Local Man – 2023-2024 (Image Comics) – Superhero, Drama, Mystery, Action
Author: Tim Seeley
Art: Tony Fleecs
Series Contents: Local Man #1-13, 25 + One-Shot Special Issues: ‘Gold’ and ‘Bad Girls’
What happens when A-lister superhero CrossJack flunks out of the big time and is sent back home to his small home town in Farmington, Wisconsin?
Story:
Local Man covers some ground that feels so very familiar in every aspect: Superheroes. In fact, it uses so many conventional elements that it almost seems like something that has been done before, or even many times over. In reality however, Local Man brings some fantastic ideas to the table, and uses all the familiar superhero tropes to drive home its own niche of storytelling: a grounded and realistic drama about a super ability having man and his battles with internal demons. Oh, and there is also death, destruction, mystery and havoc.
Jack Xaver has had a rough couple of years when we are introduced to him. He grew up in a small Midwestern town, Farmington, started to get a name for himself as a dead-eyed never missing shield utilizing super hero, and joined the big time with the biggest team in the nation: Third Gen. Life was great. He had a tough team of bad ass heroes, his own nemesis Hodag that he could easily take down while looking good doing so, fame, and admiration from the world.
However… drama was afoot. Eventually Xaver disgraced himself as public details leak out about some internal Third Gen strife. Yikes. CrossJack is shitcanned from the squad, and the nation turned its back on him. Not only that, but due to legal standing, Jack cannot ever become CrossJack again, or even utilize any of his trademark looks, weapons, or anything tied to his past. Well, damn. Jack is feeling down, which is why he returns home.
What should be an easy reconciliation with his mother, father, elderly dog Pepper, past flame and small-town assholes turns into an all-out extravaganza of excellent storytelling. Mystery comes calling quickly, however that’s not all. Xaver will have to process his own past actions, his past mentality, his past relationships and everything he thought he knew about Third Gen.
As the pages turn, the elements all heat up fusing into an awesome superhero drama which feels very natural somehow while still being packed with the usual wonder and large-scale nature of a typical Marvel or DC book. This is done utilizing a perfect balance of past and present, shifting art styles to match the narratives, and other smartly included mechanics to draw it all together.
The story really is solid and covers a few short arcs while a few special one-shot issues also introduce some good concepts. After it completed a 13 issue (plus two One-Shots) run, it jumped ahead a “year” to show a future of where things go, publishing issue #25. This was effectively the series finale, as it was a surprise cancellation point for the series. I am not too sure about how planned this was, but based on how good Local Man is, I would think it was not the original idea. For NOW, unfortunately this series is over. I want more, and what we have is quite good.
Art:
The art is great and offers a few distinct styles as it tells its “present day” slog through slow life of everyday Farmington, versus the glorified and amazing Third Gen flashback tales to the past which reflect typical large scale superhero battles and snazzy team outfits. Color schemes make it easy to tell whether we are in the now or romanticizing the past. Details of characters and backgrounds are nice and it’s easy to tell what is going on even in bigger moments.
Action feels in motion, and it fits very well into the Image style of its early years when looking at the flashback pieces (and I believe this series even mentions some early Image series’ and exists in a shared universe, however I am not as familiar with some of those core Image titles, other than Spawn.)
In general, the art is great and fits the book well, and helps make this a hard to put down piece.
Reasons to Read:
Local Man offers a whole lot despite a seemingly already utilized “superhero down on his luck” premise. There is humor as well as darkness, and it remains somehow realistic feeling despite its outlandish powers and ideas. If you like superhero stuff but are still turned off by Marvel and DC issues which number in the 1000s, then Local Man can be a great appetite pleaser. I do wish there was more, but hey, it could be back in the future. Isn’t that what superheroes do these days anyway?
Similar Titles:
Kick-Ass; Geiger; Nemesis; The Boys; Prodigy; Extremity; Birthright; Prophet