What if origin stories were fun and interesting?
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art, Letters, and Colors: David Rubín
What They Say:
This mystery set in the world of superheroes follows a reporter determined to find out what happened to her father: The Black Hammer.
All answers seem to lie in Spiral City’s infamous insane asylum, where some of its dangerous supervillain tenants reside. As she gets closer and closer to the truth she uncovers the dark origin stories of some of Black Hammer’s greatest foes and how they tie into the puzzle of what happened to Spiral City’s greatest hero.
Collects issues #1-#4 of the Dark Horse Comics series Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil and Black Hammer #12.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While reading Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil, I had no idea it was part of an already expansive universe that all falls under the collective umbrella of the Black Hammer comics. And yet I was able to thoroughly enjoy it regardless.
What makes Sherlock Frankenstein a solid read is that you don’t need to know any prior information on characters, motivations, the world or any of that silly “expanded universe” stuff that’s been leaning more towards homework than actual fun lately in pop culture. The story stands well on its own, with a clear objective that’s followed through by the story’s end, all while providing enough room for a follow-up series to read next if you so choose. It’s very mindful of keeping that option open for an expanded universe, but is also never loses sight of telling a self-contained story that can be enjoyed by anyone—something that more comics should prioritize if they’re to ever get more people into the medium.
We’re introduced to the world through a major planet-threatening disaster, resulting in the deaths of some major superheroes. As we listen in on a eulogy lamenting the loss of these heroes, our focus slowly settles on Lucy, the daughter of hero Black Hammer. While she isn’t the most interesting character, she does serve as a solid set of eyes to us as the reader—allowing us to become acquainted with this world as it mourns over heroes we only knew from afar.
As Lucy grows up, she becomes more and more unaccepting of her father’s death—convinced that he and the other heroes have somehow survived and are simply missing. Now having access to Black Hammer’s long-abandoned secret hideout, Lucy investigates the current whereabouts of villains with nothing but her father’s old notes to go off of. This is where the story begins picking up, as we not only begin learning of this world, but the culture surrounding it as well.
With each former villain Lucy grills for information about the day her father died, we get a clearer vision of the world we’re currently seeing unfold. Yes, chapters focus on villains and their relation to Black Hammer in particular, but Lucy speaks to each of them in a very human manner. While we are treated to flashbacks depicting your standard comicbook spectacle of hero versus villain, that all takes a backseat to the villains as they currently are—average Joes with nothing more to prove now that the heroes are out of the picture. Former villains like Cthu-Lou or Metal Minotaur—clearly villains created with the cheesy glory of golden and silver age comics in mind—are humanized so amazingly well in such few pages. We learn of the struggles they’ve had to live throughout their life, the relationships and even families they’ve made in that time, and their daily doldrums. Both in writing and art style, the sparkliness and unrelenting angst related to a supervillain is unceremoniously stripped away to really pick apart the villain as a mere person.
The more villains Lucy gets in contact with, the more apparent it seems that they all share a single connection with a one Sherlock Frankenstein—a major supervillain that was last seen on the day of Black Hammer and co’s deaths. Contrary to the series’ title, Sherlock Frankenstein is given very little screen time until near the end of the book, but what he brings to the table once he arrives is more than enough to make up for that. As we’re treated to backstory followed by humanization of a villain from chapter to chapter, Sherlock Frankenstein serves as the grand finale to that repeated formula. Unlike other villains, Sherlock Frankenstein has granted himself immortality, and thus has reached a certain level of zen with his place in the world. Having witnessed the evolution of the superhero for hundreds of years at this point, his opinion on them is oddly insightful without coming off as obnoxiously meta (albeit still pretty meta). And with those observations in mind, plus a little spoiler I’ll refrain from mentioning, he’s grown weary of his villainous life and has retreated into the shadows.
It’s in these final moments of the book where Lucy continues speaking with Sherlock Frankenstein that we’re left with a bit of a cliffhanger. And yet it works spectacularly because of the strengths of the characters as well as the world they inhabit.
In Summary:
Sherlock Frankenstein and the Legion of Evil has the kind of thoughtful hero introspection akin to The Incredibles and Return of the Joker while still being able to bring something new to the table. It crafts a rich, well-realized world with equally solid characters that feel more pathetic and relatable than ungodly heroic. Its homage to superheroes and villains from the golden and silver age are a treat, and the story it crafts with these characters in mind serve as an excellent analysis on why we enjoy these stories of hero versus villain in the first place.
Grade: A
Age Rating:
Released By: Dark Horse
Release Date: May 9th, 2018
MSRP: $17.99
