Sidekick #1 Review
‘Ever Again’
Writer: J. Michael Straczynski
Artist: Tom Mandrake
Colours: HiFi
Letterer: Troy Peteri
A review by Jake Morris.
“We confronted evil and beat it. We endured hardship and survived it.”
Those are the words of Red Cowl, the figurehead superhero in Sol City and the partner to the main character in this story, his sidekick, Flyboy.
The words uttered by Red Cowl a few pages into the issue sets a tone that many would expect when reading a story featuring heroes with such names. A golden age setting and happy go lucky characters whose vocabulary include “gee whiz” and “shucks”. As a reader, you wouldn’t be wrong if you approached the issue with those thoughts. As the issue opens with Flyboy saving the day, and being pronounced as not just a sidekick anymore but a hero in his own right, it is a bittersweet feeling as the transition in the next panel proposes something else entirely.
J. Michael Straczynski flips the already set tone on its head as he moves forward in time to a Flyboy, weathered by time or perhaps something else, sat with a smoke in his mouth and eyes looking beyond tired; captured brilliantly by artist Tom Mandrake. The echoes of Red Cowl’s words are etched onto the panel perfectly by letterer Troy Peteri as we feel a real sense of melancholy in Flyboy’s now less-heroic life.
It is then that we see Straczynski’s blend of golden age heroics and the gritty dark lifestyles found in works such as Watchmen. Whether Straczynski was aiming to convey such comparisons with that particular book is unknown but it is certainly welcome.
The imagery in the book is something to be raved about. From Flyboy crying after shameless acts of vigilantism to shedding his uniform and fleeing to the skies, completely nude, and basking in a sunlight that would not be unfitting in a book featuring the Man of Steel. This is a carefully plotted and well crafted story.
We flashback to a then still thriving partnership between Flyboy and Red Cowl, both posing and waving in a slick red car that should instantly remind any reader of a certain event. Upon the events that follow, it is clear to see that Straczynski is building his own history for the book, providing fresh takes on real worldly events.
The book is an unforgiving one. Especially in terms of the graphical nature of the material, one that hits home harder due to the colourful art and often overly-expressional cheery faces of the stories dynamic duo. When something bad happens, you feel it.
As the issue progresses we are shown more of Flyboy’s life leading to the present day, and how despite his loyalty towards saving a city on countless occasions, he is deemed unworthy to protect it on his own. These opinions of the people haunt him and the dialogue is never out of place with the goings on in the artwork.
Commentary on the real world is noted through a fairly dark comedic tone and offers a glance at what these factors within the story could be like if superheroes existed in our world. The blend of conventions and a popular crowd funding website provides a laugh and they are jokes that all comic book readers should be able to follow.
Despite that, this isn’t a book for everyone and I for one can appreciate that but it is a book that I feel all readers (above the age of eighteen) should try out. It is a book with big things to come, and after that bombshell of a cliffhanger, why wouldn’t you come back for more?
5/5
Jake is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @JakeUtd.