A smack to the head is what most of this group needs.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeff Lemire
Art: Dean Ormston
Colors: Dave Stewart
Letterer: Todd Klein
What They Say:
The Eisner Award-winning superhero saga returns! With the team coming together, Black Hammer, Abe, and company try to figure out what’s happened to throw their lives upside down. Lucy, however, receives a call from an unexpected hero, which thrusts their plan into chaos. Black Hammer has been optioned by Legendary Pictures!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
This arc of the series has definitely been interesting even if you have the basic predictability about it in bringing the team back together. Jeff Lemire has focused well on what the other lives of these characters could have been without the superheroics and I definitely like that it’s a mixed bag at best while also giving us more of a look at who they are and how they respond to situations. It’s also given Dean Ormston more to work with in terms of locations and settings while also presenting new ways to look at the characters. The result for fans like me is a whole lot to enjoy and more fully realized characters to deal with as everything starts to come together.
With Lucy and Talky-Walking having figured out some of the basics at this point that has them trying to collect the others so that they can deal with what’s coming. The skies are changing, a storm is coming, and they know the Anti-God is on his way and a world without superheroes won’t be able to face him. The fun is in trying to get everyone back together as Lucy needs to use the Hammer to reawaken who they were before reality was rewritten. It’s happened easily enough for the first two but when they go to approach Abraham about it things don’t go as well. He’s still in a bad place after his fight with the punks recently and on guard because of it. Even worse, just touching the hammer isn’t enough at this point to restore their past lives. Lucy has to give them a good whack to the head.
I love getting the gang back together like this as there’s a kind of ragtag sense of fun about it as the trio head off to find Gail. She’s sadly a shell of her former self as she’s gotten so old and uncommunicative, but for the trio to basically kidnap her from the home gives us something of an ‘80s comedy vibe as they roll away because they know that they just can’t leave her behind. It does move quickly in Colonel Weird appearing, but that felt the least-weird thing ever for him, and he’s able to get them together with Barbalien on Mars. I really liked Barbalien’s arc on Mars and all he went through there and to have it be the bigger fight of the run as Lucy tries to get him to remember is great. But it also has some sweet moments toward the end that just made me smile very broadly. Between the time at the farm and all the backstory we’ve gotten before, watching this team come together again is something special.
In Summary:
I’ve been enjoying Black Hammer since the start and it continues to be a whole lot of fun with what it does even if there does feel like we’re kind of looping around the same central issue. This installment helps to get a bunch of the team back together again as the big threat is on its way and it works really well since these are characters we know so well and are intriguing when viewed through new iterations. I love the dialogue, the pacing, the artwork, it all just comes together spot on. I’m excited to see where this particular arc builds to next as all the pieces are falling into place wonderfully.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 8th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
