It is finally time to learn the truth about the secret protectors of the DCU… Your Major Spoilers review of The Immortal Men #1 awaits!
THE IMMORTAL MEN #1
Storytellers: Jim Lee, Ryan Benjamin & James Tynion IV
Inkers: Scott Williams & Richard Friend
Colorist: Jeremiah Skipper & Alex Sinclair
Letterer: Carlos M. Mangual
Editor: Katie Kubert
Publisher: DC Comics
Cover Price: $3.99
Release Date: April 11, 2018
Previously in The Immortal Men: “There is a secret history to the DC Universe of heroes who have protected humanity from the shadows since the dawn of time… and who can live forever. Enter the Immortal Men! The team, headed by the Immortal Man, has waged a secret war against the House of Conquest for countless years-but Conquest has dealt a devastating blow. When their base of operations, known as the Campus, is savagely attacked, the Immortal Men must seek out their last hope-an emerging metahuman known as Caden Park! Caden’s emerging powers may be able to ensure the Immortal Men’s survival-but will Conquest get to him first?”
ANOTHER ‘CHOSEN ONE’ STORY
So, for those keeping score, this one seems to be a take on the X-Men to go with Damage-as-Hulk, Sideways-as-Spider-Man, Silencer-as-Punisher and The Terrifics-as-the-FF. We open with young Caden Park, dreaming of a place called The Campus, where children with powers learn to control and use them, only to awaken in the middle of a train station. Worse still, a strange bearded man (who reminds me of Vandal Savage) appears in front of him after appearing in his dream, leaving Caden confused as to what is and isn’t real. There are some villains in play, a reference to The Immortal Man, a scary Metal Joker cameo and then we meet a group of heroic types, including an axe-wielder named Timber, a lycanthrope named Stray and Ghost Fist, who looks a bit like the spirt and shoots ectoplasm. Caden is attacked by strange creatures in the subway, but is saved at the last minute by The Immortal Men, leading to a last page splash/pose that makes the influence of Lee’s X-Men perfectly clear…
ART FEELS WEIRDLY UNFINISHED
I’ll say this: They really managed to captue the feel of an X-book circa 1993, including the tough-guy dialogue, the army of characters being introduced and the secret agenda all around us, swirling while the normal people go about their boring lives. I like the overall design of these characters, but have a couple of major problems with the art: First, the cover is hideous and strangely laid-out, giving the characters odd proportions. Second (and worse) the interior art seems to be derived from loose breakdowns by Lee, leading to stiff figures, strange anatomy and a lack of backgrounds throughout much of the issue. On the whole though, the story is clear, the characters are easy to grasp, thanks to their archetypical inspirations, and there could be something here…
BOTTOM LINE: GHOST FIST IS MY NEW FAVE-RAVE
In short, if you’re looking for the bygone days of X-tinction Agendas and X-Cutioner’s Songs, this is likely the book for you, but with perhaps clearer and more centered plotting, leaving The Immortal Men #1 with a better than average 3 out of 5 stars overall. There are a lot of interesting places this could go, and I’m interested in seeing how much of the previous mythology (Immortal Man, Resurrection Man, Vandal Savage and the rest) of undying folk in the DC Universe they’re able to fit into these pages…
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