Life In Four Colors: Book Review
Fallen Justice #1
Anybody who has been reading comics or creating comics, especially super-hero comics, for any amount of time may subscribe to the train of thought that anything that can be done in a "super-hero" book has already been done.
They may believe that there just aren't any original ideas left. That everything is just a re-hashed idea that has come before.
And I have to be the first to admit in most cases I would have to agree. Honestly, when was the last time you read anything truly original from the mainstream comic publishers?
That question alone helps point us in the correct direction if you want to read something totally new and thought provoking. 99.99% of the time it isn't going to be produced by one of the mainstream comic companies.
You are going to have to look elsewhere. Try something new. Something like Fallen Justice from Red Handed Studios. Issue #1 of this series recently came out and I have to tell you....just like the cover states "Everything you know about heroes...is wrong."
Carey Kelley, creator of the book, instantly puts his finger on exactly why mainstream comics can no longer be creative for the most part. The true weakness to creativity is hidden somewhere in the phrase "on-going series." Mainstream characters continue to go through the motions because there just is no clear cut ending to the story in sight. A story that has a distinct ending....much more interesting.
And there is no doubt that Kelley and co-writer Steven Forbes have a definite ending in mind for Fallen Justice. At the same time you also get the feeling there is going to be a lot of unexpected twists and turns from point "A" to point "B".
The book itself and the story behind it centers on just two simple questions.
What if you had the power to change the world? Followed closely by, what if you had the power to change the world and just learned you are dying?
That's the questions that plaque the main character of Fallen Justice. In "One Bad Day" Justice Theta, a Superman type character including the Man of Steel's high moral standard, comes face to face with the fact that things he used to be capable of doing has become increasingly difficult to pull off.
Super powered villains and terrorists that he once was able to subdue without much effort at all are starting to knock him around a bit more than they should be able to. And that's just the beginning of Justice Theta's bad day.
There's an ambush of his moral code of conduct and his basic character that takes place during a live television interview. His leadership abilities are called into question by his fellow team mates. There's developing friction in his love life and a battle in the subway between him and yet another villain that leads to the deaths of several innocent citizens.
How can things possibly get worse?
Well....you could fall to Earth as your ability to fly seems to fade away and then have to walk to town, collapsing in the doctor office out of breath, bruised, and battered.
Only to find out after a quick check up that apparently your super-powers are also killing you.
How's that for the start of what promises to be a very entertaining comic book series?
This isn't your typical set up for a story like "One More Day". This isn't an over-hyped comic event that "changes everything". This is quite literally the beginning of the end.
Kelley and Forbes have already given subtle hints throughout the first issue of the things that Justice Theta would like to do in some cases, but holds back due to the fact he doesn't think it's his place to "play God".
But that's before he learns that "God doesn't play."
Time is running out. The world's most powerful hero has only a few short months to live.
Put yourself in his place.
You can change the world. You can make it a better place.
You can be dead before you know it.
Fallen Justice promises to turn heads and pave a path into uncharted territory with a story that is anything but just "another super-hero story".
Issue #2 "A Comedy of Errors" coming soon.
Find out more about this fantastic book at www.redhandedstudios.com
Bill Gladman - Bill is a writer and illustrator and currently working on several different projects including the first issue of an ongoing comic book series (Prodigy), an illustrated fantasy novel (The Book of Noheim), and the first of four illustrated science fiction/fantasy novels (Jack the Rabbit, Living Legend of the Purple Plains) as well as a light-hearted on going mini-comic (Three Wise Men). Bill also pens a column for Comic Related and will be doing a mix of regional convention coverage.
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