A plan for change!
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Wilfredo Torres
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Nate Piekos of Blambot
What They Say:
A rogue Martian joins forces with the down-and-out heroes of the Quantum League only to find themselves on the run from powerful, oppressive militia forces. Shocking events come to light from both the Martian’s past and the Leaguers ties to the heroes of Black Hammer farm.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While part of me was trying to decide which properties were being paid homage to in the opening issue of this series, Quantum Age delivered a whole lot of fun. Yes, it’s riffing on what has come before and playing it within the Black Hammer universe. Jeff Lemire knows how to make it work and it is just that, an homage with its own twists and turns on familiar concepts. It also didn’t hurt that Wilfredo Torres’ artwork is just spot on perfect here as it captures a kind of innocence of the 1960’s style artwork while playing with more modern trends and keeping tied to the mothership book through Dave Stewart’s color design for it. The result is a book that was fun as it introduced a layered story and the potential for a grand adventure.
The two track approach isn’t a surprise but the blending of the stories on the same page at times proves to be a bit frustrrating in terms of narrative flow, at least for me. Following the story of a young Trev, we see how he and his family made their way off Earth after the Martian invasion that went so wrong and ended with so many dead. The paranoia is high and it’s engaging to see just how tense it is and the relief upon getting offworld and finding some remnants of their kind out there. For Trev, he ends up discovering the heroes of years past with the Quantum League and of Barbalien himself from centuries ago that did a lot during some very dark times for his people, all while being exiled from them. The foundations are simple as to why Trev will follow in that path and why he ended up back on Earth as we saw before.
Now, however, his time with Erb and Modular Lass has revealed a bigger picture coming into focus while eventually on the run from the Science Militia. Modular Lass’ connection to the Earth President is coloring her view of events but it’s no surprise that there will be many in the galaxy that wants to assassinate him. For Modular Lass and Erb, it’s about bringing on those they can use to achieve that end and convincing them to be on the right side of it. Rev’s falling to it easily enough overall considering his own past and seeing just how far Modular Lass will go to achieve it. Both stories work really well with a lot of little details along the way to flesh out the worlds and this particular century but it left me a little frustrated with the structure of it in the story blending. It makes more sense in the final couple of pages with how that explores Trev’s past but there wasn’t really a surprise here to begin with.
In Summary:
In a world where I don’t have an ongoing Legion of Super-Heroes comic (yet get some live-action stuff on TV of all places), Quantum Age is delivering something that I’ve been craving for some time. Lemire gives us the classic kind of storytelling with just enough of a modern edge to make it work while playing within larger trappings. Following Trev’s story this time around works well and getting to see the dynamic between Modular Lass and Trev is fun as is exploring the arc of Trev’s life that has a range of emotions tied to it. Wilfredo Torres continues to put together a great looking book that has me wanting even more time with my new favorite martians and to see more of what makes up this futuristic galaxy with its residents and ships. Good stuff all around.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 1st, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
