Oh Image, you and your new series. What do you have for me this time? Why, something from J. Michael Straczynski! Again, I have no idea what I’m walking into, so please Protectors, Inc #1, show me what you’ve got up your proverbial sleeves. Is it good?
Protectors, Inc. #1 (Image Comics)
During World War II something extraordinary happened: an American soldier ended up developing superpowers after a meteorite struck near him. With his help the Allies won World War II and the world hasn’t been the same since.
More superheroes followed soon after, appearing only in America and only in the elite rich class with a range of powers and eternal youth. No one knows why, but nobody is bothered at all. And why would they be? There are no super villains.
I stayed up all night working on this damn presentation, you are going to listen!
Did you by any chance read the solicitation for this issue? If you haven’t — good. Having just read it myself, none of the things mentioned in it happened outside of the two sentences, which are just to establish what kind of world this series takes place in. If you have read it, then you may be wondering what did happen in this issue if none of that mentioned in the solicit happened.
This issue itself is merely a setup and world-building issue. The issue presents to us what kind of world the series takes place in, like I mentioned, and establish the history of its superheroes and what they are like. It also establishes some mysteries as well to get us interested (the big one showing up at the beginning and end) and gives us some insight into our main character, Lieutenant Detective John Riley, and his views. There is not much story here, but I must say, the world and its characters that have been presented to us thus far are interesting and have a lot of potential. Just enough to keep the audience interested ’til next issue, where I hope a story gets going.
The rest of the writing is serviceable and gets the job done. The narration and dialogue is good, especially the opening bit with the agent and the person he is escorting. The pacing is decent, taking its time to lay out the foundation of the world without feeling slow or dull and it flows well from panel to panel. Nothing extraordinarily special, but nothing bad either to ruin your time.
The Odd Couple: 2013 Edition.
The artwork is a bit on the bland side. There is nothing exciting or energetic about it, but again, it gets the job done. The costume designs for the heroes are amusing with a bunch of them being spins or twists on other superheroes or characters. The action is a bit stiff in the flashback scenes, but that’s probably it. Not particular art you’ll talk about long after you’re done with the issue, but it’s serviceable.
7.5
- The world and its history presented are well set up and have potential.
- Solid opening and ending to entice the reader to check out the next issue.
- The artwork is very average and unmemorable.
- Lots of setup with little story or character, besides one, to it.
Is It Good?
Protectors, Inc. #1 is not the most exciting of first issues to a new series you could read, but it does paint an interesting world that has a lots of potential for great stories, characters, and idea to emerge from. Not much has gotten going outside of a mystery or two to hook the reader, but there is enough here to encourage checking out the second issue. Maybe give this a peek if you see it on the shelf.
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