Comic Review: The Life and Times of Savior 28 #1

The Life and Times of Savior 28 #1

Written by: J. M. DeMatteis
Art by: Mike Cavallaro
Colors by: Andrew Covalt
Letters by: Neil Uyetake

Published by: IDW Publishing

He is the first, and greatest, super hero: an American legend. But when tragedy forces Savior 28 to question the very beliefs that have guided him for seventy years, his life begins to unravel and his nation turns against him.

Characters

Savior 28
Savior 13
Dennis McNulty

This story is clearly about Savior 28, a Superman/Captain America analogue whose origins are clouded in mystery as the stories changed in his 70 years of heroic action. He represents everything good and noble about the human race and America. Well, almost...Arrogance and alcohol lead to his downfall, but then I guess we can see some of that in both the human race and America, as well. Anyway, Savior 28 finds himself unable to cope with the changing social sensitivities of America and swings from the extreme of the Golden Age punch first don't worry about the questions method of superheroics, to a more PC can't we all just get along motif. But a more cynical America turns on the peace loving hero.

Savior 28 is interesting as he represents the social evolution of America and comic books. His ever changing origin mirrors many Golden Age heroes' origins who changed throughout the years, and the ever maturing comic fan demanding less childish slugfests and more characterizations fleshing out the villains so that these days, it's a revolving door of character alignment.

His chief opponent throughout his fisticuff years was Savior 13, his Bizarro, who underwent the same procedure, but unlike other attempts whose subjects died, drove the man who became Savior 13 insane. It's Savior 28's accidental killing of Savior 13, plus the death of Savior 28's wife, that leads him down the path of peace.

A Captain America element to Savior 28 is his sidekick, the Daring Disciple, Dennis McNulty. Dennis is the story's narrator. The bitter sidekick tells us his version of events leading up to Savior 28's assassination. We're apparently supposed to take his word for Savior 28's character, but his closeness to the events and the character put his point of view into question. That makes for a very active reading experience.

Character Rating: 1 Worm. If they make you think about what you don't mind pondering, you have good, engaging characters.

Plot

Talking about the characters pretty much gets the plot out there as well. DeMatteis presents a great story with a twist and you'll be left wanting to know more.

One problem: Dematteis delves, all be it briefly, into politics. It's a little less forced, a little more natural than some recents inclusions of presidents and presidential hopefuls, so I admit that DeMatteis may be suffering from backlash of my annoyance, but I had a flare of annoyance with the political criticism.

Plot Rating: 1 1/2 Worms. Loss of 1/2 worm for annoying political criticism. Would have lost more if he didn't do it so well.

Art

The art's not bad, but there's something about Cavallero's style that I don't like. If I knew more about art, I might be able to explain better, but I find the dark, heavy lines on the characters' faces distracting. The layouts are fine, though, so he displays the story well. It's just a matter of style.

Art Rating: 1 1/2 Worms. Dark, heavy lines...bad.

Overall Rating: 4 Worms. Highly recommended for fans of dark superhero deconstructions.



The Life and Times of Savior 28 #1 is available on Amazon.com.