Mx.s Lemire and Rubin:
Well, damn.
How can i not like an entirely new universe, as complex and full of superheroes as any i have ever seen as i marvel like a detective over my comics. Black Hammer has drawn me in! Between Lemire’s obvious love of superheroes and the weird tack he has taken, and Rubin’s devil-may-care approach, I cannot look away.
This is superteam tragedy in grand guignol style lit by David Rubin’s primitive, brutally comicky pencils, inks, and colors. It may not work for everybody, but it stirs up many years of love of superheroes. And Mx. Rubin can assemble a page and maintain a reading flow through spirals, across the spine, and even in parallel without misdirected view. I spiralled right down into the lower depths of the asylum, followed him all the way across pages before returning left and saw Sherlock Frankenstein in Lucy’s imagination as she researches his disappearance. Love GrimJim’s Britney Spears tee and ChthuLou’s almost Eisner-Spirit sequences. Looks like Mx. Rubin likes himself some Paul Pope villains, too.
This is my favorite Lemire; poignant to tragic, traditional and weird, tropy yet original. And funny; come on, Barbalien! Like Robert Kirkman, Lemire has imbued tired ideas with a fresh energy and a unique perspective.
Gentles, you keep writing it, I’ll keep reading it. And as long as you’re at it, keep Mx. Rubin around too!
