Josh Wilding Reviews: JUPITER'S LEGACY #1
Mark Millar and Image Comics have been kind enough to provide us with an advance copy of Jupiter's Legacy #1 (which goes on sale this Wednesday in all good comic book stores) and you can read my spoiler-free verdict of the issue after the jump!
There are some comic book writers who can do no wrong. Mark Millar is one of them. If the first issue of Jupiter's Legacy is anything to go by, this series will soon join the likes of The Ultimates, Kick-Ass and Civil War - to name just a few - as true modern classics from the prolific Scot. However, this feels a lot different to both those and Millar's other recent creator owned titles. Even so, there's no denying that it's still very much a Millarworld comic book; the trademark darkness, humour and "Why has nobody thought of that before?!" ideas are all very much on display here.
Jupiter's Legacy is certainly very topical and Millar makes a smart choice by contrasting the world of 1929 to today. The contrast not only between then and now, but also the superheroes from that Golden Age and their children proves to be fascinating. How would the offspring of the world's greatest superheroes act? How would they fare living in the shadow of their parents, especially when they're still active? These are all questions that the writer sets out to explore and it promises to make for a very interesting read. He also drops in enough mystery to get you hooked, while the tension between Walter and Sheldon looks very promising moving forward. There's an awful lot of story crammed into this first issue and I for one can't wait to see where it goes.
In terms of artwork, Frank Quitely is on top form here and Pete Doherty's muted colours are a perfect fit for this very realistic feeling world. The design of the costumes are all great and Quitely's style is particularly brilliant in a sequence which sees the group of superheroes take down a supervillain in very unique fashion. All in all, Millar has once again found the perfect artist for this latest collaboration and as with Leinil Yu on Supercrooks or Steve McNiven on Nemesis, it's now impossible to think of anyone else handling the art duties on Jupiter's Legacy.
Mark Millar promised us an epic superhero tale on the scale of Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings and this first issue certainly has all the right ingredients to make that a reality. Jupiter's Legacy #1 is a must-read!
