I recently discovered @jefflemire & Dean Ormston’s BLACK HAMMER from @darkhorsecomics, and I am *obsessed*. It’s something of a deconstruction of the typical superhero mythos, riffing on so many tropes found in contemporary superhero comics, and creating something wholly original yet steeped in nostalgia.

Ten years ago, the heroes of Spiral City came together to defeat Anti-God and were subsequently thought killed in the final battle. In fact, they found themselves transported to Rockwood, an idyllic small town that seems too good to be true; if you scratch the surface of the town too deeply, you’ll start to discover flaws. Where is Rockwood? Why is there a perimeter around the town that if crossed, means certain death?

I’ve read the first two Library Editions, collecting the first run of the series, and the subsequent Age of Doom storyline, and will be picking up the third Library Edition when it releases later this year. In the meantime, I’ve got several tie-in miniseries to work my way through.

If you’re a fan of offbeat superhero comics that are not your typical superhero comics and you haven’t read BLACK HAMMER yet, fix that. There are so many clever nods to so many mainstream characters and plots, and there is even some meta-building with the characters knowing they are part of a story and can still have an affect on that story’s outcome; the whole thing just had me hooked from the beginning. I love my “traditional” superhero comics, but these deconstructed stories, when done well, can really make you rethink the entire medium.

#ReadBlackHammer #blackhammer #theworldofblackhammer #jefflemire #deanormston #darkhorsecomics #bookreview #graphicnovel #comicbooks #comicbook #bookstagram #bookblogger #frommybookshelf #frommybookshelfblog ( )

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It's an enjoyable enough read with good art for the most part but it seems like a long haul for a story that ends up in the same place it all began. I can't imagine what it was like to read it as a monthly. Two years to tell this story? ( )