As a frequent visitor to the world of comics rather than a longtime resident, my tastes are still maturing.  Until the discovery of this site, my comic reading experiences consisted almost entirely of each year’s Marvel crossover or event, and it wasn’t until I began to frequent this website that I realized just how incredibly narrow a view of the landscape that was.  Through listening to the podcasts and reading reviews, I’ve begun to see the bigger picture, allowing me to branch out into other directions to discover what types of comics I generally enjoy.

So far, I’ve discovered a few things about my tastes; I love street level fighting, inner monologue/narration, and being introduced to new characters.  Mystery Men #1 is all of these things and more.

When I opened the book and began to read, by the end of the first page I was already completely sold on The Operative.  Sporting a fedora and a duster, Dennis Piper quickly fell into my good graces as a Depression Era Robin Hood as he robbed the rich to help struggling families avoid eviction.  My interest and affection for the protagonist only grew over time as the artwork, from the look of dismay upon seeing the newspaper article telling of his love’s death to the melancholy panel immediately following with its black background as he sits drinking alone in his home, drew me into the character’s mindset as much as the internal monologue did.  

The entire book reads like a slightly off-kilter sleuth story with masked avengers, evil murderers and dark mysticism. By the time The Operative and The Revenant meet face to face, I was literally trembling with excitement and anticipation for the next issue. 

Even though this was just a set up, if the subsequent issues are anything of the kind, this promises to be an incredibly enjoyable read. 

Also, I could do with seeing more rebar through people's chests.  I literally went "OOOOH!" in the middle of work while I read it on a break.