Let's step back in time a few months.
I wish that I'd waited and read this comic before starting the Chase series proper. Something about the character, about her place within the DCU, felt wrong in those first few issues. It felt like, as I made the comparison a few days ago, Chase was a Vertigo title masquerading as a regular DCU title. However, looked at in light of her introduction, in what is pretty much a straightforward Batman story, her place as a voice of criticism of the superhero universe within which she exists makes a lot more sense. She's someone who truly believes that metahumans need to be regulated, an idea not uncommon in large-scale superhero universes. She also refuses to be starstruck by them, treating them either simply as human beings (or people, if we want to be alien-inclusive), or, as worst, threats to the fabric of a stable society.
Interestingly, as a conservative force in the DCU, Chase is actually a very experimental comic. Most comics in a superhero universe celebrate, even if only implicitly, the very existence of the superhero. Chase does not. Neither the title nor the character see these individuals and teams as saviour figures, but rather as a segment of society treading a fine line - we've seen, in such works as Kingdom Come, what happens when this segment spirals out of control. That it is (ostensibly) baseline humans providing this policing service makes for an interesting read, especially as this comic comes years before the attack on the World Trade Center and the glut of "everyday hero" comics that followed.
This was a good story. The villain was creepy and weird, and I LOVE Kelley Jones' art. Seeing this almost makes me want to track down his Bat-run, though I know it comes at a time when the Bat-stories were spread amongst numerous titles, like the Superman ones around the same time. Perhaps I'll save that for another time.
We'll pop back into the Chase series tomorrow. See you then.
No comments:
Post a Comment