The Weekend Presents: Starboy #1 Review

The Weekend Presents: Starboy #1 from Marvel Comics - 

   The futuristic megacity of Alphatron is on the edge of collapse. Cannibalistic crime-boss, Jack "The Chef" Smiley, has taken over all the organized crime in the city and created a unified criminal front that has overwhelmed public officials, law enforcement, and everyday citizens alike. No one is safe from Smiley - he is a ruthless, vicious, bloodthirsty criminal juggernaut that cannot be negotiated with, swayed nor stopped. In desperation, Mayor Arnold Winter commissions the creation of an equally unstoppable mechanical law enforcement corps - The Solar Police Force. The designers, genius scientist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, Isaac Starr, and his self-centered, but equally genius son, Jeremiah, have created a solution to Alphatron's crime problem...And made themselves the targets of the most soulless crime-lord in Alphatron's history. When Jack Smiley comes calling, the blood will flow, a father will fall...And a hero will rise. Maybe.

   From the mind of genre-spanning recording artist, The Weekend (Abel Tesfaye), La Mar Taylor, and veteran comics writer, Christos Gage, comes this epic sci-fi stunner, The Weekend Presents: Starboy #1! Based on The Weekend's double-platinum-selling album, Starboy, this writing team delivers big time, with a cool, if familiar, sci-fi story set in a futuristic city beset by a relentless villain. The protagonist, Jeremiah, is an egotistical, genius, youth who can't seem to find a meaningful connection to the world outside himself. His only real connection is his loving father who is very preoccupied with the needs of his fellow man, much to the chagrin of his selfish son. These two men share blood, but their worldview is very different. When Jeremiah's world comes crashing down, he will find himself with new powers, and a choice to make. A great, complex protagonist, an inexorable villain, rampant corruption, and a city on the brink of destruction - this is a world in need of a hero. The Weekend, Gage and Taylor are doing some seriously great worldbuilding here. I enjoyed this book so much - it's like someone took the premise RoboCop, and elements of the origins of Iron-Man, and Ditko's creations, Spider-Man, and The Destructor, shook them all up in a bottle, and poured them all out in this super-fun, super-engaging origin story that leaves you hungry for more. I mean that last part LITERALLY, as this issue closes gracefully the most pivotal part of the origin story. The artwork, by Eric Nguyen tells the story in cinematic style with perfectly kinetic, sketchy, and expressive pencils. I hope that we haven't seen the last of The Weekend's and Marvel's Starboy. I'd happily read this series, or watch this film or TV series. I dig it. Hey, Marvel, I want more Starboy!

RATING: 9 out of 10. And I'm digging the title track to the album - a banging collabo with Daft Punk (Who doesn't like Daft Punk?). Beware, the video contains some HARSH LANGUAGE.

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