The Good
Every once in a while, DC surprises us with a new series we weren't expecting. Often, Dan DiDio is involved. INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE is not your typical New 52 title. Despite being in the third year of the New 52 relaunches, this is still the time to bring back or reimagine characters, especially ones that have long been absent.
This comic opens up on New Genesis. Right away, that should grab your attention. We haven't seen too much of New Genesis or the New Gods in the New 52. Because of that, this series has my immediate attention. The big question is what will the New Gods be like?
Keith Giffen and DiDio make this an easy comic to jump into. What it comes down to is, new readers don't need to really know anything about who these characters are. As the story unfolds, we're slowly introduced to the main players. Through very minimal interactions, we get a good idea of who everyone is, who they will be, and how they will interact with each other. A title with a team of characters needs this sort of interaction and conflict. We get a good sense of the difference in personalities and can see how this will spice things up in future issues.
Giffen does a great job capturing the Kirby feel in his art. Readers familiar with the characters and concepts will have certain expectations. You can see the potential in this series for plenty of fun and action.
The Bad
It's only the first issue but there is a pretty separate feel from the rest of the New 52 universe. If a New God was residing on Earth, is this something that would go unnoticed? Obviously there's still questions that will be answered but this almost feels separate from the other New 52 titles. That's not necessarily a completely bad thing as we're able to focus just on these characters.
When we see the 'new' characters appear, we don't really know who they all are right away. It's about half way through the issue we get all the characters' names and a brief description of them. New readers may have difficulty getting into a book with characters they're not immediately familiar with. This isn't to say we need Batman guest starring to introduce readers to these classic characters but there could be a struggle to gain the attention of some of today's fickle readers.
The Verdict
INFINITY MAN AND THE FOREVER PEOPLE isn't a comic I was expecting to see but it is one I'm thankful to see. DC has some great characters at their disposal and it's a joy to see some classic Jack Kirby characters and concept step into the New 52 spotlight. Keith Giffen and Dan DiDio are clearly the ones to handle this task. You can see in the story and art their appreciation and respect for the characters as well as some new ideas that are bubbling under the surface. The tricky part will be getting new readers unfamiliar with the characters to check this book out. Don't miss out on this. If you do, you'll regret it later.