Jupiter’s Legacy #1-3 Review

A new title from Image, and one with a lot of promise. It is quite a familiar premise, a world of super heroes where one man stands above all, a situation that is always difficult to maintain!

We are introduced to the various characters just after the 1929 wall street crash and Sheldon Sampson has lost everything. He has a series of dreams that make him visit a mysterious island. He takes his brother and some friends on the journey with him. We don’t find out what happens on the island, but they return with super powers! After this initial section, the events take place in modern times, with Sheldon and his wife Grace well established at the top of the super hero food chain. Their children Brandon and Chloe suffer, having grown up in the spotlight. They worry about advertising deals and live the life of pop stars or Hollywood icons. They both have emotional problems and feel bitter about their lives. Brandon is drawn into a plot by his uncle Walter, which attempts to change the status quo.

This has an impressive creative team with Mark Millar and Frank Quietly. Quietly is one of the best artists in mainstream comics today, and he really adds to any project he’s involved in. This series deals with fairly familiar subject matter, that of dysfunctional super heroes. It is a path well trodden by the likes of Alan Moore, and this will do little to re-invent the genre. It is quite gripping though and while it is hard to believe the motivation of some of the characters, if you put that aside it is an enjoyable tale of Gods among men.

This series is believed to be part of a 12 issues series, although this remains unconfirmed. It is published by Image comics.

Find out more about Jupiter’s Legacy here.