The Good
When creating a new comic franchise, the first issue is often hit or miss. I did my best to avoid hearing anything about this title before reading the first issue. With the story beginning in 1932, Mark Millar gives a great first impression of these new characters. You get a great sense of adventure as they prepare to head to the unknown. With the vibe set here, I started getting excited. Frank Quitely's art with Peter Doherty's colors nicely captures the time period and pulls you into the story.
Before we get all the backstory, we are brought to 2013. With "Legacy" in the title, it makes sense. We saw the beginning and now we're seeing the after affects of how this story started.
Millar and Quitely introduce us to a world where heroes do exist and most of the supervillains have been taken care of. You get different themes of endorsements, the partying lifestyle, offers of sexual favors and of course superhero battles here. It's all done in a way to give us an idea what the real world might be like if superpowers actually existed. It's not presented in an overly crude way (as we've seen before) but it does establish the mindset of different individuals.
You definitely are left with a feeling of wanting more. With the gap between time periods you wonder what has happened as well as what's coming up. We get glimpses at a few different characters and we'll have to wait to see how much of a role each has in upcoming issues.
The Bad
When it comes to Mark Millar stories, there's often some good and bad mixed in. We do get that. It's the long running debate of whether or not certain material is necessary for a comic. Millar has thrown more in our face before so there is that.
The opening pages gives a sense of a grand and epic story. That soon shifts to a grittier feel taking place in modern times. We get some seeds of possible plot lines but not a completely clear idea what the focus of the series will be. Will we find out more about the mystery in the beginning? What about the argument that took place? And of course there's a tiny cliffhanger at the end. Maybe it'll be all of the above and more.
The Verdict
Mark Millar and Frank Quitely have successfully created a new superhero universe. We are treated to some new characters and a sense of mystery as we watch the events of the story unfold. Millar is known for not holding back with certain themes or ideas and it's nice to get an almost subdued level of the graphic intensity we've seen in the past. As this is an introductory issue to this world, there is a lot to juggle. We don't get a complete idea of where this will go. With the characters, art and color, you definitely want to find out more. The next issue or two may be the deciding factor of whether I like this series or love it. This could be a fun ride.