4ish stars.
Combining retro superhero comics with modern indie sensibilities, this first volume is seriously cool. First of all, superheroes, duh, who doesn’t love superheroes?! These superheroes, however, have a lot more in common with the Golden Age heroes of old than with the ones we see on big screens across the world.
Each issue in Secret Origins focuses on a different character’s backstory in this mysterious “family” of heroes. To be honest, we’re really only given the briefest of hints at how these people ended up the way they ended up. As far as plot goes, it’s basically all set-up, which seems like it would be frustrating after six issues not to have a clear indication of what’s actually happening but it’s okay because there’s some great character work and the set-up is legitimately interesting.
It took me at least an issue or two to enjoy Dean Ormston’s artwork, maybe because I’m so used to superhero comics looking a certain way. The truth is, it actually fits the story perfectly and really enhances the indie vibe. Again, this isn’t your typical “Big Two” superhero story. On top of that, the man suffered a stroke just after he finished drawing the first issue and, if anything, the quality in the following issues improves. Is that not incredible?
This is now at the top of my hypothetical pull list.
Mr. Philip's Library 