“The Blue Flame” #1

“The Blue Flame” #1 blends salt-of-the-earth superhero vibes with cosmic consequences. Warning: spoilers ahead.

Cover by Adam Gorham

Written by Christopher Cantwell
Illustrated by Adam Gorham
Colored by Kurt Michael Russell
Lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
THE BLUE FLAME is a cosmic hero. The Blue Flame is a DIY vigilante that fights crime on the streets of Milwaukee. The Blue Flame is a blue collar HVAC repairman named Sam Brausam. In the wake of a horrific tragedy, the boundaries of the Blue Flame’s identity blur even further. Now, before a universal trial, the Blue Flame must prove that humanity is worth saving. But in order to do that, Sam Brausam has to save himself. Can he?

“The Blue Flame” #1 opens on Sam in space, adrift. He lands on an unknown planet and is quickly taken into custody by an insectoid species, then delivered to an intergalactic tribunal for a mysterious trial. We cut to his life back on Earth, learn about his superhero team and run headlong into a tragedy at a convention that might be connected to the reason he’s in the space spotlight.

Emphasis on might, here, because “The Blue Flame” #1 suffers from a lack of narrative clarity. The story seems interesting, but indie superhero books shoulder the burden of decades of history, and that history and its accompanying standards can be punishing. Cantwell structures this first issue in a strange way, and the juxtaposition of the two stories feels incomplete. There’s no indication we’ve flashed back or forward in time, and while parallel storylines might be interesting, there’s also no indication there’s anything amiss with linear time. We’re left scratching our heads as we try to orient ourselves, and one issue isn’t enough time to get that done and sink into the details Cantwell packs in to get us acquainted with Sam. We’re also introduced to Sam’s five other superhero pals, and Cantwell needs to do quick writing work to establish their team roles, initial character traits and potential points of drama before we’re whisked off to a catalyzing event. Slowing the pace a little would help this first issue breathe, and allow us to sink into the plot at a more organic clip.

Gorham’s art does good work to make Sam take up space on the page and feel like an engaging, lived-in character. Gorham sidesteps some of the scaffolding with subtle cartooning, good character design (mostly based on superhero homage) and spare space details to make Sam feel like he’s rooted on Earth and very much at the mercy of the cosmos when he’s out there. There are a few moments of gentle comedy, some genuine human connection between Sam and Zola and stripped-down background details that direct our attention to the faces, muscles and expressions on display. Gorham’s line is relatively spare, with shading on the spandex and superhero materials to give costumes some depth. Anatomy is recognizable in humans and not too outlandish in the aliens. One quibble would be with panel structure, as the book lacks a bit of character in its layouts, and the final page has to leave room for some narration that would otherwise be served by a balanced juxtaposition of the two present panels. As it stands, it’s bottom-heavy, and we have to do too much reading on that page to make the final moment land. A script edit here could have helped.

Russell’s colors are good, if a bit dependent on some slick light sources that are occasionally at odds with the texture on the page. Still, Russell works hard to create a palette that’s not garish or poppy, and the grim winter tones in Sam’s establishing scene are the perfect daylight shades for contrast without relying on blinding white snow or dim blizzard conditions. The galactic details in the first few pages are very cool, and Russell’s work shines with subtle blending and eerie flair. The spotlight that Sam walks into earlier in the issue as he greets the tribunal is too bright in digital form. It’s meant to be blinding, but the effect for the reader is too jarring to satisfy. It’d be interesting to pick this one up in print to see some of the grit on the physical page, and for the analog feeling the team tries to evoke in the book’s aesthetic.

Otsmane-Elhaou picks a snappy dialogue font and uses some subtle touches, like Sam’s faded hello in the brilliance of the spotlight mentioned above. Gunshot sound effects might be too sketchy for the book’s aesthetic later, but erring on the loose side feels better than going for something too crisp and tacked-on. Otsmane-Elhaou also goes for old-school titles at the beginning of the issue, but the text is too small to read past the picked-out phrases, and there’s something too clean in the font style to achieve the Golden-Age effect the team wants here. Again, a script edit might help, because Otsmane-Elhaou has to pack a lot of text into two small boxes. The final “Mysterious Center of our Very Universe!” has the good grit we want. It’d just all look better if it was bigger.

Overall, “The Blue Flame” #1 introduces a somewhat subdued and interesting superhero within a bit of a muddled first issue. Stripping down the plot, adding clarity for the time skips and perhaps saving Matteo for the second issue, when we’d have more time to understand who he is and why he’s here, would streamline the narrative and make this first issue pop a bit more. Cantwell, Gorham, Russell and Otsmane-Elhaou achieve a subtler origin story than most, and that definitely will pique interest for indie superhero fans.

Final Verdict: 6.5/10 – “The Blue Flame” #1 spotlights an interesting superhero with character potential, but stutters just a little under its own narrative ambitions.