Red Menace #1 (of 6)
Publisher: Wildstorm
Writers: Danny Bilson, Paul DeMeo, & Adam Brody
Pencils: Jerry Ordway
Inks: Al Vey
Colors: Jonny Rench
Letterer: Rob Leigh
Assistant Editor: Kristy Quinn
Editors: Ben Abernathy & Scott Peterson
Covers: Jerry Ordway & Darwyn Cooke

22 pages

Rating: 3 out of 5

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Premise: A Los Angeles-based crime fighting superhero unmasks in front of Joe McCarthy’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (incorrectly referred to as the House Un-American Activities Committee in the book) to prove that he is a loyal patriot. Inevitably, McCarthy’s committee digs up some dirt, and he is accused of being a communist sympathizer.

Synopsis:

The Eagle is a freedom-loving superhero who believes that he is doing the right thing by unmasking in front of McCarthy’s committee. He reasons that by unmasking, he will prove his loyalty, but still be able to carry on his mission of keeping L.A. safe. He unmasks, and is dismissed, but is called back when some evidence of his disloyalty is unearthed. He’s roundly accused of being a communist sympathizer, and suffers the personal consequences. With the Eagle out of commission, a kid with some sort of super levitation powers takes to the streets as the Grey Falcon. He gets his inexperienced butt into some trouble.

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Review:

This is a generally well-executed piece of historical fiction. Some of the actual historical personages we run across in this first issue are Joe McCarthy, Roy Cohn, and Walter Winchell. The Eagle isn’t an actual historical figure. Sorry to burst your bubble. The Eagle is, however, a rather well-done pastiche of Captain America. His “real name” (Steve Tremaine) is perhaps a combination of Cap’s Steve Rogers persona and literary patriot Johnny Tremain.

The story is engrossing due to its subject matter. I have a deep-seated personal fear of injustice and its effects upon innocent people and society. Besides that, it is a theme that resounds with the populace at large. Not only do we root for the underdog, but we take it as a personal affront when forces conspire to unfairly destroy them. Reading this book makes that righteous anger well up inside me. It’s the same feeling I get when I watch Good Night, and Good Luck or visit Salem, MA. It’s a horrible feeling, but I’ve got to keep reading in the hope that truth and justice will win out in the end.

Maybe that’s what we’re all looking for in popular art - superhero comics in particular - an affirmation that good will triumph in the end. And maybe we’re not getting that as much as we used to. But that’s a discussion for another day.

Ordway does a great job nailing the look of the historical characters. Sometimes McCarthy starts to look a little like Bill O’Reilly, but maybe that’s just something going on in my subconscious… The coloring uses a muted pallete, but still has that vivid computer-colored look. I would have liked to have seen it less vivid, or even the whole book done in black & white to more closely recall the contemporary television and newspaper coverage. Maybe that would have been too hokey, but if done right, it could have been good.

Overall, this is really well done. The characterization is convincing and the book addresses deep issues while still keeping its superhero sensibility. We’ve got another five issues of drama ahead. We’ll see where Bilson, DeMeo, and Brody take us.