03 January 2014

Review: The Golden Age: A Different Look at a Different Era by James Robinson and Paul Martin Smith

Comic trade paperback, 200 pages
Published 1995 (contents: 1993-94)
Acquired October 2013
Read December 2013
The Golden Age: A Different Look at a Different Era

Writer: James Robinson
Artist: Paul Martin Smith
Color Artist: Richard Ory
Letterer: John Costanza

Despite the fact that this story is labeled "Elseworlds," I'm not sure why it wouldn't work as a prequel to the DC universe as seen in Robinson's Starman series; in fact, it has a number of elements in common with it. This follows DC's World War II superheroes as they adapt back to life post-war, in a world that seems to be leaving them behind. Like the best of superhero stories, it thus becomes universal, telling a story about how anyone would adjust to life in what the 1950s brought. With a sprawling cast that's sometimes hard to keep straight, it feels big, and the conspiracy at the story's heart unravels audaciously.

Paul Martin Smith's artwork is good, but Richard Ory's colors bring them to life; this book wouldn't be half so good without the additional subtleties and tones they deliver.

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