Whenever a new comic comes out, certain details determine whether or not it lands on my pull list. Of course there’s the creative team, but there’s also the genre, the premise, and the major hook; what will draw a reader to this book? In the case of The Tin Can Society #1, it’s the murder of a scientist-turned-superhero, and how said murder affects his close group of friends.
The Tin Can Society opens with a horrific sight, courtesy of artist Francesco Mobili: the body of Johnny Moore, a scientist who took up the armored identity of Caliburn to protect the innocent. There’s very little that’s heroic about that first page; I’ll spare readers the grisly details, but there’s a good reason why this comic opens with a trigger warning. It’s tackling a heavy story, one that sadly resonates with events in the present day.
Writer Peter Warren, working from a story he concocted with Rick Remender, starts filling in Johnny’s backstory: a medical condition called spina bifida left his spine unprotected, meaning that he had to get around with crutches – he couldn’t even eat certain foods. This led him to become a brilliant scientist, and meet his friends Kasia, Adam, Greg and Val; the five became the titular “Tin Can Society.”
Image Comics
This provides a dark contrast to the present, as Warren and Mobili slowly start unpacking what happened to the Society when they grew up. Johnny became a hero, but the others are either not living up to their potential or have let life grind their ambitions to dust – or both. It’s also where the murder mystery kicks into play; each of the Society had the potential means and/or knowledge to kill Johnny. The motives slowly start piling up, too; Val, who was every bit as brilliant as Johnny, is stuck teaching high school while Greg was his sidekick. Chris Chuckry’s colors also provides a contrast between past and present, as past scenes have a lighter, inviting feel while the present is a darker hue – complete with a rain-soaked funeral.
What really stands out about The Tin Can Society is how down to earth it feels, despite the presence of super-enhanced electromagnetics and a suit of armor that puts Iron Man’s to shame. It’s about the people first and foremost; how they deal with grief over a friend’s death, and the reality that one of them could be the reason why he’s dead. That’s what makes a great comic – it doesn’t matter if you have the top creative team or a killer premise, it’s the characters that keep readers coming back. The Tin Can Society has that in spades.
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