REVIEW: Faith (Ongoing) #1

Valiant’s superheroine returns in a new ongoing series, hot on the heels ofÂ her successful mini run.Â ThisÂ book has a lot going on, part recap, part current story and part setup for future issues.Â Through it all, we get to hear Faith’s inner monologue, giving us a play-by-play on her viewpoints and numerous pop culture references.

Faith is trying to juggle having a normal life, which is complicated by a couple of people knowing her secret identity.Â Friends and acquaintances will ask things of you whether you have super powers or not; here Faith gets played like a double bass by her boss in an ironic mirror ofÂ certain elements of the Supergirl TV show.Â In addition to all this, we get to meet Faith’s arch nemesis.

Writer Jody Houser is in full on geek mode, peppering the script with comments around cosplaying and lots of Star Wars references.Â This does help ground Faith, showing us that despite the powers, she has normal interests.Â In part, this adds a winsome feel to the book and in others, with the number of “imaginary” scenes, the book kind of reads like an episode of Ultimate Spider-Man.Â Â Houser’s Faith has a certain ditziness about her which is engaging in this issue, but I worry that will become annoying over time.

The book features a trio of artists, each taking on a specific part of the book.Â First up is Colleen Doran whoÂ delivers the origin part of the story.Â Doran does nothing wrongÂ with her pages.Â The art is functionary with someÂ strong action panels.Â Â I would probably say that the her depiction of theÂ Summer identity seems to age the character by quite a bit.Â TheÂ fantasy part of the book is by Marguerite Sauvage, a French artist whose European style suits thisÂ character extremely well. Her art certainly conveys the sense of fun that I think Houser is aiming for.Â Last but no least,Â Pere Perez covers the main part of the book.Â Now, being a big fan of the Stephanie Brown Batgirl, I have seen Perez’s art before and have quite enjoyed it. Here, he has certainly stepped up to the plate.Â The lines are strong, action scenes are good and the rest cements the fun vibe that is a strong feature of this book.Â Despite having to work with a committee of artists, Andrew Dalhouse colors the book with great skill, choosingÂ color schemes, including a washed out style, that suits each part of the story.

I am a fan of good storytelling.Â To me,Â gender, race, sexuality or body image just doesn’tÂ figure into my consideration.Â Â In my opinion, Power Girl is still an interesting character with or without the boob window and Harley just plain annoys me no matter how sluttyÂ she may appear.Â As such, IÂ am the wrongÂ person to speak of the virtues of a larger superheroineÂ as that aspect of Faith just doesn’t have an impact.Â Â ThatÂ said, the only realÂ problem I have with this book is how much difficulty the various artist’s seem to haveÂ staying on model.Â At times, Faith is shown inconsistently by the same artists, the aforementioned agingÂ of the character, shown in the origin part of theÂ book for example.Â Still this is a minor quibble which doesn’t detract from the amusement of Faith’s troubles or the energy that propels the story forward.

Writing -Â 4 Stars
Art – Â 4 Stars
Colors – 4 Stars

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FAITH #1 (ONGOING)
Written by JODY HOUSER
Art by PERE PEREZ, MARGUERITE SAUVAGE & COLLEEN DORAN

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network