Customer Reviews

Dynamo 5 Volume 1: Post-Nuclear Family (v. 1)

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3 star:		(1)
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Gage: "Can I just say that you are fine?"
Bridget: "You do realize that if Maddie's telling the truth, I'm your half-sister, right?"

With the untimely passing of Captain Dynamo, Tower City is bereft of its most powerful guardian. As supervillains eagerly take advantage of the unprotected city, Captain Dynamo's widow, Maddie Warner, in response, gathers 5 young people whom her husband had illegitimately fathered. These kids come from disparate backgrounds and upbringings. Each offspring boasts one of the various super powers which Captain Dynamo had had. Raw in training, dealing with newly-erupted familial issues, and coping with their recently unlocked talents, these five complete strangers will have to do something their old man never had to: become a team player...

In hindsight, I'm a bit surprised no one's come up with this premise before. It's certainly an intriguing one. Published by Image Comics and making its debut in early 2007, DYNAMO 5 is set in the same universe as Jay Faerber's other superhero family saga NOBLE CAUSES. In fact, it was in issue #18 of NOBLE CAUSES that Captain Dynamo met his death at the hands of a contract killer named Widowmaker, who incidentally is still at large and plying her trade. But while NOBLE CAUSES delves deeper into the soap opera elements of its cast, DYNAMO 5 does tend to focus equally on the young folks' personal lives and their thrilling exploits as the Dynamo 5.

This trade paperback, titled DYNAMO 5: POST-NUCLEAR FAMILY VOLUME 1, collects the monthly series' absorbing first seven issues. Really, I can't put it more plainly than this: DYNAMO 5 is just a ripping good, old-fashioned entertainment. Jay Faerber's writing keeps it light yet suspenseful and on point. He definitely knows where he's going with this. As well, there are several corkscrew surprises thrown in to maintain a keen interest. And Faerber fleshes out his characters enough that you get drawn in and want to know more about them. I'm enjoying the relationship dynamics among the five half-siblings, as well as their interactions with the cold and demanding, sometimes maternal but mostly scheming Maggie Warner, who definitely is keeping her own set of secrets. No complaints about the artwork, either. Mahmud A. Asrar is an excellent artistic find; his visual storytelling is bold and dynamic, and will keep you eagerly eyeballing these pages.

I like that the individual talents the kids inherit are pretty diverse. It's a pretty interesting mix. Scrap (real name Bridget, an NYU Film School grad who currently works at a movie theater) has super-strength and is my favorite Dynamo. Scatterbrain (Gage, a popular high school football jock) is a telepath. Visionary (Hector, a much bullied half-Asian high school geek) has wide-ranged vision abilities. Myriad (Spencer, an orphan and a playboy) can assume any identity. Slingshot (Olivia, a highly motivated college student, who's looking more and more like the field leader) can fly really fast. On the surface, these assorted superpowers don't translate to a team who'll simply cow and overpower villains (with Scrap being the only muscle, as it is). It's looking more like precise execution and teamwork are what'll tide this bunch over. Oh, and, naturally, a big heaping of luck. With dangerous supervillains constantly popping out of the woodwork and the shady government agency F.L.A.G. persisting in not minding its beeswax, I'm curious to see how imaginative and clever Faerber will be regarding Dynamo 5's battle tactics and strategies. And, while these young 'uns seem to be handling their angst relatively well, Faerber can't possibly keep them on such an even emotional keel, can he? (The answer is no.)

DYNAMO 5 has got me hooked and has me salivating for each new issue. Most often, at this early stage is when a comic book is at its best and freshest and most inventive, when the writer and artist are the most hyped up and still discovering new things about their creations. So why not get onboard? Seven exciting issues, collected here, and, all I can say is: so far, so very good.

This first volume of the new Dynamo 5 series offers tremendous value with seven issues for ten bucks. The nearly omnipotent, but late Captain Dynamo sired five illegitimate children, each possessing one of his superpowers. When his widow Maddie Warner discovers his legacy, she contacts each of the offspring and assembles them into a team. Dynamo 5 battles villains in Tower City with Maddie as a Professor X-like leader. The story offers strong characters and several plot twists and the artwork is also excellent. I bought this based on an enthusiastic Pipeline Podcast recommendation and was fully impressed with the book, enjoying it more than Marvel's comparable Young Avengers series.

Thank god Captain Dynamo got himself whacked, otherwise we the readers would never have encountered Dynamo 5, five of his illegitimate children brought together after the unfaithful Captain's death by his widow Maddie Warner. Read this book and meet

SCRAP: Beautiful and alluring graduate from NYU Film school who possesses her dad's super-strength!

