Inspector Insector embarks on his quest to be Supertown’s greatest detective in Black Hammer: Spiral City #2, written by Jeff Lemire with art by Teddy Kristiansen. The issue continues the three-pronged subplots started last issue, with one subplot focusing on Inspector Insector’s goal to set up a detective agency in Supertown, the Solomon Grundy-like Concretstador trying to get a job at Paladin Corporation and Helle Belle, who’s like a super-powered Taylor Swift, putting together a huge show amidst a wave of anti-superpower hate and protests from a big percentage of the population.
All these stories are taking place as the Black Hammer world seems to be falling deeper and deeper into darkness and the Lex Luthor-like Malcolm Gold tightens his grip on Supertown, fanning the flames of anti-superhero furor in his bid to become mayor of the city.
I’m finding the Inspector Insector storyline the most interesting thread of the series so far. He’s a fantastic character with an origin that’s kind of the opposite of Spider-Man’s. Where Peter Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider and transformed into a man with spider-like powers, Inspector Insector was a bug who drank radioactive water and gained the intelligence and mobility of a human being.
He also watched way too many Humphrey Bogart gumshoe films, because he walks around Supertown with a fedora hat and trench coat, looking like a man-sized ant who was dropped into a 1940s detective film. He seems to have an invulnerable shield of optimism that no negativity can break through. Wandering Supertown with his sidekick The Marionette (who’s also a fascinating character), his one goal is to open a Detective Agency in Supertown and be the go-to private investigator for the super-powered set.
Dark Horse
When a corpse is found in one of Supertown’s alleys, Insector finally has a case to work on, which brings him into conflict with Supertown’s police force. It’s in these scenes where we really see the prejudice that runs through the citizens of Supertown. With Insector’s insectoid appearance, the police either ignore him or insult him. Anyone with superpowers is treated as a subhuman but Insector’s “monstrous” appearance gets him treated even worse than that.
Concretstador and Helle Belle encounter their own versions of the same animosity and prejudice and even though the book (at least at this point) is pretty dark and you feel like the Sun never shines on any of these characters, there’s still a pleasure in watching them live their lives, apply for jobs, have dinner with the family and do everything they can to be happy and make a normal life for themselves in a chaotic world.
Teddy Kristiansen’s art infuses every panel with weight and atmosphere, making the book feel like watching a great Film Noir like “The Big Sleep”. His sparse, elegant work is reminiscent of Darwyn Cooke’s art and enhances every facet of the story. You’re not going to see any epic Avengers style battles here, but you’ll find characters with superpowers who still have the same foibles and struggles that normal humans have, and that’s “cosmic storytelling” on a whole other level.
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