As the title indicates, the core premise of this book is the story of a young convict with super-powers. However, this first issue isn't about that. Steve Gerber tackles important issues, blasting America's glorification of atheleticism over intellect, media sensationalism, litigiousness and so much more. Gerber opens the book with his own take on Columbine, and this frenzied, biting social satire should be seen as required reading. This debut issue is about the system fails not only the most vulnerable but all over society, and it stands out as one of the most intelligent and relevant comics I've had the pleasure of reading in some time. If this is the level of quality we can expect from DC's new Focus line, readers are in for a treat.
Ethan Harrow is a fairly typical high-school student. He's a bit of a bookworm, gets good grades, so he's treated as a nerd and a social outcast. So is his best friend, so together, they devise a prank in order to humiliate the guys who make their lives miserable. That prank turns bad, though, and after the gunsmoke clears, several people lie dead. Ethan finds himself in the media spotlight and on trial, and as horrible as it all seems, none of it compares to the hell that awaits him.
Brian Hurtt's previous work boasted a gritty quality that was in keeping with the crime stories he helped to tell. There's a slightly more polished, softer look to his work here, but again, it serves the story well. That softer touch really brings out the main character's youth and innocence. The masked characters in the opening scene also put me in mind of Joe (E-Man) Staton's style. Hurtt brings a great deal of depth and reality to the story and characters here, but that comes as no surprise to those of us who have seen his work on several Oni Press titles, such as Three Strikes.
Also worthy of note on the visual side of things are Brian Haberlin's colors. There's a grey pall that looms over the whole book, and it helps set the mood here perfectly. The muted red hues used to bring Ethan's powers to life are also successful in portraying the raw, unsettling nature of the energy that burns within him.
In many ways, America -- and by extension, Western society in general -- has grown into a nation of victims. Responsibility is a hot potato that's tossed from parents to bureaucrats to the authorities to politicians. Too often, the wrong person is left holding it, and that's what this first issue is about. It's clearly about Columbine, about a general reluctance to view truth and about an emphasis on vengeance rather than justice. Piling the blame onto an unsuspecting target is far easier than getting to the root of the problem because the latter option requires all of us to take some measure of ownership of critical flaws in the ways modern society functions.
I haven't by any means read the total of Steve Gerber's comics writing, but I have read a lot of it. Hard Time #1 stands out to me as the best thing he's written. This isn't just entertaining comics storytelling, it's important comics storytelling.
