The DCYou initiative rolls on this week with a slew of new titles but one of the most important of these titles is “Doctor Fate”. “Doctor Fate” #1 is a very strong start to a series that has the potential to reach a wide audience. Keep reading for our spoiler free review.
Written by Paul Levitz
Illustrated Sonny Liew and Lee Loughridge
You thought global warming was bad? Anubis, the Egyptian Lord of Dead, is preparing the flood to wash the world away. Standing in his way? An overwhelmed Brooklyn med student whos been handed the helmet of Fate, without an instruction manual.
Doctor Fate has had a few different incarnations; the most recent version of this character was found in the pages of “Earth 2.” His name was Khalid Ben-Hassin and spent a lot of his time towards the end of that series psychologically damaged and ineffective. Post “Convergence”, DC has tasked Paul Levitz and Sonny Liew with creating a new and accessible Doctor Fate. What we end up with is a debut that’s almost perfect and in many ways replicates the formula being used in “Ms. Marvel”.
“Doctor Fate” #1 begins right after the 8 page free preview ends. Khalid Nassour has just been bestowed the power of the Doctor Fate helmet by Egyptian Gods. Khalid is a soon to be medical student and his rational side tells him that none of this is happening. While he struggles with this, Brooklyn is dealing with a horrible downpour that’s made all the residents flashback to Hurricane Sandy. As Khalid fights his fate, Brooklyn and inevitably the world wait for him to step up.
“Doctor Fate” #1 is for the most part, great. Of all the new series that were due to come out this summer, this was easily among my most anticipated. What really works for “Doctor Fate” is it’s protagonist – Khalid is much more relatable than many other DC heroes, in part because of his background. Khalid has to balance a lot of different things; like Kamala Khan over at Marvel he has to make his own way. He’s not rich like Bruce Wayne and he’s not powerful like Clark Kent. He’s a twenty something with student loans, a family that expects the world from him and a girlfriend he barely has any time to see. He feels like a real person and that’s what will make his eventual rise to a superhero so captivating.
The setting of Brooklyn really works for this series because it reflects DC’s attempt at making their books more varied and much more accessible. Brooklyn doesn’t have Batman or Superman or even Green Lantern. This will be Doctor Fate’s playground if he stays there and it will allow Levitz and Siew to create new villains, new supporting characters and something truly different from the rest of the DC Universe. “Doctor Fate” #1 is something you could jump into extremely easily if you read the 8 page preview. If you haven’t, the place this issue picks up in is going to feel a little odd. This issue assumes you’ve read the free sneak peek and I’m not so sure that was a wise choice. That plot could have easily fell into this one and I know people will walk away feeling like they don’t know anything about Shaya. She kind of just appears in this issue without any background but in the 8 page preview, she was given some time to shine. These new series have to be as accessible as possible and while the sneak peek is free, I don’t believe it should feel like required reading. The lettering is also a little difficult to make out. Points for trying to do something unique but I can see it being a bit tough on some readers’ eyes.
Sonny Liew is an artist I had no familiarity with before reading this issue and I’m left wanting to seek out more of his work. Once again I was reminded of “Ms. Marvel” because Liew’s style is a little sketch-like, not unlike some of the art in “Ms. Marvel,” but he doesn’t skip out on detail backgrounds. Liew takes the time to make Brooklyn look like Brooklyn. The neighborhood Khalid lives feels authentic with trash cans lining the edges of sidewalks; even his home isn’t overly done into something that doesn’t fit with his life. His kitchen is full of pots and pans catching the water from leaks in the roof. While it’s a small thing, it does help this feel like something completely different from what we typically see in superhero comics. Khalid himself wears a simple hoodie and jeans and, even when he does receive his power, he doesn’t transform into something visually extravagant.
Continued belowEven in the museum, Liew perfectly combines mysticism with reality – but when the time calls for it, he lets loose with the magic. The Egyptian Gods look very cool and, in many ways, menacing, leaving you completely believing that Khalid would be scared (or at least apprehensive) of them. The panel layouts in these moments are dizzying, adding a confusing effect that reflects Khalid’s own feelings. Lee Loughridge’s colors are wonderful. He’s able to create darkness without making the issue’s tone change. Loughridge’s colors help create a comic that is cartoony without forcing the reader not to take it seriously. The use of blues and greys in the outdoor scenes are very pretty and create a sense of shadows without using a ton of black.
“Doctor Fate” #1 is one of the best new series to be launched under the DCYou initiative. Khalid is a likable and relatable protagonist and the art is stellar. Fans of “Ms. Marvel” will find a lot to like here and new DC fans will find themselves at the beginning of something totally new, which is really the target of all these new series.
Final Verdict: 7.9 – One of the strongest debuts for DC’s DCYou initiative
