TEN #1 is a comic written by Christopher Rhodes with pencil and inks by Marcos Lima and colors by Sal Monaco. A superhero pushed out of his own country is looked to for help when a crisis occurs. This is a story that blends real world politics and superheroes while taking a closer look at how they might be perceived in this day and age. The main man is Peacekeeper, real name Brian Johnson. He is an ex-Navy black man who has been a force for good but he now finds himself on the bad side of the government. Most of the other prominent characters we’ll meet are senators or cabinet members. The plot begins with some world-building before giving us a look at a day in the life of the Peacekeeper. There are more than a few views and perspectives showcased here. The action here is explosive but you won’t see any blood or gore. The pacing is slower in the first half due to the large amount of wordy pages but it gains speed towards the end. The tone is both serious and uneasy as Peacekeeper attempts to navigate murky political waters and there are a few intense moments. The dialogue sounds like something you’d hear on political TV shows but it can get preachy at times. As mentioned earlier, there are plenty of wordy pages. This is a debut comic that builds a world and gives us the temperature of its political climate while fleshing out the man who must navigate it.

            The art style here is reminiscent of comics from the 70’s/80’s with its heavy shading and smoothness. The coloring here is realistic which assists in keeping the focus on the story. There isn’t too much in the way of scenery as the primary locations are government facilities or average-looking neighborhoods. The backgrounds nearly always contain elements of the scene which helps everything feel more alive and keeps you engaged in the story. The expression level here is kind of low but when you take into account the jobs these characters have it fits. The faces are drawn with a very large amount of details on close-ups so their looks or lack thereof have stronger meaning. From distance the level detail drops a bit. The action scenes are short and scattered and though some are explosive you won’t see any body fluids on the page.

“Is this worth reading?”

Yes.

“Would I like this?”

If you like stories starring a black superhero dealing with real world politics and a shady government then this is for you.

“What would this comic’s film rating be?”

PG-13. Violence.

“Could I get a quote from the comic?”

“Now you’re asked to play along with a charade.”

 

Kickstarter Link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/christopherrhodes/ten-1-a-one-shot-adventure-and-start-of-a-new-superhero-epic/description

 

***** I received this review copy for free. *****

***IN-DEPTH COMIC STATS BELOW***

Probably Contains Spoilers

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Actual Pages(not counting covers and credits): 22

Violent Pages: 6, for 27% of the comic

Sexy Pages: 0, for 0% of the comic

 

**The levels below aren’t necessarily maintained throughout the whole comic, but they were definitely reached**

 

Violence Level – 3

“Wasn’t no tussling at all.”

“Sometimes you gotta hit somebody.”

“I’m getting charged with how many counts of assault?”

“This was a tournament arc.”

“All my life I had to fight.”

 

Gore Level – 1

“The only thing leaking out your face is tears.”

“Looks like somebody spilled some ketchup.”

“Might need to soak that up with a bath towel.”

“That isn’t supposed to be outside the body.”

“This is a slaughterhouse.”

 

Death Level – 1

“And everybody lived happily ever after.”

“We might have gone to a couple funerals.”

“It just LOOKS like a serial killer was here.”

“Yeah this was a tragedy.”

“Think Gettysburg.”

 

Porn Level – 1

“Everybody kept their clothes on.”

“I guess it was too hot for a bra.”

“Sometimes you got to let everything air out.”

“This is like late night Cinemax in the early 2000’s.”

“Oh. This is porn.”