First Wave Special – Review

By: Jason Starr (writer), Phil Winslade (artist), Lovern Kindzierski (colorist)

The Story: I think we can all safely conclude the Avenger’s got some major issues.

The Review: With the end of the First Wave miniseries, DC now has the awkward situation of having set up a fully-realized, separate world from their primary continuity, but with only two titles to support it (the underwhelming Doc Savage and the more pleasing The Spirit).  It’s not clear where they’ll take this strictly pulp/noir universe from here.

First Wave Special doesn’t really give a good indication of DC’s plans for this world.  The story doesn’t follow up the series in any way, nor does it tie into any of the related ongoings (except for featuring El Mano Negra and Shonder Zeev, New York mobsters briefly mentioned in The Spirit).  Mostly the issue acts as a character piece for the Avenger, AKA Richard Benson, who played a fairly big role in the First Wave miniseries, but whom you got to know the least.

And overall, he gets a fairly strong showing here.  His gunning for Zeev gives him ample opportunity to demonstrate his utter ruthlessness, which is pretty intense.  I’m not sure even Batman would beat the teeth out of a mobster with a brick, especially after saying he won’t.  Starr does a good job balancing the Avenger’s narration with exposition and his internal broodings, though it gets heavy-handed every now and then.

Besides the angst, the Avenger’s sense of justice is incredibly contradictory.  Savage is correct in his assessment that Benson has a code only he understands; the Avenger spends the issue going after Zeev and his thugs for crippling a client, but when it comes to the atrocities El Mano Negro commits against the innocents of the city, Benson doesn’t “give a damn about any of this.”  But considering his grim origins, it makes sense personal vendettas are the only ones he’s interested in taking up.

First Wave #5 – Review

By: Brian Azzarello (writer), Rags Morales (penciller), Rick Bryant (inker), Nei Ruffino (colors)

The Story: The Blackhawks, Doc Savage, the Spirit, Rima the Jungle Girl, the Bat Man, and the Avenger are set on a collision course with the Golden Tree just as it pushes toward its ultimate goal.  Facing destructive powers beyond those of the last world war, our heroes must act fast to prevent another from taking place—if they can survive long enough, that is.

The Review: Even though history’s taught us that the fifties weren’t quite the sunny years people believed them to be, there’s still a lot of nostalgia for that period, and for good reason.  It was a decade of unprecedented confidence in what people—Americans, in particular—were capable of.  That’s the magic Brian Azzarello attempts to capture in First Wave.  By making a world scrubbed clean of all metahuman and alien elements, he raises the stakes for his characters by challenging them to show what they’re really made of.

Having a world entirely populated by mortals instantly pumps the tension bar.  There’s no Superman to fly in, bare his bulletproof chest, and save the day.  The heroes have to take risks to get things done, and when they’re in danger, the only tools at their disposal are their skills and guts.  Azzarello does a great job setting up tight situations for his characters to force or bluff their way through, keeping the action pumping all throughout the issue.  It’s classic stuff—speeding bullets, fisticuffs, and daredevil stunts.

What prevents the issue from going totally pulp is the inclusion of a bit of retro sci-fi and exotica, which is very fitting for the period Azzarello’s trying to channel.  The technology has all the grandiose flair people envisioned back then, but has enough attention to actual engineering principles to make it believable.  The Red Right Hand is portrayed with the dress and mannerisms of stereotypical natives, but they demonstrate their intelligence through their posture and interaction.  The end result is a Golden Age that feels credible; you could be fooled into thinking this is a world that can exist in a modern era.