Despite the overabundance of superhero books, I do enjoy the genre quite a bit from time to time. I’m especially fond of hero stories not set within the cluttered multiverses of Marvel and DC. It’s great to see characters that have the freedom to face real consequences instead of being relentlessly rebooted and reimagined. Radiant Black is a standalone superhero comic written by Kyle Higgins and featuring artwork from Marcelo Costa. This first volume collects issues 1 through six and is published by Image Comics.

The story of  Radiant Black follows an aspiring writer Nathan Burnett, who moves back in with his parents after racking up some large debts in Los Angeles. On a night out with his best friend, Nathan comes in contact with a mysterious otherworldly orb of energy, which grants him superpowers. Now he must balance his regular life with battling petty criminals and interplanetary threats.

This is certainly nothing new, but Radiant Black was able to keep my interest through its fun characters, wonderful artwork, and world-building. The source of Nathan’s alien powers is unknown, with much of these first issues involving him learning more about the epic conflict he has blindly stumbled into. However, Higgins balances the supernatural elements with real human problems that bestow that Marvel-esque relatability to the major protagonist and the people he interacts with. It’s difficult not to get invested in Nathan’s journey to make a name for himself doing what he loves.

At times though these similarities can cause some issues; the dialogue feels like it’s trying especially hard to be funny. Much of the jokes fall into that realm of quip-riddled, annoying Marvel film dialogue which has grown to plague popular entertainment these days.

Fortunately, the other aspects of the story make for a good time. The artwork and character designs from Marcelo Costa are fantastic. Radiant Black himself has an amazing suit design that pops with color, despite being black and white.  Action scenes are dynamic, bursting across pages through creative paneling. I particularly enjoyed how Costa is able to bestow a sense of weighty impact and movement to each battle.

The story also takes a dramatic twist towards the end of issue 4 which genuinely caught me off guard. It’s this kind of innovation within an established genre that draws me into independent superhero narratives. This is one of the reasons that Invincible has been successful, and Radiant Black certainly captures a similar energy, minus the gore. Instead, I would describe reading this series as watching a Saturday morning cartoon in the mid-2000s. This comparison is only reinforced when the Power Rangers elements come into play during the later issues.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the series of Radiant Black progresses. Higgins does a great job of giving you just enough information on the world to keep you invested while still leaving many unanswered questions. For example, the true extent of Radiant’s powers and abilities is unknown as well as the main villains of the universe. From the initial setup, I feel there is lots of potential to grow a substantial universe that can still remain self-contained. Give this series a read if you want an easy-to-digest book with clear continuity, mixed with relatable characters.

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Radiant Black

$9.99

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Relatable characters
• Fun worlbuilding
• Great artwork and character design

Cons

• Dialogue can be annoying
• Unoriginal premise