Review: Masks by Chris Roberson

A lighthearted weekend reading review…because sometimes Pastors need a break from heavy reading also.

 

Chris Robersons.  Masks.  Runnemede, NJ: Dynamite Entertainment, September 10th 2013.  200 pp.

5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon Kindle| Amazon Paperback

If you love super heroes from the pulp era of the 1930-50s you would love this work!  In this comic book we see nine different pulp superheroes such as the Green Hornet with his sidekick Kato, Zorro, the Black Bat and the Shadow joining forces in one story to fight against a political enemy known as the Justice Party.  And what a treat it was to read this graphic novel and see these characters coming together and fighting against evil!

Here in the story the Justice Party outwardly looks like a righteous political party that has been popular enough to be voted into office in New York City to bring about reform and change.  But soon enough it turns out they have an oppressive fascist side and thus they implement tyranny with their Black Legion troopers.  These Black Legion troopers turn New  York city into a police state who go around the city to arrest and remove the allegedly undesirables of society.  There’s a clear parallel here with the Justice Party being like the Nazi party and the Justice Party’s Black Legion troopers similar to Nazi “black shirts” and it gets even more blatant later in the story when readers discover where these undesirable people are sent to.  Thus it is time for the heroes and the people to push back against this police state which desire to spread their forces beyond the city.

I love the pace of the story in introducing the various heroes by introducing them in small groups at a time.  This allows readers to appreciate each one as they make their appearance.  The story begins first with the Green Hornet and his partner Kato fighting hoodlums and then the Shadow drops by to help these two.  Of course the Green Hornet and Kato isn’t sure who the Shadow is and what’s his intent but they soon work together.  Later in the second issue we also Miss Fury, the Green Lama and Spider as they joined in the fight against the Black Legion troopers tyrannizing town.  Discovering each other they talk and make a plan to try to stop the Justice Party.  This involved some of them splitting up in order to get things done but later they end up being together for the ultimate battle and revelation of who’s behind the sinister Justice Party that’s pulling the string!

The book collects eight comic book issues of this story arch.  Most of the artwork was illustrated by Dennis Calero and which I enjoyed.  It is colorful yet has a dark theme yet not unnecessarily over the top dark.  The first issue though was painted by artist Alex Ross and it is probably the most amazing work of the entire book.  I wished he could have continued the illustration for the rest of the book or more portions of the book although in saying this I am not criticizing Calero’s artwork.  It’s just Alex Ross’ is amazing in terms of its realism, its noir feel and details.

I do recommend this work as a leisure reading.