A two-issue tour de force…
By PETE STONE
In New York City, Midtown Comics is exceptional. But when I first arrived here years ago, Forbidden Planet was THE comic store to go to.
Right off of Union Square, it carried major American comics, as well as independents and even European comics. (Still does.) You could spend hundreds of dollars there every week and still walk away without everything you wanted.
So, this past weekend, my wife and I went into the shop and found everything we were both looking for. Then, while waiting in line, I saw some bagged-and-boarded back issues, and right on top was Gen 13: Ordinary Heroes. Written and penciled by Adam Hughes, inked by Mark Farmer, and colored by Homer Reyes and Ben Dimagmaliw, it makes for a perfect BURIED TREASURE feature.
Gen 13 was created by Brandon Choi, Jim Lee, and J. Scott Campbell, way before Lee became the leader of DC Comics. (It was first published by Lee’s WildStorm through Image, then under DC.)
The characters of Caitlin Fairchild, Roxy, Grunge, Burnout, and Threshold were not the dark, cynical, military intelligence kind of heroes from that time period. They were teenagers, and in this 1996, two-issue mini, Adam Hughes captured them perfectly. They were more like the original X-Men than the later adult versions.
The magic of Ordinary Heroes is that the kids are very human, and Hughes tells a simple story that deals with their age and emotional maturity. He doesn’t write a blockbuster where the heroes have to save the universe or even save a city. Instead, the tale focuses on their understanding of the world and their place in it.
Beyond the basic plot, there is the art. The beginning of the story, with Caitlin being hit on by a football player, is especially sweet: The big, tough guy offers to carry her trunk as she leaves her college dorm. Of course, he thinks she’s just a “girl,” but pulls his back when he tries to lift it. Caitlin offers to let him carry her stuffed bear when she lifts the trunk easily. Hughes gives every panel a human touch. His skill shines through with every expression.
Hughes is self-taught, but if you name the top five artists of the past 30 years, he’s right there.
After Caitlin embarrasses the football player, she climbs aboard a high-tech ship with Sarah Rainmaker, who has revealed herself as bisexual. So, when Caitlin changes into her ‘uniform’, Sarah has a very hard time keeping her mind on the information she is giving to Caitlin because she’s just wearing a bra and underwear. You can see the conflict in Sarah’s brain with the utmost subtlety and internal torture. Then again, as readers, seeing Caitin get undressed, we totally understand.
Beyond that, Sarah has a unique look when the camera goes profile: a sloped nose, and truly, stunningly beautiful face. Each of the five team members are unique with different body types, hair styles, and attitudes. Hughes is like a brilliant combination of Stan Drake’s ability with hair, Neal Adams’ ability with expressions, and a storytelling style all his own.
Then there is the action. The team’s ship is blown from the sky, sending the kids falling 20 stories toward the ground. Tanks and armored vehicles attacking and being defeated by Caitlin. An appearance by their adult leader, Lynch, who looks just like Clint Eastwood. Then there is “The Creature,” a sort of blob that dissolves humans into nothing. There are beautiful double-page spreads of the heroes fighting the bad guy… who turns out to be just a poor baby who was experimented on.
Caitlin cries all the way home when the baby dies. They could have been better saviors, better, more adult superheroes, but in the end, Caitlin realizes that they are just ordinary heroes.
I remember seeing Adam Hughes’ work in the late ’80s on The Maze Agency, then later on Justice League America: Covers that stopped me cold. Women who were stunning. Men who were as good as you could get. Hughes is like Michael Golden, a brilliant artist who does sequential work rarely. But, if you can get your hands on it, it’s so worth it.
Adam has done Nexus, Legionnaires, Hellboy, a four-issue Dr. Manhattan series, and even Betty and Veronica. (Always being Team Betty, when Adam Hughes draws Veronica, I suddenly consider switching to Team Veronica.)
Hughes’ cover runs on Wonder Woman, Catwoman, Fables and Lara Croft are spectacular. They rank right up there with Neal Adams and Alex Ross.
Perhaps one day, Gen 13 will return in the DC Universe, but for now, I suspect we will not see Adam Hughes draw another story of theirs. Our loss.
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MORE
— BURIED TREASURE: Strnad and Fujitake’s DALGODA. Click here.
— BURIED TREASURE: Archie Goodwin’s BLAZING COMBAT — 60 Years Later. Click here.
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Peter Stone is a writer and son-in-law of the late Neal Adams. Be sure to check out the family’s online Facebook auctions, as well as the NealAdamsStore.com.
