own way. We also get more of what’s going on back at the company as things have started tanking there with the stock and there are plans to try and salvage things as much as possible, though there are complications there. Each side presents its own danger and it looks like while the aliens may be a force to be reckoned with, the introduction of Nuro and his desire to own the Atom Valley company definitely gives us the corporate villain who may be something far more. The Seleski family is in for a lot of trouble on multiple fronts.
It must also be called out here that this book has something you don’t see often that definitely makes an impact. With Barbiere writing the book and working with some great artists, we also get the aspect that he’s doing the lettering for the book. This places him in the creation process a little more differently, even compared to writer/artists, since he’s able to bring the actual words to life in a way that fits how it’s coming across in his own head. Comics are obviously collaborative in a big way when you consider how many voices are involved in bringing it to the page and getting a little more of what’s in his head out there through the way he does the lettering, which is changed up well from the norm here, gives it a bit more of a creative and appealing impact.
In Summary:
I’ve been thoroughly enjoying the relaunch of this book from page one and this one is no exception. Each issue brings out new elements and expands the story and characters and it feels like it’s getting closer to reaching one of those critical points where you go, “AHA!” and just giggle over the way it’s gotten there. Solar is a title that can go both huge and personal at the same time considering the scale of power involved and the impact of it, which was one of the things that truly defined the Valiant run for me. A lot of heroes come across as gods, but Solar felt like he was beyond that. And you can see the edges of that starting to come into play here. The story is still forming and the characters are revealing more of themselves and there’s a lot going on, all of which is aided by some beautiful artwork, great scripting and the aforementioned lettering. Dynamite has a lot of good books getting out there, but Solar is vying for the best of the best of what they have in my mind.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 25th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
