The Cranky Old Reader

A clever and amusing graphic novel collecting a series about a team of superheroes. There are some pretty obvious parallels to classic characters such as Superman and Batman, of course, with a few slightly-too-clever "twists" thrown in. It's reasonably well-written, the art is good, the concepts are played with amusingly...but I couldn't help but note that there wasn't too much that was terribly original in it.Still, a good-enough, workmanlike job.Update: There's one odd thing about this book. In several cases there are instances of "shocking" violence, which you probably won't actually be shocked by unless you haven't read comics or watched any R-rated movies in the last twenty years. They mostly involve heads being exploded, ripped off, or cut off. For some reason, they're mostly blurred and inked in monotone - in other words, in such a way as to tone them way down. It's actually hard to figure out what's happening.It reminds me of TV censorship, when shows that were originally broadcast on HBO are re-run on a broadcast channel. The result is always rather painful and lame. It also feels a bit patronizing; if someone's head is going to explode, have the balls to be up-front about it! And if you can't stomach writing or drawing a scene like that (or can't get it past DC censors), change it altogether. I don't particularly object to head-explosions, but they're not exactly the be-all and end-all of shock.