Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Fury of Firestorm #1
DC Comics
Van Sciver, Simone & Cinar
The reboot of Firestorm provides a very dense and comprehensive look into what this series will be all about. The book uses much of the previous history of both Firestorm incarnations and merges much of it together. To the seasoned reader this provides some Easter egg-like moments. The new reader gets a good introduction into the key characters, the origin story of the super-hero, a decent plot and set up for future issues. Overall, this is an entertaining read and worth checking out if you have any interest in the character or in the creators.
The issue focuses on two areas: the bad guys and the good guys. The bad guys are essentially a black ops team that is seen killing off characters (including kids) in an attempt to gather information. Eventually this leads them to a scientist that then in turn gives up key information that leads the black ops team to the good guys.
The good guys are nothing more than high school kids. Ronnie and Jason are complete opposites and fall into almost every high school stereotype possible. Ronnie is the jock with an attitude while Jason is the nerdy journalist that feels like the world is sticking their nose at him. As if these stereotypes weren't enough, throw in that one is black and other is white and it allows Jason to play the race card while Ronnie questions his mom as to why they have no black friends. While these scenes help to establish their motivations and it sets up the conflict between the two it all feels forced to the point that I was rolling my eyes.
The book closes with not one, but two Firestorms. This differs from the previous versions of the character. To make things more interesting we learn that the two Firestorms can actually merge to make a monster Firestorm. It's a decent hook for the next issue.
The artwork shines at the end of the book particularly. Cinar brings some excellent line work to the book and he manages to make the two Firestorms unique in some subtle but effective ways. The book is colored perfectly as the vibrant reds and yellows help to really bring out the drama of the character's transformations. Overall this is a terrific story visually.
Firestorm is a niche character and he probably always will be. This issue puts forth some very generic and predictable high school kids into a situation where they become nuclear men. It's got a decent idea behind it all as they are in pursuit by some evil men rather than just super villains. Overall, I liked the changes to the character and I think there is enough here to keep a new reader coming back for more. This is a good start for Firestorm(s).
3.5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
