Comic Review: The Quantum Age #1

The Quantum Age #1

Dark Horse Comics

Writer: Jeff Lemire

Artists: Wilfredo Torres

If you haven’t checked out the Black Hammer series by Jeff Lemire you should pick it up as soon as you can. In these comics, Lemire is deconstructing classic silver and bronze age superheroes and their tropes. Like in his other works (Essex County, Sweet Tooth, etc.), Lemire focuses more on the emotional aspects of these heroes are as people rather than the exploits and action. Similar to Mike Mignola and Hellboy, Lemire recently has spun off a number of micro-series exploring the same universe in Sherlock Frankenstein and Doctor Star and the Kingdom of Lost Tomorrows. The newest series The Quantum Age from the Black Hammer universe was first introduced in the Free Comic Book Day issue where it explained how this story takes place after the main Black Hammer storyline. The narrative in this first issue bounces back and forth between the present and 25 years in the past where Martians invaded and defeated the superhero association known as the Quantum League. In this present, it seems that Earth has devolved into an authoritarian state, called “The Citadel,” whose goal is to eliminate all alien life possible in a response to the Martian invasion. The story seems to follow a young Martian child, Trev Trevs, who grew up as a fan of the Quantum League and is seeking to reassemble the heroes to fight The Citadel and those in it.

Wilfredo Torres gives us art that is crisp. And unlike some of the other comics in the Black Hammer universe where the linework is often more detailed, Torres gives us bold, clear lines. This is best illustrated in his face illustrations, which are expressive but not overly detailed. Dave Stewart is a master with the colors creating very different tones between the past and present in this issue with the palette of colors he is using. Like the authoritarian state that has taken over, the world has seemed to grow darker as the panels shift from bright colors in the past to dark and foreboding colors in the present. The issue introduces a lot of characters that will hopefully get development throughout the rest of the series. This series so far does continues to expand on the character of Lucy Weber who has appeared in three of the stories Lemire has written in this universe. This series explores her later life where she has realized her new role as “Hammerlass”, successor to her father “The Black Hammer.” An older Lucy in this series and in the flashbacks seems to have found love from the head of the Quantum League, a character called Archive who seems to be slightly based off of Brainiac from DC. Lucy’s voice remains true to her character from the previous comics. She is opinionated and staunch in her beliefs which have led to her being cautious and jaded in this future. At one point before kicking him out Lucy says to Trev Trevs, “Look, I know you want to do good. But there is no more ‘Doing Good.’ It’s too late to dress up in costumes and play games.” This series seems like it will rely a lot on the tropes of reuniting heroes who have become jaded in their old age to once again save the day. And although these may seem like tired overdone tropes, Lemire has a way of giving these tales new life like he has in this whole universe.