Firestorm, The Nuclear Man # 4 - When Laughs the Hyena

Obviously, I must make a STEPHANIE BROWN WARNING in this review.

For those who don't get the pun, that's a Spoiler Alert.

I'll confess. I've been a fan of comic books for a long time, but really only into the big guys. In fact, really only into Batman. I do a roleplay on Neopets, the League of OF... But that's beside the point. The point is, it's this Firestorm issue that changed all that. I was looking over the intrawebs one day, not in fact searching for comic books but for something related to my favorite of species, Crocuta Crocuta, AKA The spotted hyena.

When I saw this little gem, I realized I simply HAD to have it! I ordered it online (by way of Top Notch Comics) and eagerly awaited the appearance of my very own 1970s comic book.

And I've already written over one tenth of this review, and I haven't even gotten to the actual book, so here goes.

My hopes were, in fact, rather low. I was not foolish enough to suspect that the portrayal of the hyena would be anything near a real-life hyena. In that, I was corret, but I was incorrect in suspecting that it wasn't a damn good story all the same. I'll be honest, I wholeheartedly approve of any story in which the hero spends over three pages preventing the clubbing of baby seals.

Of course, I was unable to follow the story as intended, already knowing from research that Summer Day was secretly the Hyena, and actually having spotted her (I did not know of Jivan Shi at the time) being killed by Deathstroke in Villains United. However, I WAS unknowing of all the secrets and suchlike of other characters. After deslabbing the story (I have declared the CGC my worst enemies) I began to read, and was engrossed from the first page to the last, with the exception of the advertisements.

So, I'll explain my grading. I start the story out with 2.5 stars (average), and subtract or add them back as is appropriate.

Pluses

1) Firestorm stops the clubbing of baby seals +1 for environmentalism

2) This issue features a hyena! +2 because I love hyenas that much

3) Hyena doesn't have her internal monologue stated too obviously. As a result, it comes as a surprise in-story when she attacks a policeman. +1 for subtlety

4) There's a mobster named Shoe Shine and his son, Spit Shine. +1/2 for corny names

5) Doreen Day has a sister, Summer Day, born on the hottest day in August. +1/2 for corny names.

6) Villain's motivations are more complex than "Imma take over the world now, kthnxbai!" +1 for good storytelling.

7) That cliffhanger made me really, really want the next issue. If anyone has a copy of Firestorm #5? +1 for good use cliffhanger

And finally

8) Come on. Some of the things Firestorm does are just plain AWESOME + 1/2 for creative use of superpowers.

Minuses

1) Hyena primarily resembles a brown hyena, but she laughs like a spotted hyena. Additionally, hyenas are predators, not JUST scavengers. -1 for inaccuracy.

2) Additionally, she looks like a striped hyena on the cover. -1 for more inconsistent character design.

3) Attacking the policeman would have been more of a surprise if she WASN'T taunting them on the cover -1 for lack of subtlety

4) Far too much use of telling the reader "Look at the last issue! -Ed" When you're starting out a comic (IE in issue 4) you shouldn't expect the readers to all have a complete backlog. -2 for rudeness.

5) Anyone reading even in that time would find it suspicious that a relative of a main character (Doreen's sister) shows up at the same time as a villain is introduced, so they'd probably guess, yet there were no hints whatsoever. -1 for bad storytelling.

Overall... 4/5 Quite above average of a story, particularly if you like hyenas, but it's not going to win the Nobel for literature.