ANTI-HERO review

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Anti-Hero is a superhero series published by Monkeybrain Comics, written by Jay Faerber, and illustrated by Nathan Stockman. I was recommended this by Ethan and I started reading a few days ago. This is the first series I've read that was published by Monkeybrain but not the first I've read from Faerber, being that I am a fan of his work on New Warriors. It's a ten issue series with an excellent concept and a great execution.



The art is pretty great. I was actually surprised that it genuinely looks as good as it does, at first. The faces look very good and portray emotion pretty well, especially Callum Finney, who looks just as diabolical as he is written. Paragon too, displays tons of emotion, ranging from anger to desperation, and the series is definitely strengthened by how great the art is.


The writing and the concept's execution definitely make Anti-Hero how good it is. It has tons of twists and turns that really do catch you off guard. The characters are all very interesting and likable. Paragon isn't exactly the best character I've read, but you really do feel that he's been stuck in a terrible situation. Callum Finney, however, I think really steals the show. He is definitely a bad dude, but he isn't so evil that he isn't likable or understandable. His facial expressions, as mentioned above, really do add to him as a character as he comes across as manipulative, yet he's still a pretty likeable dude. Rainshadow I feel for and though he doesn't get as big of a role, he's still a pretty good character. The concept, as I mentioned, is really great and they go all out with it, doing a lot of stuff with it. The pacing is rather good, though it being only ten issues leaves a bit to be desired from the story. It doesn't use certain characters much, like Rockstar, and this does make me question why they're even there (outside of setting up another character in Faerber's universe) in the first place.


Anti-Hero is a very good read and definitely worth checking out. Its short length does make it very susceptible to rereads and I feel you could probably still enjoy reading it over again. Anti-Hero gets a 9.5/10.

Must-read

Summary:
An interesting concept, great story with tons of twists, meeting its potential, great art, and a colorful cast of characters make it an easy recommendation. The only thing I feel holds it back a bit are minor nitpicks here and there that just edge it out of a  10/10 score.

(originally posted: 12/20/2015)

Comments

Popular articles