Greetings once again, true believers. This week I’m taking a look at Jay Faerber and Mahmud A. Asrar’s “Dynamo 5.” This is a new series involving a new group of super heroes who are in neither the DC nor Marvel universes.
That’s right, these kids are in an original universe all their own, with a fresh start. I hate to say it, but even with a fresh, interesting concept, the book fails to grab readers’ interest. The concept is that Captain Dynamo, a super hero with five unique powers, dies.
Afterward, his wife Maddie Warner finds a little black book listing the various women with whom he had affairs and illegitimate children.
Maddie tracks down the five children, exposes them to the proper blast of radiation and creates a new team of super heroes, the Dynamo 5. Each of the members has an individual power that Captain Dynamo had.
Now, I love the concept, but the problem with this book is the execution. The structure of the story involves dropping the reader into high-pressure situations, often without enough emotional attachment to the characters. This is a big problem, especially in the first issue, when one of the members of the Dynamo 5 is kidnapped. This is one stumbling block the story trips over and never rights. Not once while reading this book did I experience a moment of shock or feel tender-hearted.
These characters fail at appearing to be real. This is highlighted by the five children’s lack of reaction to the fact that they were tricked into being given their powers and then forced to be part of group led by a woman they hardly know.
Taking these flaws into account, the book comes off as a boring and tedious mush most of the time and the action falls flat. The other big problem with this book is the art. This may be an instance of personal taste, but I find the art annoying. Asrar draws everyone the same. All of the men range from muscular to overly muscular, and all of the woman are perfect in every way imaginable. No world is perfect, and no group of super heroes or individual super hero is that perfect.
Overall, I would not recommend this book to anyone, especially those with a desire to get into comics, considering I do not want to scare them away by how bad this book is. Until next time, this is Comic Book Boy saying, “Take Care.”
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