Every week there’s a few comics I’m super excited to read. This week, Black Adam #1 is one of them. The combination of the creative team and the subject is a comic that has me excited and it being DC Black Label means it’ll be a bit more mature and do things you can’t in the regular continuity.
Written by Priest, the comic plants a flag early as to what we can expect from it. Lord Adam is dragged before a US Senate hearing about violations of some exportation laws involving Kahndaq. A leader of the democratic opposition movement is murdered. All of that spins into a shocking finale that looks to explore the future of the nation.
Priest has delivered superhero heroics with political drama for a debut that looks to challenge the perception of Black Adam as a despot and ruler, a benevolent dictator. I can guess exactly where things might go and what discussions might be had but it all comes together for a start that has a lot of potential as a comic series that will challenge the reader to think about the role of superpowers and superheroes, as well as those in the middle.
The art by Rafa Sandoval is fantastic. With colors by Matt Herms and lettering by Willie Schubert, everything about Black Adam #1 looks beautiful. The character design is great. The action is solid and the transformations are memorable. The use of words in battle and switching explodes on the page in memorable moments… really all the visuals are memorable. It’s a comic that’s as great to look at as it is to read.
As an aside, having worked on the Hill, the scene in the Dirksen Senate building brought back memories and the rather cold and boring look of hearing rooms. It’s not that far off from reality so bravo to Priest and Sandoval. Though, The main room in the Senate might have been more appropriate for a head of state, plus the “comic hearings” took place there too.
Black Adam #1 is a fantastic debut. This is a “mature” superhero comic in that it’ll make readers think yet delivers the action and spandex and capes one would expect. I had high expectations for it and it met them in every way. One of the best comics of the week.
Story: Priest Art: Rafa Sandoval
Color: Matt Herms Letterer: Willie Schubert
Story: 9.0 Art: 9.0 Overall: 9.0 Recommendation: Buy
DC Comics provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: comiXology/Kindle – Zeus Comics – TFAW
Source: Graphic Policy
