Justice, Inc: The Avenger TPB Review

"Justice, Inc: The Avenger" Vol 1 from Dynamite Entertainment:

     A pitiless crime ring turned millionaire, adventurer and hunter, Richard Benson, into an even more pitiless, relentless crime-smashing agent of justice - The Avenger. When his family was murdered, he was left forever scarred with a ghost-white, emotionless visage, a thirst for justice and a freedom from fear of death. In the spring of 1940, The Avenger, and his loyal team, take on an army of translucent men and their villainous boss as they seek to destroy The Avenger to clear a path for the Nazis to strike America. Then thrill to The Avenger's most personal case: when a dear friend and mentor betrays The Avenger, he seeks to track him down and find out why; however he stumbles onto a case so huge that it could mean the fall of country that is an America's ally, and the death of our President, Franklin Delano Roosevelt!

   Mark Waid and Christopher Sequiera bring us this thrilling volume packed with six issues of Dynamite's, "Justice, Inc: The Avenger." Waid and Sequiera do a commendable job of taking a beloved classic pulp-hero, and working him into a stylish, exciting comic book hero! These stories have a nostalgic pulp-y feel to them - the verbose descriptions of people, settings, situations and the innermost thoughts of the protagonist in the caption boxes make this book a comic / pulp hybrid that really sucked me in, and kept me riveted page after page. The Avenger himself is a compelling character, but he's just dazzling surrounded by his brilliant team. The dialogue that bounces back and forth between The Avenger's team adds to the alternately tense and light-hearted atmosphere that Waid and Sequiera create, and the stories are full of mystery, suspense, international intrigue and action. The Avenger is like a hard-boiled Batman whose ghostly pale, malleable face is better than any mask could ever be. All this, coupled with Ronilson Freire's cinematic artwork, and Marco Lesko's rich colors, make "Justice, Inc: The Avenger" a VERY enjoyable book. Sure, sometimes it can be a bit overdone, and the cases end up wrapped up in neat little piles - but what's wrong with that? What's wrong with having heroic crime-fighters, evil bad guys, and having the good guys ride off into the sunset? I'm a sucker for all that jazz. 

  And just look at the GORGEOUS cover by Alex Ross done after Joe Kubert's classic cover from "Justice, Inc" #1, published by DC Comics in 1975. I had to buy it.

RATING 9 out of 10. This book was wildly enjoyable.

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