Radiant Black #44
"Reunion"
Writer: Kyle Higgins & Joe Clark
Artist: Marcelo Costa & Paulo Daniel Santos
Colorist: Rod Fernandes & Marcelo Costa
Cover Artist: Daniel Bayliss
Publisher: Image Comics
Nathan’s back, and with the powers of <001>.
How will this affect his relationship with Marshall?
Black No. 1
I know it’s weird to start covering a book with issue #44, but I’ve been reading it for a while and just thought it was time. Let’s get some background out of the way first:
Nathan and Marshall are best friends who discovered a cosmic artifact called the Radiant, which let them become the hero Radiant Black. They passed the Radiant back and forth, even using it at the same time at one point. Then there came a point where a definitive wielder had to be chosen, during an alien invasion called the Catalyst War.
Two timelines played out simultaneously, one where Marshall held the Radiant and one where Nathan did. In the end, only one timeline survived, although some believe that remnants of the other timeline have snuck through...
Nathan and Marshall have a beer and some "tourist pizza" to catch up. A lot has changed in Chicago since Nathan left. Marshall is able to literally draw him a map of the new world order on a placemat, and they have differences of opinion on which threat should be tackled first.
Good thing an attack on the prison where Marshall's girlfriend Mariposa and Wendell, the former Radiant Yellow (a precognitive), are being held gives the boys something to agree on...
Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago
Radiant Black is a book that isn’t afraid of change. It’s a lot like Invincible in that regard. Every time you think the title is settling into a status quo, Bam! Things change again.
It means you can get a bit lost if you’ve missed an issue, but it’s usually easy to catch back up.
Issue #44 works as a good jumping-on point because having Nathan back gives us readers a viewpoint character who's as clueless as we are. Marshall literally maps out (with crayons) the lay of the land in Chicago in the wake of the Catalyst War, complete with who all the major players are.
Before long, the attack on the jail interrupts the boys, and they have to go into action. Marshall has gotten very confident with the Radiant, but he and Nathan aren't used to working together. Fortunately, since both men are familiar with Nathan's new powers, they're able to work out a rhythm fairly quickly.
It's been a little while since the last issue of Radiant Black, so I admit to being a little confused at the beginning since my memory of the last arc was spotty. Thankfully, there is a good amount of exposition as Marshall catches Nathan up on events, and that helped.
It was good to see the boys together again—the book has a little extra pep in its step when they're both present. If you have a best friend of your own, you know what I mean—everything just feels a little better, and you have more fun when they're around. Even when they aren't getting on the same page, they're still always going to have each other's backs.
It's always good to see Wendell too, even though he's always speaking in riddles (a side effect of seeing the future, I guess). The baddie this issue, the Sorcerer, was suitably crazy as one of those nutjobs who think that people from the dead timeline have infiltrated this one. I mean, given all the crazy things that have happened in this book, I guess maybe he's not wrong—but he's still nuts.
Oh, and the evil corporation trying to harness the power of the Yellow Radiant so they can see the future? That's not concerning at all...
Future Shock
Kyle Higgins (and Joe Clark) love putting Marshall and Nathan through the wringer, and you can tell he's getting ready to do so again here. I wouldn't be surprised if the best friends are on opposite sides by issue #50—you can just see where Higgins is setting that up here. But for this issue itself, the pacing is fast and even the exposition scenes move quickly. This is not a book known for slowing down.
Marcelo Costa and Paulo Daniel Santos split art duties, and it's one of those cases where I think I know where the split is, but I don't know for sure. There's plenty of great action in this issue, with both Radiant Black and <001> getting in creative uses of their powers as they learn to fight together. And Marshall's crayon map is hilarious-looking, with all the funny little faces and whatnot.
Rod Fernandes and Marcelo Costa color this issue, and there are a lot of cool effects going on with all the different powers. In addition to the usual Radiant effects, we have the purple glow of <001> and the weird glitching effect that covers Radiant Black after he gets smacked with the Sorcerer's giant hammer. The reveal of the Yellow Radiant is another strong use of color, making the yellow orb stand out amongst its surroundings
Many Happy Returns
Radiant Black #44 is the start of a new arc, and you'd probably be able to pick up enough to know what's going on, but it's a series that really rewards going back and catching up. Plus it's a great book anyways. The trip to issue #50 has started, and so there's going to be plenty more big happenings in this title before things slow down again.