Catalyst Comix - Comic Review

The Deconstruction of Deconstruction = Reconstruction

As a comic book reader looking for properties that think outside of the box or just flat out weird, this comic immediately caught my attention. When it was announced that Dark Horse Comics (mostly known for the publishing house of Hellboy) was going to revisit their superhero pantheon through the writing of one, Joe Casey, I was immediately intrigued. Casey's mission for the reinvention of these forgotten heroes who couldn't compete with the big two (DC and Marvel) was pretty straight forward: Don't compete, but be different. Casey even states it himself that while he has worked for the big two, he feels the companies place limits on just how far their characters can be taken.

Casey knows that deconstructing superheroes has gone mainstream and that going back to classic super heroics has also resurfaced in recent writing. However, he does feel that superheroes are locked in a constant state of predictability. Or if it isn't predictability, it is a forgotten idea that resurfaces as new only to be later discovered by some fans as a repurposing. Thus bringing the cycle back to predictability. Now, Casey does not believe that he can escape the cycle. However he believes that superheroes shouldn't be stuck in the same never ending battle of good versus evil. He believes in doing things differently, and exploring it through different eyes. The eyes of three artists specifically. And those three artists possess art styles that will never be used for the Big Two. But because Dark Horse was taking a risk with forgotten heroes, no one would decry this change. After all, Catalyst is about change.

The Structure of Things

Casey applies a rotating anthology structure for this 9-issue limited series. Each issue contains three stories: one main story and two supporting stories. Every three issues, the main story rotates to a supporting story with whatever supporting story was next in line steps forward as the new main one. These three stories are all written by Casey, but drawn by three different artists. The same method of rotating artists applies to the cover art as well. 

The First Story in Cycle - The Ballad of Frank Wells

In the first story, Casey delves into the idea of the Superman with Dark Horse's own rendition of the character called Titan. However in this story, he's only referred to as Frank "Titan" Wells. The story opens with a bang, by having the apocalyptic blockbuster final battle front and center as our introduction to this Superman character. The main theme of this story deals with what does a Superman in the real world really have to deal with and just how many problems can he solve that are not super villain related. Sure, an exploration of that has been seen before in various Superman comics, but with Frank Wells as the lead, Casey is able to take it a bit further by showing the real world politics of being a Superman. That doesn't mean it isn't superhero-y. It still read very much like a classic superhero comic but in modern syntax.  Artist Dan McDaid was responsible for the art in this comic. Although his art style is not used for modern superhero comics, it is the art style out of the three artists that is more closely related to the standard superhero art style. And it makes sense given this story is the most superhero of the two.

The Second Story in Cycle - Amazing Grace

In the second story, Casey examines the Wonder Woman archetype with Dark Horse's resident power woman called Grace. While she does have Wonder Woman level powers, she appears to be more science fiction oriented yet possesses control over star crystals that can teleport her through unspecified yet limited distances. Like Wonder Woman, Grace has her own form of paradise. That paradise being Golden City, a place that she apparently had a hand in building. While the story isn't an extreme character examination of the role of a Wonder Woman type character, it is an examination on what the character means to people. Grace is pretty much looked upon as the ultimate role model who surpasses all the other superheroes in this universe. It really delves into the relationship between Grace and Golden City with an unusual crisis (a suave alien who makes women uncontrollably horny except for Grace) and how not only herself but how the city deals with the crisis. It shows the power of a positive female role model, who I should add although dressed in skin tight clothes is not showing off any skin, and how that can influence an entire city to be better. It is probably the most complex of the three stories as the crisis starts out simple which then evolves into something else completely. Paul Mayberry is the mastermind behind the art for this story, and it can almost be considered the middle ground between McDaid's style and Ulises Farinas'. It is definitely a nice balance transitioning between the two, and he does a really good job at drawing a diverse range of women. By diverse, I'm not just talking about race, I mean age and size.

The Third Story in Cycle - Agents of Change

In the third story, Casey takes a semi-intersting look at the superhero team dynamic. The cast of characters for this story consist of Elvis Warmaker, Wolfhunter, Ruby, and the Rebel Twins. While the first two stories are direct examinations of iconic heroes, this story doesn't seem to be directly reflecting any specific team. This story is a little bit harder to get into because of that. It shows us the more original superhero characters of the Dark Horse pantheon, but given how the previous two stories have been examinations of heroic archetypes we recognize, this one doesn't really hit home that much. It appears to be more of a commentary on mainstream media and itself rather than the idea of the superhero team. The closest thing I can think of as a good comparison is that its a "getting the band back together" story. A shady business man hunts down all these former superhero comrades and offers them a deal to rejoin to change the world... for real this time. That pretty much sounds like how a band reunion sounds like. Hell, the characters all sound like the names of rockstars with Elvis Warmaker being the most obvious. And yes, he does have a pompadour. But I believe Casey saw that the team looks like members from a band and just ran with it. Was it a smart choice? Yes. Does it work out perfectly? At first no, but when you think about it, it is a brilliant idea. So really it is more like a band reunion movie starring superheroes dealing with a threat that doesn't really seem like a threat. It is the weakest of the three in terms of story, but it is the strongest in terms of actual commentary. For this story, it is no wonder the art is handled by Ulises Farinas. His style is definitely not superhero, and it reflects in this story that doesn't really feel like a true superhero story. But that is exactly why it fits.

Overall Impressions

Casey has pretty much accomplished his goal of creating a weird superhero comic book with three very non superhero art styles. Does it accomplish saying what it needs to say? I'd say it is more successful with Grace's story in that it sells the point it is trying to make through greatly executed storytelling. Frank's story comes off a bit heavy handed as a commentary about Superman, but is still entertaining. And the Agents of Change story is brilliant, but it will take the reader a few moments to think about in order to fully engage how brilliant it is. Otherwise, it would be written off as the least interesting, when it is in fact a hidden gem. I will say that while the superhero story telling is definitely there, it will not play out exactly the way one would want it to. There is a sense that it is being different for the sake of being different. While to some that is considered a bad thing, for this I wouldn't necessarily think so.

It offers a really interesting story and look at familiar characters by using forgotten characters to get Casey's views on superheroes out there. And it really is out there. Casey even acknowledges that although he wishes this comic would be the domino that causes the ripple to change the way we all look at superhero storytelling, he also knows well that it won't be the one that topples. No, he thinks of it as the domino that is waiting to be knocked over. And in order for it to be knocked over is not just for the strange storytelling in this story to carry over to the rest of Dark Horse, but to the big two as well. I hope it does, because as much as I like reading Fantastic Four and Superman Unchained, even I think superhero storytelling and visuals need to change.

SCORE: 7.5/10 - An overall average for this 9-Issue Limited Series
A thoughtful examination of superheroes that isn't a complete deconstruction.

This series is now collected into a single trade paperback. Here is the cover: