somehow, a Superman-ish hero having five illegitimate children, two of them being in interracial relationships, doesn't really strike me as politically correct.
The concept and story were pretty good, but I had a problem with them overlaying two stories at once: Telling their origins, and telling the story of their fight with the Veil. I chalk this up to just being the first Iss. I look forward to many more
(Be proud, this marks my third comic that I regularly pick up that is not only NOT Marvel, but not at all Big Two. I'm also reading Freshmen and Invincible regularly)
Got this book last week, and enjoyed the heck out of it. It's first issue left a good impression.
Reposting my review from the B/T thread at the Marvel Comics board:
Dread said:
DYNAMO 5 #1: Lost in the shuffle this week was the debut of yet another Image series. It was given a preview in INVINCIBLE #39 (Kirkman has done a lot to try to help struggling newbies break in, from printing fan-art to giving props in letters pages). Even BKV supposedly likes it. The $3.50 pricetag may be offputting, but it basically is because this issue is 28 pages with ZERO ads. It actually reminds me a little of INVINCIBLE; some bits of it are stock genra expectations, but it is the occasional tweak and the EMBRACING, not the fleeing, from the details of the superhero game that gives the work charm. There's some tongue-in-cheek but also some attempts to shirk some stereotypes. The premise, like most good ones, is simple:
Capt. Dynamo, a cypher for your demigod Superman clone, has turned up dead, found naked in a hotel with poison on his lips. Turns out that wasn't a ruse, he was a total "playa" and had shamelessly cheated on his reporter wife. Bitter, but seeing that the city needed to be protected from his enemies, Maddie Warner gathers together his five children and bombards them with the same "radiation" that empowered Dynamo, and they have all gained one of his powers. Ironically, while Dynamo mostly exists as a plot point Superman-Lite, his powers are essentially the same as Martian Manhunter: Shapeshifting, Flight, Super-Strength, Laser-Vision, and Telepathy. An ethnically diverse collection of youngsters are gathered and become the Dynamo 5. Their costumes are simple yet effective, and there is some attempt to shrug off some stereotypes. While, yes, the ladykiller black man (who of course is bald) becomes a shapeshifter, the Texan Jock actually becomes the Telepath and a skinny Goth Chick the "tanker", and not vice versa (although for the past 10 years, giving scrawny girls super-strength isn't nearly as rare as it was in the 70's, call it "The Molly Syndrome"). The concept of a football playing jock more familiar with tackles than textbooks being a psychic (a role that usually falls to brainer types) is interesting. FYI, their codename are Scatterbrain, Slingshot, Scrap, Myriad, and Visionary; considering their powers, they are better names than Speed or Stature. There's some variety; Three of them have domino masks, but Scatterbrain has a hood, Myriad is "faceless" like Question and Visionary has a helmet. The plot involves them fighting a group of baddies called The Veil, and the origin is recapped after their Superior leader all but beats/drugs it out of Visionary. And it turns out Maddie is naturally a violent secret agent of one of those countless gov't groups with an ancronym.
Faerber's storytelling is very simular to Kirkman or Vaughan, so if you like both you should be happy. I've never heard of Mahmud A. Asrar, but his style is PERFECT for superhero comics; much more than some who actually draw them, like Bachelo or Ramos. For an extra .51 than a usual comic (but with no ads and 4 extra pages), it may seem like a generic title, but give it a shot. It's fun and has a neat twist. The buzz has been solid going in and some stores may underorder it, making it harder to find in a month, perhaps, than the reprint of CA #25 (c'mon, you KNOW that is coming). And yes, some Image veterans like Savaga Dragon, Shadowhawk and Invincible showed up for Capt. Dynamo's funeral. With this sort of classic superhero theme under attack from the Big Two because it isn't dark and grim enough, books that do it well need to be supported. Oh, and it's actually a complete story, not Part 1 of 6. Hopefully the series continues as well as this debut, and more give it a try.
And more good news: according to yesterday's edition of the Comics Continuum, DYNAMO 5 #1 sold out and is seeing a second print, not too common at Image. But I believe it, as I actually had a hard time finding this as well. I had to call and reserve my LCS's last copy (and this was the week everyone was rushing out to find CAPTAIN AMERICA #25, mind you):
Image Comics has announced that the first issue of Dynamo 5 has sold out at Diamond.
