Holy cow, Supreme is back! What has he been up to since his last appearance? Will this truly be the "ultimate jumping on point"?
The Good
I read Supreme in the early days but eventually it fell off my reading list. Even the attachment of Alan Moore wasn't enough to keep the book on my radar back in the day. With the resurgence of titles from Liefeld's Extreme Studios, it's fitting to see the return of one of the most powerful characters from that universe.
There is an overall fun vibe in the issue. We see the set up for Supreme and his enemies. There seems to be a lot of tongue in cheek humor and references and you dont' get the feeling that the comic is trying too hard to take itself seriously. This is a good thing because often comics written that way almost have a stuffy feel when you're simply trying to enjoy the story.
Larsen and Hamscher do a great job on the art with Steve Oliff's colors making it a vibrant read. Despite not being completely sure what was going on at times, I found myself getting pulled into the story and art.
There is some definite build up happening here and we clearly get the impression that next issue is going to contain a huge dose of action.
The Bad
Because I haven't read the last few issues fifteen years ago, I did feel a little confused. The book's solicit claims it's the "ultimate jumping on point." With the villain, New Dax, I wasn't sure who he was. It was upon looking at the pages here at Comic Vine that I noted Darius Dax was an old enemy of Supreme and we're seeing several variations on the character.
The Verdict
Supreme is back after a long break and Alan Moore's story will finally be told. Despite the claim that this is the perfect (or ultimate) jumping on point, there was still a lot to take in as a reader who hasn't read the last few runs of the character. Getting past the slight moments of confusion, there is a lot of fun to witness in this comic. Moore's story is setting up some big action and the art team of Larsen, Hamscher and Oliff enhance that vibe with art that is so great to look at.I'll admit I was between a 3 and a 4 for the rating but it's the energy and feel of the book that won me over. Reading this issue definitely makes me wish I could go back in time and tell my younger self to actually read the series but now I'll be on task to try to track them down to get the bigger picture. I can't wait to see what happens next.