Radiant Black is equal parts relatable and action packed in this first volume that introduces the characters and sets up an impending large-scale conflict in its future issues.

The book’s main character, Nathan, is an aspiring writer who is forced to move back to his parent’s home and while conversing with his friend Marshall, reveals that he is in severe debt due to unknown reasons. After an evening hitting the sauce, they come across what appears to be a miniature black hole near a train station. Nathan touches it and is enveloped in a slick black and blue suit which bestows upon him enhanced strength, the power to control gravity and flight. After an altercation with the local police results in Nathan using his powers for the first time, the cops discover his identity and encourage him to use his new gifts for the greater good i.e., stopping criminals. Elsewhere, a Red Radiant is using their powers to rob banks and after discovering this, Nathan wishes to meet with them to learn about his powers, thus setting up the conflicts between the protagonist and antagonist in this first arc. Later on, Nathan begins to communicate with a large robotic being that is linked to his powers, who warns him that an impending disaster is headed towards Earth and that Nathan must be prepared to do what is necessary for survival. The final issue focuses on the origin of the Red Radiant and what motivated them to rob banks in the first place.

Certain parts of this story can be relatable to readers in today’s time. Paying off debt and living with your parents is much more commonplace than decades prior and the fact that Nathan struggles with his writing career and has to work as a taxi driver can garner him some sympathy from readers going through the same thing as many people face a similar struggle in their own jobs and doing whatever it takes to keep the lights on.
Nathan is a character that doubts himself and struggles to write his own novel. We don’t get much of his story prior to the first issue, but we can gather that he has made many mistakes and squandered multiple opportunities, both in his professional and personal life, which adds to his relatability. He initially doesn’t want to drive people around as he assumes that he won’t make much money from doing so, but after discovering the existence of the Red Radiant, he takes some advice his father gave him to heart and does just that, which eventually leads him to his quarry and simultaneously earns him a good bit of cash for putting some effort into his job. He’s also got a good moral compass when tempted by the ill-gotten gains that the Red Radiant leaves behind, choosing to go with the morally right option after their first scuffle. Overall, Nathan is a good character with no outstanding downsides to him.

Marshall is, for the most part, helpful towards Nathan when it comes to dealing with superheroic matters, like coming up with the name Radiant Black or aiding the latter in discovering what kinds of powers he has. He genuinely cares for his friend and Marshall’s behavior after the second conflict between the two Radiants illustrates just how much Nathan means to him as a friend and shows what lengths he’d go in order to protect him. He also has the occasional moment of comic relief, either because of not using various words properly, making a joke or due to being drunk. Marshall also uses his head to come up with various ideas, like creating a Twitter account to help control Radiant Black’s story or angering Nathan to help him unleash powerful energy blasts and encourages him to do more with his powers. Marshall is useful for giving Nathan direction and his humor helps to make him likeable.

The Red Radiant is the villain of this first volume and initially comes off as cold, brutal and aggressive, though their backstory depicts them in a different light as we see how they received their powers and the big issue that they are forced to deal with in their civilian life. The character gains some sympathy just like the protagonist due to dealing with said problem, similar to Nathan. The Red Radiant shows off the above traits during the encounters they have with Radiant Black, immediately attacking him after the latter mentions the police potentially finding them and threatening Nathan during their second bout. They depict themselves as someone not to be trifled with and their actions prove that fact.

Other characters have small roles within this story. The policemen at the beginning encourage Nathan to catch crooks, his father advises him that working hard at any job will yield rewards and the giant robot that Nathan communicates with warns him of impending doom and helps another character in finding the location of Radiant Red. The roles they play all contribute to moving the story forward and giving Nathan a motive and an idea to use later on, while the robot foreshadows the next story arc.

Most of the book is your standard beginner hero plot as Nathan experiences his origin story, has his first encounters with a villain, learns what he can do with his powers and helps out however he can while dealing with his own problems. The book takes an unexpected turn at the end of the fourth issue, shakes thing up in a way I didn’t see coming by introducing new characters at the end, giving Marshall an important and emotional motivation and leaving things on a cliffhanger. The origin story part also applies to the last issue for Red Radiant. There are plenty of questions that are left unanswered by the time you flip past the final page and seeking the answers for those queries helps to convince you into buying the upcoming second volume.

The artwork is expressive and colorful. Characters easily convey what emotion that they feel on every panel, whether that be fear, anger, worry or happiness. Every page has colors that fit with the scene that is currently going on, with bright colors being heavily used over more dull colors resulting in the art popping off of the page and your eyes being treated to a visual feast. The best instances of the art is seen during the battles between the two Radiant characters as their powers are colored in red, blue, black and white, all of which combine with the slick character designs to create incredible visuals that showcase just how powerful they are as they unleash various energy blasts and punches on each other, with the standout instance of their fighting occurring as Radiant Black lands blow after blow on Red Radiant as they fly over a highway at nighttime. Another phenomenal page is when Nathan first meets the giant robot that is linked to his powers. The meeting occurs in Nathan’s mind, with destroyed planets in the background. The colors help to make this part seem as surreal as possible and the design of the robot conveys that it is a powerful and mysterious cosmic entity as it towers over Nathan. The artwork is absolutely gorgeous and deserves any and all praise it gets.

Something to take note of is the language that Nathan’s new powers come with as this alien tongue is gradually embedded into his head and he begins to understand what each word means thanks to the aforementioned robot. This language sometimes pops up in regular speech balloons, when the robot communicates with Nathan and whenever Nathan transforms into Radiant Black. It’s sometimes used to censor swear words and most other instances use it to keep things mysterious. There’s a letter chart at the back of the book that allows you to decipher what characters are saying once you’ve finished reading. It’s interesting to see what characters were saying during certain scenes, but it isn’t used too often and many of the words repeat.

Radiant Black Volume One is a wonderful beginning of a new comic series. Its story is bolstered by the relatability of the main character and the sublime artwork. This is a complete joy to read and I can’t wait for Volume Two.

Radiant Black, by Kyle Higgins and Marcelo Costa (Image)

I took notice of this book after it received an Eisner nomination for Best New Series. Like most Image books it has a great introductory price point. The writer (Kyle Higgins) also wrote Power Rangers for BOOM! Studios and it appears he was inspired to put his own twist of that story and marry it with some concepts that made Invincible work so well. The art was adequate and likely patterned after Ryan Ottley’s style from Invincible…but (coming from a big Invincible fan) this finished product just doesn’t resonate with me. The characters, scenes, and story were just "OK" and didn't seem fresh or strong enough to really justify its inclusion into the category.