SLINGSHOT: Equally sexy and sophisticated heroine with the power of hypersonic fight!

SCATTERBRAIN: Would-be pro-footballer and teenager with the disturbing ability to read minds!

MYRIAD: Smooth talking womanizer who bounced around foster homes as a kid, now possessing daddy's shape-changing ability!

VISIONARY: High School nerd desperately seeking to lose his virginity, with incredible vision powers to boot!

No sooner have these five half-siblings met when they are thrown into battle against their father's old enemies now seeking to take advantage of the power-vacuum in Tower City. WHIPTAIL! THE VEIL! SYNERGY & CRYSALIS! Will they survive these monstrous foes? Buy this book, which collects Dynamo 5 issues 1 -7, and find out. Highly recommended for those who liked Robert Kirkman's Invincible, and for those readers who are tired of having their favorite superheroes recycled.

The concept behind this book and the superhero group it contains is good. The story and character dynamics can be very compelling. But the writing is often stilted, especially when dialog or internal monologue is used as exposition. The art is uneven, caught in a limbo between "realistic" and "superhero stylized." Often, teenage characters appear ten years older than they should. I enjoyed the book despite its grating flaws, but can only give it a mild recommendation.

Dynamo 5 vol. 1 is definitely worth the price! A great start to a fun series with interesting characters. It's paced very fast so a lot is happening in few pages. This isn't a slow-burn comic like something Bendis would write. This comic is the equivalent to a summer action movie. A very well done action movie.

That is also what it somewhat suffers from--the pace. It's a lot of characters thrown at you with little back story. Hopefully that will be resolved in future volumes, but as a standalone, the characters are a little thin because of the pace and space limitations. But what is there definitely tantalizes the reader on what's to come.

As for the story, it's not exactly breaking new ground in parts. And with some ideas it felt less of an homage to the BIG TWO publishers and more of a direct pilfering (Lizard Man formula?). While an argument can be made that everything in comics has been done before already, I would've preferred a little more originality.

But all of those are really minor quibbles with a book that is quite frankly heads and tails above the majority of comics out there now. And the concept of splitting a Superman-like character's powers into his offspring is really ingenious. I'll certainly be buying any future volumes that come out.

I don't generally love Image comics, but I love this book. The basic concept is silly - a Superman type dies, and his wife discovers that he was a big jerk who slept around a lot and fathered a few illegitimate kids. So she rounds up five of the kids, shoots them with radiation, and grows herself a super-team in which each kid has one of Dad's five super-powers (strength/invulnerability, flight/speed, eye beams, telepathy, shape-changing). It's all a little convenient, and it really shouldn't work, but it does. The costumes look great - colors and symbols to look like a team, but each actual costume is adapted to the wearer - and the kids interact well together. They have their own personalities and concerns, and while I wish they had shown a bit more reluctance to call each other family (especially the kids who thought they already knew their dads), I mostly love the way they come together as a team. There are some behind-the-scenes mysteries, but not to a level that drowns out the main stories, and this collection is really a collection of some well-done old-fashioned superhero stories with an unusual team concept.

Somehow Jay Faerber creates a comic that isn't dark, edgy, or gritty but is super fun and hip without being forced and cheesy. I had so much fun with this title. Interesting characters and story twists without being too involved. I'm so glad I picked this up. Can't wait to read the next one. Great stuff!

This series has a great concept, and I would recommend it to any lover of comic books. It has plenty of action, character development, and shows that even superheroes have flaws. Everyone can relate to at least one member of the team- whether you're the overachiever destined to fly, the brainy kid with a vision, a sly shapeshifter, the star player with still untapped potential, or the frustrated dreamer with hidden strength, you'll find something for you in this book. And then there's the complex relation between Maddie Warner and the 5- they represent her husband's infidelity, as well as his legacy. The Dynamo 5 will keep you on the edge of your seat, and leave you wanting more when it's over, so pick up your copy of this masterpiece and escape into the world of Tower City and join Slingshot, Visionary, Myriad, Scatterbrain, and Scrap on a captivating adventure! On to Volume 2!

This is a great series, I wish I hadn't missed the individual issues, but the trade paperback is just as good if not better.

I was really impressed with this new book. It's pretty hard to come up with a new superhero concept that can catch on. Most of the best new ideas are really new riffs on old ideas. Basically this book is about a Superman-like hero who cheats on his wife and fathers 5 children with 5 different women, each of whom receives one of his 5 powers. After the hero disappear his wife tries to bring the kids all grown up together to protect the city that he is no longer there for. The story goes back and forth between these very normal half-siblings learning about each other for the first time, and dealing with becoming super-heroes and all that entails. Very enjoyable. Recommended for those who like the comic Invincible.