Writer: Kyle Higgins / Penciller: Marcelo Costa / Letterer: Becca Carey / Logo Designer: Rich Bloom / Editor & Designer: Michael Busuttil / Production Artist: Deanna Phelps / Image Comics You can get updates on this comic here.
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10th February 2021
The Pitch: Nathan Burnett has just turned thirty, and things aren't great: He's working (and failing) at two jobs, his credit card debt is piling up, and his only move... is moving back home with his parents. But when Nathan discovers and unlocks the ethereal, cosmic Radiant, he's given the power to radically change his fortunes! There's just one problem: The powers don't belong to him. And the Cosmic Beings who created them want them back... by any means necessary.
How do you like your heroes? There's a super-friend out there for everyone to identify with these days. Of course, if you're flat-broke, shit-deep in debt and an under-achieving thirty-something (alright, forty-something) dude, then you're kinda under-represented. Nah, just kidding. We're everywhere! But seriously now... when was the last time your heroes were 38K in debt? Or a real loser. Not that often, I bet. Radiant Black is an interesting pitch, not because we have yet another potential super-hero powered by a cosmic Macguffin but because Higgins and Costa have created a central character that's kind of pathetic, kind of a loser, kind of... unlikeable. And I've never been so relieved.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT NATHAN IN RADIANT BLACK, YOU SEE A HERO FOR OUR TIMES
Let's be honest. None of us was jettisoned from a dying planet and excelled to god-like strength by the sun. I don't know about you, but my parents weren't gunned down in a urine-soaked alley thereby making me swear an oath to avenge their deaths and fight crime. I cannot fire an arrow for love nor money and I was never a deep-cover Russian ballerina/spy. In short, I have very little to relate to today's superheroes. I love them. But it just ain't me. One thing I do know is failure. And don't care how good your IG game is, I bet you do too. I definitely had dreams. There were things I wanted to be that I never became. I know all about not quite making it. I mean, come on... you're reading this on a website I can barely afford to fund! When I look at Nathan in Radiant Black, I see a hero for our times. Or at the very least a guy in a special suit for our times. I can't say I'm convinced he's going to be the big man yet. See, there's something about Nathan that may be just a little too pathetic. He's defensive and angry. There's a shame running through every bone of this guy. I get the distinct impression he's not going to be the hero but may become the problem. Especially since there's the one thing Nathan needs in play – a great big bag of money!
Higgins writes believable characters as always. You do relate to Nathan, simply because he's not who wants to be. It's something we've all faced at his age. Hell, even at my age... You know what it's like to lose. Higgins also has a way of taking a believable grit and texture of real emotions and situations and grafting them onto superhero books. Just take a look at the excellent C.O.W.L. With its unionised super teams if you don't believe me. It gives his books a scent of the real world that pulls you in so he can dazzle you with capes and pyrotechnics all whilst making you care. The book is funny and fast-paced. The one-liners aren't conscious 'movie' lines but natural character beats. Costa's art is clean and the characters 'act' well. His colours glow nicely when they should and take a more sombre mood – the mood of failure – at other times. Carey's letter's hit the right notes for the depressed, whiny voice of Nathan and the upbeat pep of those around him, making the dialogue land just right. It's all held together by the tight book design of Bloom, Busuttil and Phelps. Plus you get a tasty cover by Michael Cho. Anyway, gotta go. I have to head outside in the rain and cry about my life whilst you check if your LCS still has the first issue of this available.
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