The following originally ran in the Weekly Planet 9/26/18, before the series had debuted.
Superheroes are just better than we are. That’s a huge part of their appeal. Where most of us often struggle to do the right thing, those in capes and cowls don’t have their altruism called into question. Despite sometimes decades of horrible wallops and incredible losses, most heroes get by fine in their day to day. The ramifications of their lifestyle are short term, not long. Until now.
HEROES IN CRISIS is the new miniseries that asks, “What if DC’s finest didn’t shake off their trauma?” What if it weighed on them like everyone else? We’ve all seen Batman lament that his parents are deeeeead. But Superman has lost plenty along his journey. As has Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, and heroes of all stripes all the way over to Blue Beetle, Zatana, and Big Barda.
Enter The Sanctuary, the secret hospital facility for heroes that have been traumatized in the line of duty. It’s a place where supers can go away to process and heal. But what happens when people start winding up dead and the prime suspects are Harley Quinn and Booster Gold? It’s a story we’ve been building up to for some time but the murder mystery is only just beginning.
The series is written by Tom King (Mister Miracle, Batman), who obviously has a lot of his own stuff going on. Being a former C.I.A. operative has left an indelible and unique impact on him, as both a person and a writer. His stories come from a place that only he can tell them and obviously this is one he’s been wanting to tell for a long time. We saw shades of this sort of material in his masterful Vision series, and if the quality of that is any indication, this is going to be one for the record books.
Art duties fall to Clay Mann. He’s a minor to major expert on drawing the big DC heroes at this point. He’s worked on Superman, Action Comics, Trinity… If you need drawn a member of the Justice League, Mann is the man for the job. Which is great, because HEROES IN CRISIS is wall to wall supers. With Mann behind the helm, we’re guaranteed some beautiful work.
HEROES IN CRISIS #1 could be a real game-changer for the house that Batman built. It’s going to be an emotional gauntlet between here and the end of this much-anticipated miniseries. Here’s to seeing you all on the other side.
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