The major comic companies get enough reviews and press, it’s time for the creator-owned and indie series to get some love and judgment. Indie review takes up-and-coming indie and creator-owned series and puts them through the review process so you can confidently support the best of the small press and passion driven projects in the comic industry.

 

The Info Bit

Title: The Hypernaturals #1

Genre/s: Sci-Fi/Superhero

Writer: Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning (Guardians of the Galaxy, Resurrection Man)

Penciler: Brad Walker (Action Comics) & Andres Guinaldo (Gotham City Sirens)

Inker: Brad Walker, Mark Irwin (Green Lantern), Mariano Taibo (Lady Death)

Colorist: Stephen Downer (Elric: The Balance Lost)

Publisher: Boom Studios

Number of Issues: 1

Page Count: 27

Price: $3.99

 

 

The Review Bit

If I was to attempt a comparative approach in explaining The Hypernaturals it would be something along the lines of Watchmen meets Legion of Superheroes. I’m not saying that The Hypernatuals is Watchmen quality, but Dan Abnett and Andy Lanning’s new cosmic superhero adventure certainly has many similar traits. Much like Watchmen, we are learning about a superhero team, past their prime, that has retired and is slowly reforming to deal with a tragedy that directly affects them. There are also similar creative elements of the sequential art form being harnessed here, such as prose story in the back that enlightens readers about certain character’s histories. On the other hand, this is a cosmic science fiction romp that follows a superhero team in the far future that has constantly changing members, much like the Legion.

So what exactly is the Hypernaturals about? Well, that’s a little complex, as many of DnA’s (Dan ‘n’ Andy’s) stories are. Basically put, in the far future we have reached a point of AI singularity (meaning the computers are smarter than us), which has led to a new age of prosperity for the human empire across the universe. From that point, a new group of heroes began taking 5-year ‘tours’ of protecting the universe under the team name of The Hypernaturals. In the 93rd year of this, the Hypernaturals team at the time (the 19th team) fought a great threat that nearly destroyed the universe. The story takes place in the year 100, shortly after the 21st team has went on their first disastrous mission and disappeared. Now the members of the 19th team are slowly coming together to find out what happened to the new Hypernaturals and fight what looks to be the same threat they faced 7 years prior.

Dan and Andy pack a ton of information in the opening few pages of this comic. To be honest, it almost kills the story, just how much detail and content is thrown at you right off the bat. But I must point out, the latter half of the book might not be nearly as enjoyable if we weren’t presented with so much background on these characters and this universe so quickly. The writing team brings some unique uses of informational captions onto the panels, which is kind of fun and futuristic feeling. It’s pieces like that which made their run of Guardians of the Galaxy so fun at Marvel. Yet here it almost feels like too much, with word bubbles and captions swamping the opening few pages of flashback to the 19th team of Hypernaturals. Thankfully the further into the story readers get, the more this calms down. However, at no point is there truly an absence of dialogue, with quite a few word bubbles on every panel. At least it is good dialogue that seems very tech and science heavy while still being readable for someone who barely passed high school science classes (I did much better in college!). The writing continues beyond the pages of sequential art, with a burst of facts and a faux-advertisement for the hypernaturals in the introduction and a detailed, vogue-esque interview with one of the characters in the back of the comic. Dan and Andy certainly packed this book with story and information, creating a universe you might be rather familiar with in just 27 pages.

The art of The Hypernaturals looks great, with the two artists complimenting one another by handling different time periods with the same characters in the pages. Brad Walker gives some dynamic panel designs to go along with the action of his opening pages of the story, while Andres Guinaldo makes what should be a bunch of talking heads look quite interesting and full of emotion. It’s always good for a dialogue heavy comic when you can get an artist that can express more than just what the word bubbles have written in them in the facial expressions and body language of his characters. Even the inking on this book seems beautifully in sync with the story, as Brad Walker covers himself with a smooth style that gives the flashback appearances of characters a younger look. Mark Irwin inks just one page, which depicts one of the heroes in a hung over mess, with heavy lined shadows that work for the atmosphere. Then there is Mariano Taibo, who is a great inker, with slightly stronger inking than we saw Brad Walker provide, but a thinner style than Irwin that works for the bright characters of tomorrow, and proper shading for the darker scenes that follow later events in the book. But perhaps my favorite part of The Hypernaturals’ art team would be Stephen Downer’s colors. Downer’s colors are vivid and hold a good use of gradient color transition that just make them pop. He also provides some spectacular visual effects that give off a future and cosmic feel to the artwork.

 

The Rating Bit

The Hypernaturals is a great book, with interesting characters and a solid story. The story is a little thick early on, and at times it becomes drowned in an excess of information, but still holds the possibility to become something great. The characters in the comic are also quite fun, with some unique new powers and scientific explanations for classic superhero powers. This combined with a strong art team earns The Hypernaturals a good 7 out of 10 for its opening issue.