Comic Book Review – Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual

Aliens: Defiance #9
Writer: Jeff Lemire
Artist: Dustin Nguyen, Emi Lenox, Nate Powell, Matt Kindt, Ray Fawkes
Colorist: Dave Stewart
Cover Artist: Jeff Lemire
Publish Date: January 18, 2017
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

So I read Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual. And it was my introduction to the team. Admittedly, that might not have been a wise choice as I was lost at first. But the team of talent that worked on this book, Jeff Lemire, Matt Kindt, Ray Fawkes, Michael Allred and a ton of other, I had to check it out.

I’m very glad I did.

I’ll definitely go back and check out the main storyline from the series, but this was an intriguing read. Who are these heroes? They are the epitome of ridiculous but also an ode to the golden age of comics. They’re perfect. Abraham Slam, Colonel Weird and his robot Talky-Walky, Barbalien, Golden Gail, Madame Dragonfly, and of course Black Hammer showcase the best and worst of superhero life.

I thoroughly enjoyed the “flashbacks” to see each hero take on the main villain in this story. But each fight was solo and gave a sneak peak of each hero early on in their careers. The mini stories also showed us how each heroes journey could have easily gone a different path if not for the interference of the tentacled menace.

I’m a big Lemire fan. I loved his under appreciated work on Animal Man during DC Comics’s New 52. His writing always makes the super feel more realistic. The characters in Black Hammer are ridiculous, but Jeff grounds them in a sense that allows us to understand them better. I can’t wait to read more Lemire and I can’t wait to read more Black Hammer.

I give Black Hammer Giant-Sized Annual, 3 our of 5 Nerd Skulls.