A number of Image's new super-hero titles play with the Superman archetype, and the different spins on the original super-hero have made for interesting reading. Invincible looks at the son of a superman, and Venture features a reluctant superman, thrust into the spotlight by an ambitious media guy. Dominion features a superman without empathy, apparently without ethics as well. While I find the idea more than a little intriguing, the nebulous storytelling not only fails to hold my attention, it frustrates with its ambiguity.
Tiny alien entities inhabit the body of an angry, distant man. He doesn't know what to do with these powers. He doesn't care about wrong or right. He is haunted by an inability to connect with others on an emotional level. Meanwhile, a group of powerful, telepathic aliens has invaded and taken over Australia, and mankind sets out to resist. But is the man transformed by the alien microbes a weapon of the invaders, or could he prove to be Earth's only hope for salvation?
The above plot synopsis could easily be far off-base. Exactly what this comic book is about is next to impossible to ascertain. Giffen and Richie keep the story hopping, shifting back and forth from flashback mode, jumping from scene to scene in a seemingly random fashion. The characters don't even seem to be named, and that lack of identity is mirrored in a lack of motive and origin. This is a first issue, but instead of providing a clear setup and hooking their readers, the writers seem to try to obfuscate their story and characters, to confuse rather than entice interest. The narration boasts a stream-of-consciousness quality that makes for an arduous read.
Giffen's rough artwork is in keeping with that puzzling, random and vague nature of the plot and script. That's too bad, because Giffen captures the creepy feel of the main Superman-like character and the surrounding weirdos quite well in the visuals. Some of the character designs are striking -- such as the eyeless woman and the Seal-meets-Sinead woman -- but others are sketchy and unclear.
It's unfortunate that the story and artwork are so sketchy, because behind the ambiguity seem to lurk a number of chilling and challenging ideas. The main character's sexual frustration, the politics of an alien invasion, a religious response to super-heroes... all of these concepts are touched upon here, but only lightly. I think the writers were trying to instill the first issue with a sense of mystery and crisis, but they missed their mark and struck a confusing chord.
