HERO BY NIGHT #2 REVIEW

[Blake Petit]

Review by: Blake M. Petit Blake@comixtreme.com
Quick Rating: Very Good
Title: Hero By Day

Saul Simian returns to wreak havoc on the new Hero By Night!

Writer: DJ Coffman & James Patrick
Art: DJ Coffman
Colors: Jason Embury
Letters: DJ Coffman
Editor: Dave Collins
Cover Art: DJ Coffman
Publisher: Platinum Studios

While trying to decide how to tell Roz that he’s returned to his career as Hero By Night, Jack gets called out – in the day – to take care of some superhero business. As he investigates the gang ties of his neighbor’s grandson, he runs afoul of the original Hero By Night’s enemy, the shaggy man called Saul Simian.

There are several “firsts” here that both fit into and twist around the heroic archetype – first encounter with a major villain, which ends in a decidedly unexpected fashion. First brush with keeping his identity secret from a neighbor, which again leads to Jack reexamining one of his previous conclusions about the kid. The first effort at keeping a new secret from the fiancé, which isn’t a story that ends in this issue, but doesn’t particularly seem to be going in Jack’s favor, either. These are the sort of stories that actually made Spider-Man a new, innovative character once upon a time.

Of course, while there’s a lot of homage in this book, it isn’t simply derivative either. Jack has an obstacle that Peter never faced – his predecessor to the heroic mantle, struggling to reclaim his memories. That story is fleshed out more this issue as well, and the resolution of that scene is especially surprising and promising for future storylines.

Coffman’s art is definitely evolving as the series continues. Saul Simian is a great design for a villain – like a malevolent Chewbacca – and he’s really making progress on his facial expressions. The first panel on the last page, for instance, features Roz telling the whole story with her eyes, without even saying a word.

As superhero stories go, it’s hard to get more classic than this.

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