BURIED TREASURE: Adam Hughes’ GEN 13: ORDINARY HEROES
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...
Read more
