Living On The Edge Of Everything: Inferior 5 #1 Reviewed
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The Dominator Invasion of Earth is over, and they were barely stopped by Earth’s heroes. Justin’s father was lost in the Battle of Metropolis, and his mom could no longer stand living in the city. So, Justin and his mother moved to the dessicated nowhere town of Dangerfield, Arizona. The town is rusted and covered in trash. Other residents include Lisa, a child interested in comic books, Theresa and Vance, a pair of neighbors who can barely stand one another, and Helen, a teenager with a strange speech pattern and possible superhuman abilities. However, someone is watching Dangerfield, and an unnerving child with a bag on his head is marking X’s all over town.
In the follow-up story, Amanda Waller sends Peacemaker to Russia to investigate a possible base full of Dominator holdouts, and Colonel Flag isn’t happy about it.
Inferior 5 #1 is an off-beat offering from DC Comics which takes place after a near-apocalyptic alien invasion that wiped out many of Earth’s heroes. This story focuses on a group of kids living in a ghost town where something very ominous is occurring.
This first issue focuses on introducing the reader to the “Inferior 5.” They’re a fairly charming and mismatched group of kids. Only Lisa seems to know that there’s something off about Dangerfield, while Justin is just trying to explore the town and Vance tries to hit on Theresa.
This first issue does a great job of only hinting at the secret while dangling tantalizing hints and potential horrors to keep the reader interested. Plus, the characters are fairly likable, so it’s easy to get invested in their plights.
The Peacemaker follow-up doesn’t give the reader much to go on beyond a direct connection to the A-story of the comic. That said, it is kind of cool to see Peacemaker back in the comics.
Keith Giffen’s artwork in the A-story is decidedly great. His style is very distinct, though it clearly takes more than a few cues from Jack Kirby himself. The prominent brows and defining shadows are very reminiscent of the King himself. The layouts and framing of the characters is very affecting. Jeff Lemire’s artwork in the backup is more caricature-like, and it looks quite good too. Color artists Hi-Fi and José Villarrubia put in damn good work in the comic too.
Inferior 5 #1 is a strange opening to what will certainly be a strange story. We meet a group of kids living on the outskirts of an apocalyptic event while they try to live a semblance of a life in a rusting ghost town. It’s curious and engaging. This is one I recommend keeping an eye on. Check it out.
Inferior 5 #1 comes to us from writer Jeff Lemire, artists Keith Giffen and Jeff Lemire, inkers Michelle Delecki and Jeff Lemire, color artists Hi-Fi and José Villarrubia, letterer Rob Leigh, cover artist Keith Giffen with Michelle Delecki and Hi-Fi, and variant cover artist Jeff Lemire with José Villarrubia.
Final Score: 8.5/10
