What if Superman chose to live life as a regular guy, helping the world out in secret? What if he didn't care for the spotlight or colorful costumes? What if he didn't want to be a symbol? Then he would have been the title character in Venture, a man with limitless power but short on patience and personality. Faerber offers up a different spin on a familiar archetype, and it makes for an excellent balance between traditional super-hero storytelling and a more modern, slightly cynical perspective.
Every now and then in Los Angeles, in the middle of a crisis, a mysterious man turns up and saves the day thanks to his incredible powers. But after saving lives, his number-one priority is anonymity. Meanwhile, Reggie, an eager young photojournalist, has an eye for fantastic stories and the limelight, but he can never get his contacts in the mainstream media to take him seriously. Still, they recognize his skill, and an editor tosses him an assignment... a human-interest story that ties in with the recent escape from custody of a metahuman criminal.
This issue stands out as the finest work I've seen to date from Jamal Igle. His style boasts a realistic tone here, and it's in keeping with the more grounded take on super-heroes that serves as the foundation of the premise. His stuff here reminds me at times a little of the styles of Kevin (Justice League) Maguire, George (JLA/Avengers) and Barry (Empire) Kitson. The digital inking approach seem to work quite well here, as there's plenty of definition and texture to be found in the artwork.
Reggie really takes center stage here, and that's the key to the book's success. It's next to impossible to imagine oneself in possession of amazing powers and then keeping them a secret in order to live an ordinary life... but being hungry for financial and professional success, that's not hard to relate to. Mind you, I've been a freelance journalist, hungry for a big story, so maybe Reggie talks to me more a bit more than he might to other readers.
Faerber's story of Jimmy Olsen discovering a Superman living among us is an intriguing one... mainly because it carries so much potential in the way of characterization. I'm curious how the connection between these characters will develop, and how Joe will deal with the possibility of his secret being exposed. The mystery regarding why Joe is so out of touch with the world is intriguing as well. I look forward to seeing how this story progresses.
