Written By: Mark Millar
Pencils: Leinil Yu
Inks: Gerry Alanguilan
Colours: Dave McCaig
Lettered By: Clayton Cowles
On my quest to conquer the many titles of Millarworld I came across one of his more recent series, Superior, which has proven to be one of the greatest he has written to date.
Teaming up with Leinil Yu, Millar takes us into the life of Simon, a young boy who looks up to the super-heroes he reads and watches movies about. His favourite super-hero is Superior, the Superman-esq character depicted in this world. At a young age Simon was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and throughout the years of his young life the disease has taken its toll on the boy. One night an alien monkey comes forth at the foot of Simon’s bed informing him that he has been granted a single magic wish and his choice is to become Superior.
Considering the amount of work Millar has been pushing out lately, none of it really stands up as a really great read aside from Wanted and Kick-Ass. Now I am just targeting alone his creator owned projects and admittedly this is one of his best works.
Millar is known for taking a small and very simplistic idea and just running with it – exploring a wide variety of themes and characters throughout his many titles. Superior really hits the nail on the head in the first issue. I found my self really attached to Simon from the get go. This is a boy who has a very short future to look forward too, but, he never gives up hope. Watching him turn into his favourite hero is nothing short of breath taking. Simon now has a second chance at life and I for one am anticipating what it is he will do with this new opportunity.
Leinil Yu’s artwork is stunning throughout this issue. With the issue built so strongly on emotion he has the ability to capture that in all his characters faces. His shading work is spot on and he has a keen ability to add a lot of layers all forcing your eyes to focus on the action point.
With Yu’s impeccable artistic ability and Millar’s knack for a great plot, this comic grabs you by the heart and leaves you begging for more. I have to give this issue a 5 out of 5 and can only hope this series continues to prove amazing. This is definitely one of Millar’s best works as a writer and I happily recommend it to any fan of his previous works and new readers alike.
