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‘Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows #2:’ Advance Comic Book Review

The Black Hammer universe is one in which the superheroes aren’t always very super, and Doctor Star falls into this category. Jeff Lemire has created a universe in which personal regret is the main reward for spending your life saving other people’s lives – that’s not a bad thing for readers. In issue one of Doctor Star, we learned two things: one, how the para-dimension was discovered which plays into the larger world of Black Hammer, and two, how Jimmy Robinson became Doctor Star when he discovered the para-dimension. The story jumps from the Golden era of superheroes, as Jimmy throws himself 100% into being a hero, then to the present, with Jimmy visiting his son who is dying of cancer. What happened exactly to get him to the point in which he’s watching his son die? I present to you issue number two…

Questions are answered, a path opens up for our hero to make things right, yet whether he will or not remains to be seen. Most of issue one and now two have been character driven, taking their time to make sure there is ample amounts of motivation for what is to happen next. Do we like Jimmy Robinson? Not really. He’s very much a self-absorbed, bad father and terrible husband playing at being a superhero, but forgetting what it means to really be a hero to someone. It’s our job as readers to make the connections with the world we’re in, which I won’t fully present here until I see where Lemire is going with this.

I will say that the book is thoughtful in how unafraid it is to show Robinson in a bad light and how subtly clever it is in turning the Golden age comic book and radio serial tropes on their heads. There was a time in the ’50s during which the behavior of Jimmy would have been praised as adventurous without consequence. Not anymore. Sometimes, it takes more heroics to own up to your mistakes and right those wrongs than it does to fight off evil aliens or super villains.

I feel the slow build that I felt from the first few issues of Black Hammer at play here. I can’t wait to see how it connects directly into the main comic.

I love Max Fiumara’s art work and Dave Stewarts colors; they are a visual powerhouse team.

Creative Team: Jeff Lemire (story), Max Fiuamara (art), Dave Stewart (colors), Nate Piekos of Blambot (letters)
Publisher: Dark Horse
Click here to purchase.

Phillip Kelly, Fanbase Press Contributor

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