- Writer: Kyle Higgins
- Artist: Marcelo Costa
- Letterer: Becca Carey
- Logo Designer: Rich Bloom
- Editor and Designer: Michael Busuttil
- Main Cover Artist: Michael Cho
- Thanks to Image Comics for the review copy!
RADIANT BLACK is the story of a down on his luck writer who has to move home with his parents (Hopefully this part of the story is not autobiographical). A quick look at the cover lets you know that long-term, this is not necessarily all the book is about. However, the majority of the first issue focuses on establishing Nathan Burnett as a character.
While this may seem like an unusual choice for a (presumably) superhero book, it is an effective move here. Nathan is likable and relatable and a fully fleshed out character. An advantage of writing a character that is a writer is he also feels very authentic. Clearly writer Kyle Higgins knows his craft (and again, I hope he’s doing better than poor Nathan). His buddy Marshall is both a good friend and the book’s comic relief and their banter is a highlight of the first issue.
The art is strong throughout the book, with clearly defined lines and coloring that effectively shows texture and detail, but it is the back half of the book where the art team really shines. As you can see from the cover, the Radiant Black suit (My term, not the books) is a cross between TRON and Iron Man and it looks cool. The coloring makes great use of neon light coloring to really make the suit pop. Some of the book’s strongest visuals are when we see what it can do. While the characters are given great backstory, the Radiant Black suit (again, I really have no idea what it is called officially) is not yet explained, which provides potential for the future.
RADIANT BLACK has a few curse words and I’m thinking older readers will appreciate Nathan’s backstory more than children who haven’t tasted any failure in life yet. Issue one feels like the appetizer, with much more to come. If you are looking for a new series to try, the strong writing and the second half visuals make it worth a look.
RADIANT BLACK #1 is set for release on February 10th, 2021.
Are you going to pick up the issue? Let me know in the comments or on Twitter.
