All this talk about money-back offers... look at Sleeper #1.
I don't want my money back.
I'm not a big Wildstorm Universe history guy. I don't really know the who's and what's of their super-hero universe. And I was glad that I didn't need to know anything cracking into Sleeper.
What is it about?
An undercover agent infiltrating the world of super-villains. Secret Agencies in a super-powered world. Holden, AKA the Conductor, works for the I.O. -- trying to figure out who to trust and why -- and struggling with what he's been turned into.
It's a dark and depressing world full of characters that are all shades of gray - which is what I love. You're not really sure if Holden is on the right side...and neither is he. We learn his history here, his past relationships with others, but it's all easily laid out for us. Also Holden's power comes across as really damn cool. Ed is making everything subtle, a little matter-of-fact, and the Conductor doesn't just conduct electricity - he conducts and transfers any pain he might experience. His body stores it and he's able to unleash it on to someone else.
Sean Phillips and Tony Avina really invoke a powerful visual world full of characters and shades that represent Sleeper. Shades of gray. Sean is a talent that any book is luck to have.
There are also some great secondary characters introduced, my favorite in particular being Genocide. We meet him, get a quick history and a very compelling look at how he got his name, the ignorance combined with the hatred. It fit together extremely well and in three panels of quick flashback he became as intriguing as anyone else in Sleeper. I hope we see more of him.
You can't lose with Ed's offer and the quality put into this book. Next time you're thinking about giving an X-title another chance check out this instead. You'll be surprised.
Geoff Johns writes The Flash and Avengers and the upcoming Titans, as well as co-writing Hawkman and JSA. Each week, he'll offer another recommended read for comics fans here on The Fourth Rail.
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