Review: Stealth

Once per year, Top Cow releases their new ideas and concepts for new books through what they call " Pilot Season." Look at that, we even have a page on Comic Vine explaining what it is! Often, these stories are really good, but unfortunately, not all of them become ongoing series. The cool thing about Pilot Season, however, is that readers get to pick which of their favorite of all the Pilot Season releases should receive an ongoing title. If you are a fan of Top Cow, and have been looking forward to Pilot Season, then you are probably already excited about the new stories that are coming out. This week, Top Cow released Stealth, written by Robert Kirkman (The Walking Dead) with concept art from Marc Silvestri (Witchblade) and interiors by Sheldon Mitchell. So how did the new concept measure up?  
 

The Good

I am a big fan of taking a superhero, seeing how he is a flawed character, and making him relatable to readers. This is exactly what Kirkman does in Stealth, and he does it fairly well. The story is centered around Todd, a middle-aged man who is clearly depressed and struggling through the aftermath of what appears to be a painful divorce, and his aging father who seems to be suffering from Alzheimer 's disease. So where does the superhero part come in? That would be the ailing and aging father. Imagine a superhero who doesn't remember where he is and who he is fighting and why. Sounds dangerous? It is. When you first look at the cover you can tell it is Silvestri. The clean, crisp lines are his trademark. I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that Sheldon Mitchell's artistic style are relatively similar to those of Silvestri. Kirkman does a great job establishing new characters that the reader will immediately care about. He leaves you wondering, who are these characters? Who is Stealth? How did he obtain his powers? He definitely leaves the reader wanting more. 
 

The Bad

Some of the dialogue between Stealth and the group of kids he finds tagging a building came off a bit forced, maybe a little bit cheesy. Also, the dialogue between father and son in that first scene was a little bit weak, at least in my opinion. I will be disappointed if I never see another issue!  
 

The Verdict - 4/5

The issue is really solid. The art compliments the story very well and Kirkman's writing is stellar. It is a strong story, and the issue is really engaging. It is a quick read that will leave you feeling for the characters. If you like stories about flawed superhero's, then you are going to enjoy this.