Mike Carey’s best work (“Lucifer” & “The Unwritten”) is steeped in fantasy, mysticism, and literary reference. His superhero output hasn’t really taken off and has mostly been limited to established characters. But he usually takes great advantage of the freedom of creator-owned work and has a chance to craft his own cape-filled world. His new ongoing title “Suicide Risk” looks to go down a superhuman path seldom traveled, but how does it stack up to the work he’s made his name on?
Written by Mike Carey
Illustrated by Elena CasagrandeSuper-powered people are inexplicably rising from the streets and there’s a big problem: Too many supervillains, not enough superheroes. Heroes are dying, and cops are dying twofold. Humanity is under-powered and good people are suffering untold tragedies trying to stem the flow. Beat cop Leo Winters is one of those struggling to make a difference. And the answer just might come in the form of two lowlifes with a dark secret. SUICIDE RISK is a high octane, mind-bending series created by one of the industry’s greatest storytellers.
In the early pages of “Suicide Risk” #1, it becomes very clear that this is a world where good people are hopelessly outnumbered. This creates an interesting interplay between good and evil that Carey is experimenting with. There exists a nicely unspoken musing on the idea that power is seductive and being truly noble can involve many sacrifices. After all, if superpowers were readily available to those with the means to pay for them, wouldn’t it be easier to be evil? In comics, the heroes are mostly defenders, using their power to prevent tragedies and to defend the world from evil. Given powers in a vacuum, the easier path would be to take advantage of the weak, normal people and impose will over the Earth as such. Carey pits those who have been seduced toward abusing their power against the truly good people of the world, who would stand up to them when they’re clearly overmatched, powers or not. Superhero comics often depict a world where heroes roam the Earth and evil tries to poke holes in their sphere. In “Suicide Risk”, villainy is constructing that sphere, and “heroes” are a tiny David pushing back against a Goliath. By not putting too fine a point on it, Carey gives the comic a seldom seen point-of-view of that against-all-odds theme.
Unfortunately, that central theme is short-changed a handful of times by some stuttering in the story and some surprisingly flat characters in the very spots that you need compelling ones. Carey makes an uncharacteristic choice of delivering much of the exposition through a heavy-handed talking-head debriefing sequence that is interwoven throughout the action of the issue. This is rarely the optimal way to establish an unfamiliar setting in comics, as it usually involves characters speaking unnaturally about things that they both already probably know and carries little payoff in the story itself. It seems that most of the exposition in “Suicide Risk” could have been delivered through the central confrontation, enhancing the momentum of said conflict while the world reveals itself to the reader. The central character is a cipher, coming off with little more to his personality than a stoic and hard-working nature. Where “The Unwritten” got a lot of great mileage out of unique and definable personalities in characters such as Lizzie Hexam and Savoy, “Suicide Risk” lacks any side characters of interest, as of yet. And by the end of the issue, we’re left with no idea as to our main character or anyone else will react to the major events of the last few pages. There’s an element of surprise that might bring a reader back, but certainly not because we’re intrigued by the characters.
The art from Elena Casagrande is something of a cipher, as well. There are great moments in the issues main set-piece where the art is turned loose, portraying the long odds of good vs. insurmountable superpowered evil in an additive and exciting way. The style is handsome and clean and the action is compellingly rendered. Unfortunately, Casagrande isn’t given enough to do and doesn’t enhance the issue’s downtime enough. The flat characters aren’t given memorable enough designs to make up for any lack of personality either. Even the villains, who are more colorful than anything else in the book, do not have an iconic look among them. It is clear that Casagrande is capable of great thing – hopefully the story that follows this issue allows for that.
Mike Carey is not known for slow-burning stories, so “Suicide Risk” feels instantly uncharacteristic. That said, he’s earned enough trust for this story to be one to watch. There’s nothing that says that Carey isn’t trying to approach this story more methodically than usual. But with such a talented artist in tow you want to see more chances taken. Instead, “Suicide Risk” is a winning premise that stumbles in execution in its first issue.
Final Verdict: 6.0 – Browse.
