The Industry #1

I like superhero comics that look outside “the norm” for their inspiration.  It’s why I like “Love & Capes” and why “Hero Action Persons” caught my eye.  So I’m always on the lookout for something new and “The Industry” seemed to fit that type.  It’s described as being a superhero isn’t easy because to make it to the top you have to have an agent, a label, and a management team.  I mean it just sounds…different and unique.  And while the cover isn’t all that eye catching–a yellow background with a masked superhero standing in graduation robes—I was still eager to give it a read based upon the description.

Our story begins a few years ago and Christina has just graduated from high school and is about to head off too college to become a lawyer.  Or so her parents think.  In reality Christina has decided to give up that dream and instead wants to be a masked crime fighter!  And then we come to the present where we see Christina in action battling three hoods and musing as to why she hasn’t yet made the big time.  But she gets cocky and is almost shot, but she’s saved by another hero–The Griffin…and his agent.  The agent wants to sign Christina on to the team and help her rise to the top and she jumps at the chance.  And shortly she’s sent out on her first mission…but trouble maybe brewing and she may need a hand once more.

This comic reads like the first work produced by a young writer and artist…and that’s what it indeed is (at least according to the information that I can find online.)  I think Kyle has some good ideas about what makes an interesting series and the concept and story in this issue aren’t bad…but there are a few issues, mostly in that he hasn’t given the reader enough information about this new universe.  Why are there agents for superheros?  Why are there too many superheros?  I get that some of this may be revealed later, but its a bit hard to connect with the characters without some addition information.  I think he could have left out some of the things that he showed, such as the first part with Christina talking to her parents, and given us a bit more of this world.  I was also expecting something a bit lighthearted with some serious moments, but this story is a bit darker than what I was expecting.  It’s not a bad thing, just something readers should go in knowing.

The artwork has…potential.  At times it comes across as an adolescent male drawing (especially with the way women are depicted, especially the other female character Claire.  And then other times the work is a bit more solid in layout and composition.  Where the artwork tends to struggle a bit is how the human figure is depicted, particularly when it’s in action.  The proportion is usually off creating figures that look like midgets or are twisted in ways that the human body just can’t move.  He also gets a bit heavy handed with trying to depict too much detail in places, such as on costumes/clothing and on the walls of the building, etc.  But…as I said it does have potential.  The line style in some places reminds me of the Hernandez brothers.

If you like different for your superheroes then this comic just might be for you.  I’d give another issue in this series a try, just to see what happens….with the hopes that we find out more about the universe and that the proportions get a bit better.