Captain Kid #1 –
AfterShock Comics
Written by Mark Waid
Tom Peyer
Art by Wilfredo Torres
Colors by Kelly Fitzpatrick
Letters by A Larger World
Getting old isn’t easy. As a man on the cusp of 40, I seem to notice new things all the time that remind me that I’m not a kid anymore. Imagine being able to actually be young again with just a thought, and have powers to make it even better. Enter Captain Kid, a new series from AfterShock Comics. Time to find out if this new hero is another home run for the ambitious new publisher.
The story surround a man named Chris, who is celebrating his birthday. Chris has more than his fair share of problems, not just being old, but in his job and his personal life. What his friends don’t know is he is actually Captain Kid, a young hero he can transform into at a moment’s notice. The vast majority of this issue is very true to life, where Chris is spending his birthday with friends and there may be a fair amount of old people jokes. He then runs in to a couple of mysterious people, which change the story going forward. Each of them plays a different role (which I won’t spoil here), but we find out that the problem is much bigger than a couple of random heroic acts by Captain Kid. The final page leaves you with an interesting question…or does it?
The reason I leave it as a question is, quite frankly, this book is a bit all over the place. I’m not sure if it’s because that’s how the character is, or if it’s just truly all over the place. I do like that part of this book is true to life, with real world problems, but it takes WAY too long to get going. We also get what should be some emotional moments, or reasons we should care about the main character, but not enough back story to really hammer it home. I’m sure they’ll cover it in future issues, but if you fail to really grab the reader in Issue 1, you may not get a chance to tell them that story. AfterShock has been known in the past for having that attention grabbing first issue, and maintaining it throughout the run. Other than the solid art by Torres, I feel like Waid fails to give readers enough to invest in the main character or enough curiosity to maintain interest. Even in a collection of diamonds, and AfterShock has plenty, you’re bound to find one that is flawed. I’m afraid this one is it.
RATING: DROP