J. Michael Straczynski wrote excellent comic books at Marvel in the late 2000s and early 2010s. Straczynski’s “Thor” and early stories in “The Amazing Spider-Man” are worth every bit of praise shared from readers. Since then Straczynski has written lots of titles outside Marvel and DC. The Artists, Writers & Artisans imprint has been home to lots of work from Straczynski as of late. AWA Studios partnered with Straczynski and the incredible Steve Epting for a new title. Epting crafted notable stories at Marvel with Ed Brubaker on a beloved “Captain America” run worth noting. AWA is pairing the two creators on a new title focusing on a select portion of the population get telepathic powers. The idea lends itself towards an intriguing soap opera premise. Will Straczynksi and Epting be able to craft a story that stands on its own merits outside of the context of Marvel?
Written by J. Michael Straczynksi
Illustrated by Steve Epting
Colored by Brian ReberThe brand new epic from comic book legends J. Michael Straczynksi (The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor) and Steve Epting (Captain America: The Winter Soldier). An electromagnetic disturbance results in the sudden awakening of telepathic powers in a tenth of the Earth’s population. In the moments after the world comes to grip with this development, newly telepathic Boston police find themselves sent against a wrongly convicted prisoner who becomes a hero and leader of other telepaths trying to escape a world in which their powers will make them targets. Both are heroes of their own story, and the future may depend on whether or not trust can be found between them.
J. Michael Straczynski is good at setting up grounded stories with a big premise. The first couple pages of “Telepaths” #1 carry a ton of promise introducing the idea of telepathic superpowers over at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. I would argue the entire narrative comes crashing down immediately following this scene when Straczynski introduces protagonist Jack, a police Sergeant in the Boston force. Straczynski has an incredibly difficult time holding back the cheesy soap opera elements of the story. A random Police-themed birthday surprise moment derails what little tension Straczynski cultivated in the opening moments of the issue. Straczynski does not seem to realize that readers do not have an attachment to his characters yet. All the moments where protagonists are acting out of character or being humorous will not connect with readers who do not like these characters yet.
After a scene that nearly threatens to derail the entire issue, Straczynski switches over to a maximum-security prison which also happens to be located in Massachusetts as well. Straczynski’s prison scene turns violent at a record-setting pace. Straczynski seems determined to uncork any soap opera cliche he can fit into the space of one comic book here. The Boston Police Department party in a bar is up next. This bar party continues down the path of obvious dialogue and weird relationship tension that a protagonist is supposed to have in a story. The biggest issue here with Straczynski’s script is the lack of nuance and direction that comics need to be successful. Straczynski has clearly lost touch with the ingredients of a good comic book in favor of delivering a title that feels focus-tested for cable television.
Steve Epting’s art gives this title a sense of legitimacy that really clashes with the silly tone of Straczynski’s script. Epting’s characters are emoting really strongly on each panel. I loved the harrowing look from Jack on the final panel of the issue, the way his hands are positioned made me feel the pain he is experiencing in real-time. The best moments of the issue are definitely the scenes where Epting is able to experience the mystical elements Straczynski brings to the script. Epting could definitely get more experimental with the panel layout in the issue. There are a few nice touches like the close-up of an alarm clock and the perspective of the scene shifting in a moment with Rose and Jack. “Telepaths” #1 is a soap opera at heart so most of the scenes here are singularly focused on those big talking head moments. I have to hand it to Epting for making some of the most obscene moments in this issue look normal. Jack’s awkward birthday surprise could have gone a lot worse with a different creator at the helm of the story.
Continued belowComic books have to take risks in order to stand out in a crowded marketplace. The relationship drama and obvious dialogue hold the “Telepaths” #1 script back. The worst tendencies present from Straczynski’s run on “The Amazing Spider-Man” are definitely back here with the weird relationship drama between Jack and Rose. It is hard to be optimistic about the future of “Telepaths” because of all the focus here on the thinly-characterized protagonists. Straczynski’s tendency here to hide a dark, melodramatic secret with every supporting character reeks of obvious storytelling. I have a hard time imagining what kind of audience this kind of story is for. A more casual-focused comic book like this will not be able to target the right audience because that audience would rather be watching television.
“Telepaths” #1 has a lot going for it on paper. Straczynski is an important comic book writer and Epting is a great artist. “Telepaths” #1 has a strong set of art that makes a cheesy script still look like a novel story. However, writer J. Michael Straczynski’s script falls into the worst narrative tropes of a science fiction story. Straczynski only spends a couple of pages with actual telepathy but already opens up the pandora’s box of cliches with stories that have elements of mind reading. “Telepaths” #1 is a great example of a script that would work much better in film or television.
Final Verdict: 4.0 – The absurd number of tired genre clichés in “Telepaths” #1 derails the goodwill earned from the solid artwork.
