There are as many ways to handle a superhero book as there are stars in the sky; so when a new capes book hits the stands it’s best to approach it with some caution. For every Invincible or Jupiter’s Legacy there’s going to be a fistful of forgettable tiles on the shelves. In order to really shine as an indie superhero title in 2014, you have to do something unique; and Sundowners really brings something fresh to the table with its 1st issue.
By Julian Kazan
Dark Horse as a publisher is known for its appreciation of the pulp and horror comics’ aesthetic, so going into a new Dark Horse book one can expect something a bit on the darker side of the comics’ spectrum. Rest assure, Sundowners delivers within the first two pages. Jim Terry’s art delivers with a 1 page splash that really sets up the tone of this issue, a real showstopper. His art does a serviceable job during the more text heavy pages (I hope you don’t mind a few questionable faces in your comics) but really does knock it out of the park overall.
Its Tim Seeley’s writing that I came here to talk about; because there’s something to write home about. He’s managed to turn a pretty tired out idea in the superhero scene, caped crusaders that are more human than super, into something decidedly fun. Well, fun may not be the best word to describe the super hero support group that constitutes our cast. A group of questionably sane superheroes diagnosed with “sundown syndrome”, our protagonists feel more like real-life superheroes than comic book characters. The doctor running their support group, Dr. Shrejic, is coasting on the fact that he’s discovered sundown syndrome as a new mental illness; a mental illness that sees damaged people taking up “night names” as aliases and going out to fight crime. A questionably sincere doctor giving dubious diagnoses to these admittedly dubious people makes for some genuinely compelling plot. And things only get wilder when these people start telling their stories.
These heroes are plagued by demons; both personal and literal. Without giving away too much, my favorite character had a particularly interesting share for the support group. “Concerned Citizen”, the man front and center on the cover with the unsettling featureless human mask, fights an inner city conspiracy frankenstein’d together from a bunch of crackpot theories. With grim seriousness he talks about reptiloids selling drugs in the inner city and illuminati handsigns robbing him of his strength. Again, without getting too deep into details; every hero has a bizarre tale that don’t feel believable; until the end of the issue.
Sundowners is definitely a book worth picking up. Unlike the majority of cape books on the shelves, this one has a lot going for it. If you like your superheroics pulpy and want some horror too; this is your new book! It successfully mixes a lot of genre-specific elements you don’t get together very often into a real kicker of a debut issue, and I can say it’s already knocked a book off my own pull list. Be sure to check it out!
