The Movement #1
Writer – Gail Simone
Artist – Freddie Williams II
With yet more cancellations in the New 52 line up there are new series popping up to keep the number the same. One such new title tries to do something different than the usual hero books. The concept behind The Movement is that a group of super powered characters in the bad part of town take care of their own since the police do nothing. However, the story follows some cops as they investigate strange murders. This leads them into a fight with a killer that has strange powers. Various other powered people show up and the comic concludes with a set up for the next issue.
After the reboot, Gail Simone has not been on her A-game. Batgirl has some problems and this series has more. This new group of heroes seems very generic and as the story is told from the perspective of the police (for the most part) we really know nothing about these characters at the end of this issue. Worse yet, the dialogue feels right out of an early 90s comic. It is very cheesy and tries to sound hip, but fails. It really feels like this issue was not planned out well and that does not build confidence over how this series will progress.
That’s the final design, seriously?
Sadly the artwork is also flawed. The character designs are a joke with silly looking outfits and strange facial expressions. The backgrounds are barely passable and the color palate is terrible. The design has a similar incomplete feeling as the writing does and it takes away from the enjoyment of this book. The artwork looks laughably dated and it does not have a “throwback” or “stylistic” design to balance this old look. It just looks very sloppy and poorly handled.
Really? Really?
While I do enjoy the idea of original concepts especially from Marvel and DC as they tend to go back to their old ideas over and over this was a disappointment. I came into the book with an open mind, but after five pages I couldn’t help but riff the book as I read. The breaking moment for me was the appearance of the “heroes” of this book that look so stupid I burst out laughing. This book feels like it is a lost title from the early 90s and not in a fun nostalgic way. This book is terrible and there is no reason to recommend The Movement..
Final Verdict:
1 out of 5 – The art barely keeps this above 0