Spinning out of August's "Red Circle" event from superstar writer J. Michael Straczynski comes the new ongoing adventures of the patriotic Shield and the mysterious man on the run, Inferno! Eric Trautmann (CHECKMATE) and Marco Rudy (FINAL CRISIS) take Lt. Joe Higgins, a.k.a. The Shield, into the hotspots civilians dare not go. His first mission takes The Shield to the razed country of Bialya, destroyed by the rage of Black Adam in 52. Something lurks in the mountains beyond militia activity, and The Shield must investigate!Plus, Inferno stars in a fast-paced co-feature from writer Brandon Jerwa (G.I. Joe) and artist Greg Scott (GOTHAM CENTRAL more
Overall, The Shield is off to a good start and definitely warrants following. As Higgins/The Shield learns more about his father, whom he believes to be dead, but actually is alive and has something to do with his sons becoming The Shield, Higgins will face some interesting quandaries. For example, will he stay an operative of the US Military, or will he eventually strike out on his own like the Marvel Universe Captain America did, and become a symbol of the people as opposed to the military? Also, how will he react to the news that his father is alive, and what toll will it take on him when he learns of the secrets that his father has been holding from him? It will be interesting to see Read Full Review
** The book has two editors, which probably indicates an editorial change during production. If thats true, then it might explain why Tyrell looks like a Czarnian but is now a Dheronian. Read Full Review
The Shield #1 is a perfect title for someone looking for a great military/superhero hybrid in the absence of Checkmate and the Freedom Fighters or a street-level adventure. If you questioned the purpose of bringing back the Red Circle characters, then this is the perfect answer because both stories represent the original characters and the DCU proper respectfully and efficiently. Follow each characters' adventures as they interact with previously established characters in familiar landscapes and hold on for the ride that is sure to begin. Read Full Review
"The Shield" #1 is a promising start to the series, although I must admit that I winced slightly at the surprise DC Universe guest-stars that showed up at the end of both of the features. Hopefully Trautmann and Jerwa can do something interesting with each of the guest-stars; I'll admit that as a cliffhanger both felt a little forced. Still, they both did a good enough job that I'm more than willing to be pleasantly surprised next month. And after all, they make me want to see another issue, so they're definitely on the right path. Read Full Review
Also featured here is a backup story starring fellow Red Circle hero Inferno. Brandon Jerwa does a reasonable job in the space he's given. He too strikes a tone that is far more grounded and realistic than the preceding one-shot. Unfortunately, the script seems to lack a real sense of purpose. And agonizingly enough, it too ends with a surprise appearance by a random DC hero. I would much rather have had these pages devoted to The Shield's story than this little diversion. Rather than try to build up all four of these Red Circle heroes at once, it may be better for DC to stay focused on a good thing and build slowly from there. And so far, it appears they have a good thing in Trautmann's take on The Shield. Read Full Review
All in all, it was an above average issue, but nothing earth-shattering. If you have a love of the characters, are a fan of the patriotic heroes, or of movies like the Bourne series, pick it up. It will stay on my pull list until it starts to disappointment me, which hopefully won't be anytime soon. I'm going with a 3.5 out of 5 stars. Read Full Review
Ultimately, while I enjoyed Johns's script, I walked away from the book feeling as though I'd just finished a rather ho-hum comic book. The reason was fairly apparent: Johns really brings nothing new to the Superman origin. Instead, he offers an amalgam of origin stories that have come before his. When John Byrne offered up The Man of Steel in 1986, he transformed the Superman origin in exciting and unexpected ways. His vision of a xenophobic alien society spawning an all-American icon and a symbol of an immigration success story was inventive, and his elimination of the Superboy phase of Superman's life had a certain logic to it. Here, Johns merely cherrypicks elements from different Superman origin stories - mainly the classic Silver Age origin, along with elements from Superman the Movie and Byrne's - and blends them together here. Mind you, he does so well, but Superman: Secret Origin lacks the freshness and originality we've seen in previous reinterpretations of the Superman mytho Read Full Review
All in all, I cant imagine the bookstore readers whom DC has surely targeted with the Earth One series being interested in reading this kind of thing, and regular comic book readers already have better Superman options. This book isnt a modern retelling of a pop-culture myth a la Marvels Ultimate line; rather, its a substandard story only worthy of attention because of the marketing emphasis placed upon it by the publisher. Read Full Review
With its pseudo-realistic mise-en-scene and total lack of imagination, Superman: Earth One is the worst kind of comic book--the kind that reads like a glorified screenplay. While this kind of faux-Hollywood nonsense was all the rage in 2002, its now 2010. We can do better, and Superman deserves better. Read Full Review
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