Review - Brain Boy #1Review by Paul Fiander
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Writer; Fred Van Lente
Penciller; R.B.Silva Inker; Rob Lean Colorist; Ego Cover Artist; Ariel Olivetti |
Brain Boy is a 3 part series with the first issue releasing on the 11th of September 2013.
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Reading emotions is a basic skill we use to interact with others from a young age. Some like poker players are able to hone this ability so they can “read” their opponents, but to truly read someone’s mind is an altogether different proposition and one generally reserved for storytelling.
Matt Price is the new (or at least re-imagined) telepath on the storytelling block and he is introduced in a rather imaginative way. Strapped to a chair surrounded by machines and shadows he tells us “this is how my day ends”. The story then goes back to the start of the day to help fill in the plot we are missing. It begins with the basic back-story of the character but quickly moves in a number of directions that will keep you on your toes and hopefully give you some pause for thought. I enjoy this kind of storytelling; the ability to make you put the subject matter down and think what I would do shows the strength of the writing. In this story this centres on whether Price should use his powers or not. He is basically a commodity that is rented out to the US Secret Service by Albright Industries (his employers and guardians) and as such has specific duties to fulfill. There are however two specific events that look to alter this dedication to duty and it will be interesting to see which has the greater pull as the story develops becomes. This is where the series will live or die, if the story devolves in pure action without any form of intellectual delving I feel brain boy will fail. If however writer Fred Van Lente is able to marry the two then Brain Boy (don’t call him that as he hates it) may well make a large impact in the minds of readers. |
This Font Cover of the Comic was created by Ariel Olivetti
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Visually the comic is very strong especially the visualisation of certain abilities that Price possess. The characters and backgrounds are vibrant but the assortment of panel shapes can make reading digitally difficult at times but not impenetrable. The cover art by Ariel Olivetti seems to point back to Brain Boy’s past incarnation in comics from the 60’s and does not truly reflect the Price we see in the pages. This kind of nod is a nice touch and you can purchase the Brain Boy archives from Dark Horse by following this link. For clarification I have not read the archives so this character is completely new to me.
I hope Brain Boy lives up to its potential as Matt Price could become a rather interesting character study if handled the right way and from the first issue I have faith that the creative team will be able to deiver.
I hope Brain Boy lives up to its potential as Matt Price could become a rather interesting character study if handled the right way and from the first issue I have faith that the creative team will be able to deiver.
The Comic is available in both print and digital from Dark Horse comics. Follow this link for more details.
Wrap Up
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The Good - Central character, Thought provoking.
The Bad - Occasional panels difficult to read on digital devices. |
Score - 4/5 |
Images courtesy of Dark Horse Comics
Comic - Provided by Publisher
Comic - Provided by Publisher
