Mark Millar and Wilfredo Torres revisit the Silver Age of superheroes in “Jupiter’s Circle” #1. Read on for our spoiler free review of the “Jupiter’s Legacy” prequel.
Written by Mark Millar
Illustrated Wilfredo Torres
The most celebrated superheroes in mid-century America seem to have it all-fame, riches, adoration-but tensions simmer beneath the glossy surface, threatening to crack open the secrets behind their public AND private exploits. Before the family dynasty in JUPITER’S LEGACY began, there was JUPITER’S CIRCLE-a story about a team whose personal dramas collide with super-powered spectacle!
“Jupiter’s Legacy” by Mark Millar and Frank Quitely follows the children of the most prolific superheroes in history: they’re spoiled, entitled and nothing like what their parents had planned. That series goes into the future and examins the world those heroes left for all of us. It was a mature, but dark, look at what superheroes are and how they would fit into our world. Millar and Quitely (despite the delays) examined the almost unavoidable cycle of history that we live in. They tapped into modern cynicism and current events, all while turning superheroes into something different. It was bleak and at times very depressing but it made for a great story. “Jupter’s Circle” is a different animal altogether, but does explore some similar themes.
“Jupiter’s Circle” turns the clocks back to 1959 with Utopia, Blue-Bolt and company truly at their prime. World War II is in the rear view mirror and the Depression is long over. Their powers have changed things in the world and they’re being courted by the FBI to do something in a more official capacity. Most of the focus in “Jupiter’s Circle” #1 is on Blue-Bolt, a closeted superhero and high profile public person.
The examination of Blue-Bolt’s sexuality is not new, as we’ve seen this handled before, but there’s something very special about the way it is handled. Millar has created some many different works that feature masculine characters doing very stereotypical masculine things – the “Kick Ass” series, “Secret Service” and “Nemesis” all feature over the top action, violence that doesn’t even make sense at times, and even some unfortunate rape scenes. This isn’t to say that I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of Millar, I think he’s usually very good. “The Ultimates” was great, “Wanted” was a ton of crazy fun and “Old Man Logan” is still my favorite Wolverine story. It’s the latter work I listed that makes Blue-Bolt’s story feel so different from what Millar has done before proving that his success hasn’t stifled his creativity.
Blue-Bolt’s struggle is incredibly difficult to read because in our society today most of us (sadly not all of us) are accepting of gay men. Watching him have to juggle a triple life and only – somewhat – trust a small handful of people is tough to get through. Millar really hits the point hard that this is what the world was like at this time. Without spoiling the bigger plot points, Blue-Bolt is going to have to make some decisions that directly tie to his juggling act and, if Millar can keep going with how he’s approaching this, it could become one of the best storylines of 2015.
There are some very nice additional touches to “Jupiter’s Circle” that make it truly fit into the time period it’s set in. There’s the addition of some famous people like Katherine Hepburn, but it’s the things that Torres does on art that really cement the right tone. Frank Quitely is one of the greatest artists in comics but (as weird as it is to say) his style wouldn’t really fit with this story. Torres is an extremely capable artist but what he brings is an element of camp and thus combines the look of Silver Age comics with a post-modern story. Torres is channeling everything classic comics here from the very beginning with a very Hall of Justice-esque building. The costume designs are simple and are another great touch in calling back to the classic designs of Superman and Aquaman. Each character has a bold colored jumpsuit made of spandex with a cape. The designs are very low key but it also speaks to the conservative time period.
Continued belowTorres does some great things with the posing of characters. He positions the heroes like gods and even the taller background characters cower in the background when in the presence of these heroes. The few fight scenes are big and dynamic but not overly detailed and the same can be said for the facial expressions. Almost every character is smiling, as pop culture likes to remember this time as optimistic and hopeful. It’s a nice additional touch by Torres. Ive Svorcina shares a lot of credit for the coloring job done here because without what he does, the right tone wouldn’t have been set. Svorcina makes the heroes pop off the page but the backgrounds are more muted for the most part. The focus is very much on the people but the highlight is the fight scene that uses a great deal of blue. He does a fabulous job adding depth to a giant creature.
“Jupiter’s Circle” #1 is a very good read and a great start to a prequel I didn’t even know I wanted. You can appreciate this story for what it is without reading “Jupiter’s Legacy” but there’s quite a lot you won’t pick up on that I’m sure will be important later on. The first trade is also out this week so I suggest buying it for the full picture.
Final Verdict: 8.0 – Millar and Torres might have a truly memorable superhero story on their hands if this first issue is any indication of what’s to come.
