Justice Inc. : The Avenger #1

By Mark Waid, Ronilson Freire, Marco Lesko

“In the roaring heart of the crucible, steel is made. In the raging flame of tragedy, men are sometimes forged in more than human. It was so with Richard Benson. He had been a man. After the dread loss inflicted on him by an inhuman crime ring — he became a machine of vengeance…”

That quote should be more than enough to get you to pick up the first issue of Justice Inc. : The Avenger #1. But if it’s not, then read below and hopefully there’s enough fancy words to entice you.

Mark Waid is the writer on this series and in issue #1 we get a good look at all the different members of Justice Inc. as a woman enters their headquarters in need of their help — she’s seen… a GHOST! Not your average ghost mind you, since this one has transparent skin… but appears to me a regular man otherwise… is he leading our heroes into a trap?

The artwork is done by Ronilson Freire alongside colorist Marco Lesko. There’s some great play with various patterns in the background, especially when they come face to face with the “ghost” in an old-looking building — the tearing wallpaper, broken floors, and stained carpets (Lesko does a great job of making this place feel old and broken). A fight breaks out between Benson and the ghost and Benson soon finds himself knocked to the floor and crashed into a wall. Freire makes a great scene that shows just how old the building is as Benson’s fingers tear at the floor beneath him as he slides backwards — the impact of his head hitting the wall causing a crack.

A sensational story chock full of old-timey goodness issue #1 of Justice Inc. : The Avenger introduces a group of heroes reminiscent of the Golden Age of comics, setting included. Waid presents a confident character in Benson, but is this confidence going to be his downfall?