In the afterword of Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down #1, co-writer/co-creator Jordan Blum addresses the ever-present question of “superhero fatigue” and his lack of belief in it. “Genres don’t get lazy,” Blum writes. “Only writers do.” It’s a lesson that he, alongside co-writer Patton Oswalt, artist/co-creator Scott Hepburn, colorist Ian Herring and letterer Nate Piekos, have taken to heart.
In the wake of the first Minor Threats miniseries, Frankie Follis – the criminal known as Playtime – uncovered a conspiracy that lead to the deaths of superhero Duskman and his archenemy Stickman. She’s now the criminal kingpin of Redport, maintaining a shaky peace with the superhero team the Continuum while also trying to hold onto her own newfound power. But other enterprises, criminal and legit, threaten to rob her of that power.
The biggest draw of Blum and Oswalt’s writing is that it can’t be pinned down to just one tone. Sometimes you’ll get some scathingly searing sarcasm. Other times you’ll have some tender moments between a pair of characters, and that’s not even mentioning the deep dive into some outright horrific imagery. In keeping with the mission statement of shaking things up, they introduce a new character in the form of a henchman called “Backdrop”, who narrates the first issue and turns out to have a very important place in Playtime’s criminal enterprise.
Hepburn and Herring continue to flesh out the weird, wild world of Minor Threats and it doesn’t hurt that they deliver some amazing artwork in the process. Hepburn’s artwork is full of animated expressions and rubbery, kinetic movement; he seems to be having a blast depicting Playtime’s wide arsenal of lethal toys. Herring splashes each page with a wide array of colors, serving to remind the reader that this is a superhero book; but the two colors that stand out are blood red (understandable, given the level of carnage on display) and blue for Backdrop’s narration.
Minor Threats: The Fastest Way Down #1 expands upon one of the most interesting superhero books on the stands, and it isn’t afraid to shake things up. This comic – alongside other titles like Radiant Black and Local Man – prove Blum’s point that superhero fatigue is only a state of mind.
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