Review: Edison Rex #1

This book has me in a bit of a conundrum as to how I’m supposed to describe it to you without ruining the entire issue. I can easily sum up what the series is about in one sentence, but then that will make reading and talking about this issue pointless and I don’t want to do that. Although the book was not 100% unique it was still interesting and the character of Rex is decent enough to read the series alone.

The issue begins with Rex waiting in his lair for the superhero Valiant to arrive. He’s been waiting for him after leaving him clues to follow that he felt were very obvious. Valiant is ready for a fight when he finally arrives, but Rex wants to talk to him first. They take the nickel tour through the lair stopping by the “Death Booth” first in which Valiant asks if it actually works and to which Rex replies yes if you stand still. Rex then walks him through their sordid past together in which he’s been outshined by Valiant since his arrival. He then goes into the discovery of Valiant’s origin and how he was created from a transmission from a now, dead planet. Additionally the transmission is meant to change the person created into a conqueror.

If you haven’t figured it out yet I will now jump into Spoiler Territory to explain. Rex is basically Lex Luthor and Valiant is Superman. They’re history together is about the same, but where the two are different is in this story Lex Rex eventually becomes the hero. In that regard it switches to more of a Incorruptible vibe as the villain must play the hero in the hero's absence.

The story itself was very good with strong dialog and steady pacing with Rex talking the reader through everything alongside Valiant. Really the only part I didn’t care for was the, “This is my take on Superman and Lex Luthor” plot. I like where the story is going, but with stories like this they always fall back to this first plot point at some point and if I really wanted to read Supes and Lex I would just buy their book. Hopefully, it will deviate from this a lot otherwise I can see it getting boring quickly. That probably won’t stop a lot of people from buying it the way many others have for other such inspired stories.

The art is great and was definitely a treat to look at while reading. It has a classic cartoon/comic style to it that’s a bit like Ed McGuiness’, but with far more variety and detail. The coloring also gave it a great look with a pallet similar to Invincible. Brightly colored, but with a flat finish so that it’s not blowing out the line work of the pencils. I was very impressed with the art and it caught my attention enough that I will definitely be back for the second issue.

It's not the most original storyline, but the actual quality of the series is very impressive and some of the writer’s best work to date. This is another launch title from MonkeyBrain and is definitely worth the .99 cents you’ll have to put down to get it. If you’re more of a print person then you’ll have to wait longer for the book, but its still worth it. All in all I have to say that this is another impressive outing for the publisher.

Score: 3/5

Writer: Chris Roberson

Artist: Dennis Culver

Publisher: MonkeyBrain Comics

Price: .99

Release Date: 7/2/12