Let’s be real: the first issue of this Image miniseries didn’t blow us away. But now that we’ve reached the last chapter, does “Reality Check” stack up into something a little more substantial?
Written by Glen Brunswick
Illustrated by Viktor BogdanovicDark Hour has been defeated. Will is forced to “Man Up” and face the maniac Devil-Inside on his own. If he loses, all Hell breaks loose — Devil will kill the woman he loves and continue an unstoppable homicidal reign of murder and mayhem.
Back in the beginning of this series, Will, a struggling comic book creator, was surprised to find that one of his creations had become flesh and blood. This character – a “libidinal Batman” figure whose struggles with dating were to form the substance of a series – turned out to be pretty charming in real life, but kind of goofy all the same.
For a while, it seemed like the contrast between Will and his creation was meant to teach Will something – to help him get beyond his own fixation on finding a beautiful woman that would complete him in some way. After all, what better way to give somebody a reality check than to see that his conceptualization of his own predicament is flawed?
In the end, though, the moral that emerges here is much more conventional than that, and it’s something of a disappointment. Once our villain is defeated, Dark Hour serves to re-affirm some of Will’s ideals – the ones that have nothing to do with dating, happily – and the ending becomes one of those “you had it in you all along” chestnuts. Which is somewhat more interesting and subtle than the first issue might have hinted at, but still not quite the monumental return to reality that this series seemed to be leading up to.
Worst of all, Will’s love interest, Alison – who is contextualized and presented as this really wonderful unicorn of an individual – never manages to come across as anything more than a girl who really likes shopping. Even the last page of the comic shows her wondering how she’s going to fix up Will’s apartment. Again, the spirit of the thing isn’t what’s missing – Alison and Will are framed as having this real, long-time, non-superficial connection – but the execution doesn’t convince us. What do these two really have in common, anyway?
All the while, Viktor Bogdanovic’s art really is accomplished, with a lot of the visual interest of the book coming from the larger-than-life presence of Dark Hour as contrasted with his drab surroundings. If the book seemed to be a lot more subtle than it was for a few issues, it was probably due to the nuance that Bogdanovic worked into this character, bringing a sharp satirical edge to Will’s wish-fulfillment fantasy. Will and Alison seem pretty flat by comparison, and it’s hard not to imagine what a fun read Dark Hour’s adventures would have been all on their own. (“Libidinal Batman” ain’t a bad concept – but maybe it’s already being done.)
In any case, and with the sure-handed help of Paul Little on colours and Rus Wooton on letters, Bogdanovic does a fine job coming up with the polish of a DC title, but the impact of something much more subversive. It’s a shame we don’t get to see his talents better exhibited here, but here’s hoping we get to see more of his work in future.
Overall, “Reality Check” brings us home with a feeling of squandered potential. This might have been a really solid story about coming face to face with the role you’re playing in real life, but in the end it’s more of a retreat back into the same way of being. As such, it’s entertaining enough; but my feeling is that meta stories about superheroes should have a little more brains than brawn.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Browse the trade
