The Intimates is a rarity in my comics reading in that I really had no idea what to expect, going in. Joe Casey has written a number of projects I didn't care for, but he also wrote one of my absolute favorite series, Wildcats 2.0 and 3.0, and while the general premise of The Intimates didn't sound that interesting to me, my residual fondness for much of Casey's work at Wildstorm had me intrigued. I'm pleased to say that the first issue is still a rarity, an unusual comic with a style that is difficult if not impossible to find elsewhere in comics and a really clever mixture of the text-messaging Internet generation and the teen superhero genre that is a dense, fun and maybe even a little bit subversive read. It's all attitude right at the moment and not deep plot, but that attitude is exciting, and with style to spare courtesy of Jim Lee, Giuseppe Camuncoli and cover designer Rian Hughes, The Intimates has the same jolt of freshness I've come to expect from Wildstorm.
We've all seen the teen superhero genre done to death, and even the notion of a superhero school has been there and back again at this point. From well-known examples like Teen Titans and New X-Men to lesser knowns like Sidekicks, this subgenre has seen its share of action. It's not as well-tread as the more generic superteam or loner hero aspects of the genre, but it's not wholly new either. Casey knows this, and so his take on the superteens at school includes a fresh coat of paint in the form of information-heavy "crawls" right out of 24-hour news (albeit with a snarky, sarcastic edge) and a teacher-student dynamic that more approaches the cold war style most of us remember from high school. Casey's teens are the kind of kids who gave rise to the old man catchphrase "punk kids," and they all could use a few harsh lessons about life, but their youthful arrogance and willfulness is also kind of likable, as it gives them some real individuality.
The characters that Casey, Lee and Camuncoli have developed here didn't look like much on the promo poster, but it turns out their semi-goofy looks are part of the sardonic charm of The Intimates, which is a smart satire of superheroes as much as it is a superhero book. The writer shouldn't be able to have it both ways, but he does, both because this kind of tone fits in well with the more cynical Wildstorm universe and because Casey's a smart observer of the superhero genre who is probably at his best when he's working just outside the mainstream of it. Punchy's obnoxious chatter will remind readers fondly of Joe Kelly's take on Deadpool, Destra's bored indifference makes an interesting counterpoint to that character and The Duke serves as a good take on the polite, respectful jock who has some pretty severe sublimation going on thanks to family pressure. Both Empty Vee and Sykes are of the quiet and shy archetype, but they represent different aspects of that attempt to stay hidden from persecution, whether it's due to differences in race or differences from the accepted body type.
For all that I wound up liking the characters, though, it is the style of the book that really drew me in. The storytelling here is innovative and clever, jumping around in time to match the short attention span of modern teens and young adults, and providing an overload of information for those who are used to watching TV, surfing the web, listening to music and reading all at the same time. The constant crawl and its information is a stroke of genius, and allows Casey to pack this first issue with information (and subtle plugs for other worthy Wildstorm books), while the short flashback jumps to origin stories, comic books or other snippets of life outside the classroom gives a larger sense of the world. Credit on this one should go to Giuseppe Camuncoli, Hope, Mayor and the folks at Comicraft, who give the book a very unique look and who make all of these elements seem deliberately fast-paced and intercut rather than just cluttered.
The Intimates is just getting started, and it remains to be seen if Casey and company can weave strong stories around the strong themes and characters he's got to work with here. Whatever winds up happening in terms of actual story, however, these creators clearly have plenty to say and the talent to say it with. The Intimates is one of the real pleasant surprises I've gotten out of comics this year. 9/10
