Halcyon #2

Written by Marc Guggenheim and Tara Butters
Art by Ryan Bodenheim

It feels like there aren't all that many new angles to approach a superhero world with, but Guggenheim and Butters have found a unique take on things - a world where superheroes have become obsolete.  Okay, that's been seen before, but not where it's happened through natural progression or evolution - people have just stopped doing bad things.

The various heroes of this world are struggling with finding a place for themselves.  Some have embraced the new status quo, while others struggle to find a reason or explanation behind the changes.  There is some suggestion that this world's equivalent of Dr. Doom, Oculus, may have something to do with it, but that feels like a red herring.

While I like this approach, and love Bodenheim's art, the problem with this comic is that the characters are not developed enough to be differentiated on the page.  There's the scene where the Batman-analogue tracks down another character, and I had no idea who anyone was throughout the scene.

This series does have a lot of potential, and I hope it's better able to rise to it as it continues.