Black Hammer Vol 1 & 2 Review (Spoiler Free)
What I loved: The remixing of recognizable iconic heroes in a way that they aren’t simple pastiches. Like Golden Gail who is a Shazam expy on the surface but is far more layered and complex than Billy Batson ever was. The creative team spent an equal amount of time fleshing out Abraham Slam, Barbalien, Madame Dragonfly, Colonel Weird, and Black Hammer. Even Talky felts like a real and vibrant character ( unlike other robotic lifeforms *cough* Vision *cough*) under their skillful watch. David Rubin did a fantastic job showing us the first meeting between Colonel Weird & Talky-Walky. The mystery of how they winded up trapped in Rockwood is equally compelling. The story is a refreshing change from the standard cape fare and offers far more than rehashed mega-events & media-spoiled special issues (looking at you, Big Two) . Additional kudos to the creative team for making relatively mundane acts like a dinner date with Tammy or helping Father Quinn or dealing with Sheriff Trueheart aka town jerk as exciting as a battle with the Anti-god. The tragedies, especially Madame Dragonfly’s, was tangible & heart rending.