Written by Jay Faerber, with art by Mahmud A. Asrar, the issue will be available in a second printing with a new cover.
"Mahmud and I put everything we had into this book and we're thrilled folks are digging it!" Faerber said. "Thanks to all the fans and retailers for supporting D5! And if you thought the end to number one was shocking, just wait until you see what we've got planned!"
You should check out Faerber's Noble Causes as well Dread. It's similar in tone to this book as well. (taking the cocept of the family of superheroes in a different direction.) I've picked it up from time to time. It's worth a look should you ever run across one of the trades.
You should check out Faerber's Noble Causes as well Dread. It's similar in tone to this book as well. (taking the cocept of the family of superheroes in a different direction.) I've picked it up from time to time. It's worth a look should you ever run across one of the trades.
Sometimes I hate my shop with a burning passion. I added this to my pull a week before, and still they managed to forget my copy. It sold out, I checked and both Midtown and Mycomicshop are also sold out. Crap.
Sometimes I hate my shop with a burning passion. I added this to my pull a week before, and still they managed to forget my copy. It sold out, I checked and both Midtown and Mycomicshop are also sold out. Crap.
Indeed, despite coming out the week CA #15 did, it sold out rather fast in a lot of places. Fortunately it is being reprinted. Hope you can nab a copy.
My review of the second issue, which will also be reprinted:
Dread said:
DYNAMO 5 #2: It says so on the back cover; even Brubaker likes this title. The quirky adventures of fallen playboy superhero Capt. Dynamo's kids continue here. With the origin out of the way,
this tale is a more straightforward adventure, with the team tracking down yet another "old foe" of their father's running amok, Whiptail, who is basically a riff on the Lizard, but in that way that makes it seem almost normal, like when Kirkman in INVINCIBLE has some "clone" of, say, Rhino (Elephant) or the Serpant Society (Lizard League) appear. The team is still "green" and the big dino throws them a beating their first time around. We get to see Maddie's ex-spy partner Augie show up with a younger, thinner partner, as well as see the team interact as they split-up. Scrap really shows off her strength here (and is challenged to escape her employment rut by Maddie), Myriad thinks Slingshot is a suck-up, and Visionary and Scatterbrain discuss their powers and girls. But they manage to get the job done and much like the second appearence of Man-Bat in B:TAS, the main twist is that Whiptail is actually a woman, Augie's new partner. Honestly, I was expecting the male nursing home attendant, so kudos.
Asrar's art is again solid alright some pages seemed more rushed than last issue's. This issue also challenges that $3.50 pricetag, as the story itself is 20 pages long, shorter than typical comics. Of course, issue #1 was 26 pages, and there are still no ads until after the story, so there you go. Faerber tells us more about the property on the letter's page and two sketches are included. He notes how he made Scatterbrain a jock to sort of shatter some genre expectations (big jocks get brute powers, goth girls get telepathy), and I am glad he did, because it makes the team quirkier. This is solid superhero entertainment, with all the freedoms of an indie so you never know where it could go (such as Maddie secretly hording some of Whiptail's serum). Maddie seems to be attempting to get the team to bond together, even against her, but I wonder if this will come to haunt her later if/when she does something the team dislikes. She did execute Viel last issue, after all. As shops tend to underorder this series, is also has become a challenge to get every issue on time, but I have enjoyed them thus far. Worth tracking down, especially if you are tired of big two events. You have to boost the small books every now and again, and this one deserves it. Give it a try, you may like it. Issue #1 was just reprinted, too. It's back to basics superheroism with modern dialogue and of course some neat twists on genre expectations. A pleasant surprise.
I definately am enjoying the hell out of DYNAMO 5.
Sure, it's not INVINCIBLE, but what is? Anyway, not even INVINCIBLE really hit a stride until about the first year was done, then it budded into legendary stuff.
The book is going to have to figure out a way to work in some sort of romantic tension with everyone being step-siblings. Outside heroes/ines or civvies (like Slingshot's boyfriend)? Or will this be a superhero book that attempts to skirt that stuff?
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