Biff! Bam! Pow! Great All-Ages Comics Soar Once Again in Lazerman
Welcome to “Independents Day,” Nerd Caliber’s short reviews of noteworthy comics and books NOT produced by a major publisher.
When watching “Man of Steel” I kept wondering whether we need yet another tortured and pensive hero, following Batman, Spider-Man, Wolverine and their costumed brothers who’ve gone dark. Where is that rush of power and certainty of good versus evil which made Superman great? Also, as a parent, I could use a superhero who is both PG-rated and fun.
Luckily, there is Alex Sanders, better known to the world as Lazerman.
Clad in bright yellow and blue, he blazes across the page even while balancing his schoolwork and friends against his ambitions to become a flying, fighting force for good. The dialogue is hilarious. The story is fun. And the whole thing is a breath of fresh air, harkening back to Gold and Silver Age heroes.
Coming from Alan and Chris Hebert and HB Comics, “Lazerman: This Man, This Lazer” (originally written in 2008) is light, while still providing conflict and thrills. The trade I reviewed collects issues 1-4 of the series, and at $14.95 it’s a quick read well worth a look for comics fans of all ages.
The art leans more toward cartoon than realistic, capturing emotion and movement. It favorably compares to Robert Kirkman’s awesome series “Invincible,” which is in my opinion stronger than his mega-hit “The Walking Dead.” (I met the creators at Wizard World Comic Con in Philadelphia, and they explained any similarity is incidental: Lazerman’s concept art was finished before Kirkman’s comic had been published.)
In short: This is one heck of an origin story and left me wanting more. I give it three and a half broken Batman spines of out four.
