Review: Freedom Fighters #1 (of 12)

It seems to me that the “12 issue maxi series” is becoming one of DC’s format of choice, and after the success of Mister Miracle and the obvious quality, delays notwithstanding, of The Doomsday Clock, the time is right to bring another team from the past.Â Now don’t get all excited, it’s not the JSA; at least not yet!

In Earth-X, the Nazi’s won the Great War and conquered the planet.Â Three days after the final day of the resistance, when the Freedom Fighters fell to the PlaSStic Men, Uncle Sam is cornered and simply fades away.Â Fifty Five years later and the Fuhrer’s control over the planet is complete.Â Still the idea of “One Nation, Under God” is a hard notion to let go off and one explosion later and from the resulting fires, a phoenix; OK more of a Condor is reborn along with rest of the Freedom Fighters.

Robert Venditti is in world building mode, a mode that he suits rather well with all the praise he has been receiving for his Hawkman book.Â The idea of the bad guys winning the war isn’t a particularly new one, featured in a couple of Justice League episodes as well as the hit book Fatherland by Robert Harris and of course the Justice Society comic itself.Â Venditti throws in a group of heroes, that only some of the biggest DC fans will recognise, into the fray, kind of.Â After all, they hardly get any panel time, unlike the PlaSStic Men, who are trulyÂ horrifying.Â Venditti adds an element of real world resistance with the inclusion of Jesse Owens, which gives the book an almost Watchmen feel, albeit without the pretension.Â The dialogue packs a punch, possibly harder than a certain star-spangled patriot, beating on an evil German, without getting over preachy, although Uncle Sam’s speech is a little cheesy.

The art is provided by Eddy Barrows, whose work has been seen in the New 52 Nightwing book.Â BarrowsÂ work always had an a level of dynamism that I enjoyed.Â Here, his clean lines demonstrate a level of maturity that possibly wasn’t seen on Nightwing.Â This may be a natural evolution of style or it could be that working on a book with “minor” heroes allows for a greater level of freedom.Â In doing so, Barrows has demonstrates a flair for the macabre that adds weight to the proceedings.Â The panel structure helps drive the story forward, with a flow that is bothÂ energetic and dark.Â Inker Eber Ferreira adds to proceedings making sure that structure is applied.Â Colorist Adriano Lucas gives the book a mature feel with dark hues throughout.Â Finally, lettererÂ Deron Bennett does fantastically, especially considering how wordy this book is at times; Bennett doesn’t allow the word count to affect the flow of the story.

There will be a groups of people who will say that this book is either too patriotic or it is stating a political agenda.Â Of course, everyone is entitled to an opinion, but before everyone gets their unfurled flag, well…..furled; comic books are entertainment and this book is definitely high-class entertainment.

Writing – 5 Stars
Art – 5 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars

[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Written by; Robert Venditti
Art by; Eddy Barrows
Inks by;Â Eber Ferreira
Colors by; Adriano Lucas
Letters by; Deron Bennett
Published by; DC Comics

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