It’s been a little while, but once again I welcome you back to the comic book corner. This week I will be discussing the superhero universe of Dark Horse comics. Black Hammer is created and written by Jeff Lemire with art by Dean Ormston. Jeff is most known for his other series, Sweet Tooth, which was published by Vertigo and adapted into a Netflix TV Show.

Typically, I try to stay away from superhero comics in this series, but Black Hammer is certainly unlike anything else I’ve read within the genre. The universe of Black Hammer is one that closely parodies DC’s comic book heroes. Our story begins years after a cataclysmic battle with a being known as Anti-God. During the struggle, legendary hero Black Hammer was killed. Furthermore, the aftermath of this battle seemingly caused a rift in space-time to open, leaving the greatest heroes of Spiral City trapped in a small town by the name of Rockwood. They now live out their lives in relative mundanity, trying desperately to blend in with the locals and make new lives for themselves.

Black Hammer: Secret Origins contains the first six issues of the series. Each issue focuses on explaining the superhero origins of our protagonists: Abraham Slam, Golden Gail, Colonel Weird, Barbalien, and Madame Dragonfly. Each character is incredibly nuanced, with distinct personalities and conflicts that relate strongly to their individual power sets. In contrast to most other superhero comics, which focus on saving the world from super-galactic threats, the heroes of Black Hammer deal with everyday struggles. School, work, and interpersonal relationships all play a part in these stories. This not only helps the reader to strongly relate to each of these characters but makes each of them feel like a real person.

I also enjoyed the art style of this book. Dean Ormston’s artwork manages to capture the style of the Golden Age comic era perfectly. Every flashback scene is filled with bright colors and 1940s cityscapes with issue covers paying homage to classic stories. I particularly enjoyed the Madame Dragonfly issue which channels the aesthetic of classic horror comics of the 50s such as Tales from the Crypt.

While it’s clear many of the characters in the book were developed as parodies of heroes from both Marvel and DC comics, it never feels disrespectful to the legacy. It’s clear Lemire simply wanted to explore these characters from a different lens and dive deep into the trauma that can come from a life of helping others. It’s something established publishers don’t often explore with legacy characters.

Though the stakes couldn’t be lower across these six issues, I still found myself engaged. I cared for each one of the characters and found their quirky personalities incredibly memorable. Additionally, Lemire makes sure to weave in plot threads that hint at the further escalation of stakes in future issues. For example, the circumstances surrounding Black Hammer’s death are still somewhat shrouded in mystery, but it’s clear his sacrifice weighs heavy on his fellow heroes’ souls.

I’m excited to see how this series will develop in future issues. I’m hoping there will be a major villain introduced as I do feel it would help to inject a little more tension into the story. If you love Pixar’s The Incredibles but want something with more mature theming, I would highly recommend this story. It delivers a unique dissection of the superhero genre while delivering three-dimensional characters.

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Black Hammer: Secret Origins

$10.99

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Well Written Characters
• Engaging Art Style
• Clever Spins on Familiar Hero Tropes

Cons

• Lack of Major Villain