Review: SIDEKICK #2
The entire premise behind Sidekick is really interesting to me, it’s crossed my mind before, but never in this strong of a fashion. What happens to sidekicks, once they grow up, once they lose their hero? Not everyone graduates from Robin to Nightwing.
You never see what happens after. That’s what makes Sidekick so fascinating.
After his partner was killed Flyboy was left to a meaningless life, pointed in no direction, at least no good one. After struggling, succumbing to vices you’d think a hero would be impermeable to and failing to try and get back into the swing of the superhero lifestyle, he’s stuck.Writer, J. Michael Straczynski paints this picture of a hopeless hero, who’s not only lost his partner, but his best friend too. Jammed between a rock and a hard place, he’s really got no where to go and you feel for him, he was a good guy and now he’s nothing.
But Straczynski does let some shivers of light break through the cloud. Flyboy regain some initiative on the motives he’s learned about the death of the Red Cowl.
Most of the issue is taken up by flashbacks giving us a look at the origin of the main character, Flyboy and his relationship with The Red Cowl, his deceased partner. Still, he’s struggling to find out who he is now. Flyboy visits some familiar faces but it all just reaffirms what he’s become and it’s far from a hero.
Tom Mandrake does a nice job with the pencils in this issue, but some awkward coloring that sometimes distorts the characters and their expressions holds it back from really expressing it’s full potential. Still, he does a adequate job of carrying on Flyboy’s exploits with this world’s that’s either forgotten him or degraded him entirely.
The second issue of Sidekick is still moderately interesting, but it still retraces a lot of what we know and can easily infer, filling up pages that could be used to speed up the plot in a more enticing direction for readers with old news and clichés .
J.R. Johnson