After having spent the last million years cryogenically frozen, Supernova Watkins has just been revived and is now the last Black man in the universe. Now, he’s been recruited by the universe itself to be its protector. He’s even got his own theme song! Along with an AI assistant, created from the uploaded consciousness of a racist old white woman from Tennessee.
A million years from home and family, Supernova now bounds from planet to planet and adventure to adventure, fighting all manner of cosmic threats, as well as the racism that’s sadly still alive and well, even in the far future.
Unfortunately, that million years has taken its toll on Supernova—particularly on his hair. So, one of the first things he has to do, in between saving worlds, is to restore his once-beautiful afro to its former glory, by any means necessary. And with all of space at your disposal, there are some weird, weird means of haircare, including alien saliva and something involving a neutron star.
That’s the first half of the comic, and if it seems a bit vain and superficial, the second half goes deeper. After a brief commercial break (No, really, there’s a spoof commercial in the middle of this comic; it’s amazing.), our hero finds himself facing an ancient demon with whom he has more in common than he’d like to admit. The demon also has a beef with the universe that Supernova has been tasked to protect.
If you get too bogged down in the details of this comic or try to make sense of what’s going on, you probably won’t enjoy it. Instead, just hold on tight and enjoy the ride. It’s all over the place, moving at a breakneck pace, from one adventure (or mishap) to the next, but once you fall into the groove, it’s a ton of fun. Weird and ridiculous, but a ton of fun.
This first issue serves as the introduction to the characters and the world. It’s a world where anything is possible, and not all of it makes sense—nor is it supposed to. It’s got a bit of a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy vibe to it, combined with the Blaxploitation films of the ’70s. It’s also got a self-aware, self-referential humor to it, particularly when dealing with racial tension. This comic isn’t for everyone, but if you’re up for a wild ride through a strange and ridiculous cosmos, alongside a Black man who, even a million years in the future, still can’t catch a break, then this might be the comic for you.
Creative Team: Jared Sams (created by), Daniel Morales (colors), Mohammed Agbadi (additional colors)
Publisher: 1First Comics
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