Cai Yixin Jeremy 2008-05-12
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Brad Meltzer has taken one of the oldest story universes in the world, the DCU, and lets us see it as if for the first time.
The challenge given by DC for this series was to write an emotional, quiet, touching story set in the DCU. Not an easy task at all, but Brad pulled it off in style. And the guy's only prior comic work was a monthly stint on Green Arrow.
To be honest, I don't think I've ever seen a mainstream superhero series written with such emotional honesty besides Alan Moore's critically acclaimed Watchmen. From the ground up, Brad established an emotional tone in this book. The characters weren't afraid to speak from their hearts in this one and the dialogue showed that. Everything seemed very real, the superheroes reacted very realistically, dealt with struggles that even we face on a daily basis. I don't think there's another superhero comic that has touched the emotional depths that this comic series has.
Identity Crisis is a real triumph in that regard, making us see the flesh and blood beneath even the toughest of skins, making us realize that even superheroes are human, flawed. And that's not all, it also makes us see how depraved a human heart can be, how often we take the easy way out by compromising our beliefs and how sometimes we can do nothing to help the brother beside us. The book moves from emotional height to depth constantly, never giving us even a moment's pause to catch our breaths. And that's a testament to Brad's brilliant pacing.
When it comes to plotting, Brad's a genius. The book rarely got out of point, the story stayed very focused throughout, and I don't think I ever hit a point in that book where it got stale. The story's vibrant and the characters driving that story, the DCU heroes, were captivating and larger than life, as they should be. Needless to say, I think comic fanboys, even those who aren't very much into the DCU, will welcome the affection Brad has showered over the DCU characters. Which was why this book turned out so well; every page was created with love and respect for the heroes that have enthralled us so much during our younger days.
But you know what's the most interesting thing about this book? It was that DC chose Identity Crisis to be a 'stepping board' for many of their future stories. Till now, we still see the effects of this book being felt in the current books, and that amazing. Brad wrote this book to be a quiet, standalone story.
I haven't even begun to touch on the beauty of Rag Morales' art. To draw such a realistic and vibrant book isn't easy by any means, which speaks of just how much in tune both Rags and Brad were during the creative process of this book.
So, go get this book now if you haven't. You would be crazy not to.