LAST DEFENDERS #1 (OF 6)

Review by: daccampo


Size: pages
Price: 2.99

I have fond memories of the New Defenders series of the 80’s. I liked the oddball assortment of characters. So The Last Defenders has both that nostalgia and writer Joe Casey going for it. Casey’s a good, underrated writer who has done some great work, and who seems to have recently reinvented himself as one of those writers who writes “classic” comic books with a modern viewpoint. The Last Defenders appears to be some subset of that.

Set in the post-Civil War landscape, this new book launches with a somewhat inauspicious debut. On the surface, it doesn’t appear to offer anything that hasn’t already been touched upon by books like The Order or The Initiative. Tony Stark, director of SHIELD, allows Kyle Richmond to finally start a new version of his old Defenders team, this time located in New Jersey. There’s some interesting stuff roiling under the surface here: Kyle thinks Tony’s punishing him for being on the wrong side at the start of the Civil War, Kyle gets to lead but not the team he wants, no one of the team really seems to be as into the whole Defenders thing as him. This is very obviously Kyle Richmond’s book. He’s our link to understanding and enjoying the series.

The strange assortment of characters that Richmond is given is a little fun, but there doesn’t seem to be anything ultimately compelling about the team. The Blazing Skull, for example, is just obnoxious. However, it’s worth noting that there’s a story BETWEEN the story here. Just from future solicitations, it’s clear that this team doesn’t stay this way, and I believe we’re in for a lot of changes. I think the inauspicious debut is a bit of a wind-up. There’s an interesting sub-plot passage, for example, with Daimon Hellstrom, an old Defenders character. There’s another subplot with a Submariner villain. And then there’s an entity “behind-the-scenes” that departs a little information about the larger picture of the classic Defenders team. So I think the seeds are being planted for something much different than what happens in this issue.

The art in this issue is OK. While I love Keith Giffen, I think this is one instance where his breakdowns for the issue are hurting the art a bit. The storytelling is clean and clear, to be sure, but I think Jim Muniz is a better artist than this. I see a lot of Giffen in the art, and I don’t think Muniz quite had the freedom he needed to do his best work. I’d say the art is serviceable, with a few really nice panels here and there.

This is an interesting book. While I didn’t love this issue, I do sense promise here, and I think this may be a book that chooses not to rely on an instantaneous high concept hook.

Story: 3 - Good
Art: 2 - Average

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