'Black Hammer' Review: It had potential, but was wasted

Last year I started really getting into comics and browsing through the various titles that I had missed over the years, as well as a couple new ones. I was refraining from entering the superhero side of things, your usual Marvel and DC stuff just wasn't appealing to me, I wanted to find things with some interesting art and unique stories, which led me down a few fun paths into the discovery of more indie comics, though still published by relatively large publishing houses. I got a bit too busy to be reading things for a while, which kept me out of both the general literature and comic worlds. But I've been settling in a bit more in a new place and finally have some free time to relax and pursue my interests again, which has since pushed me yet again down that road into comics. I tried visiting a nearby comic book store for some new things to check out, as well as roaming through the publishing companies and seeing what their latest releases were. I came across a comic that came out a few years ago, but its premise seemed quite interesting to me, something that took the superhero genre and did something a bit more different with it. Good reviews all round, which had me curious. This premise was the idea that in a nostalgic world of superheroes, back in the retro days, a group of heroes gave up their lives to save a city, to which many either died or were oddly transported to a strange realm.

This realm was almost like purgatory, neither here nor there. A space in which they were stuck in with no way to escape. Trapped within a world that much resembled their own, to which none of them seemed to have much interest in attempting to explore. For the most part, these characters were aged, and stuck on a farm with a life they attempted to adapt to. A life totally different to the ones previously lived as people and heroes. It seemed like an interesting idea to me that rejected the general premise of heroes, and instead looked into the idea of what happens to characters that are no longer needed, perhaps now over that age of being useful. A sort of forced retirement in which they can't really find things to do anymore. How would a character adapt to a world that no longer cares and needs them? Would they accept the passing of time and find a simple life again, or would they be tormented with the everlasting itch to return to their former lives? I had many of these questions upon entering the first Black Hammer comic. I expected a series of stories that would go into the characters and handle their pasts and present, to look into character development while handling a narrative that continues the question of how those characters would escape this realm.

I didn't quite get what I expected, and none of those questions I had were ever answered, but Black Hammer had an interesting premise that certainly held a lot of potential. And led to a series of spin-offs that I am yet to read, so perhaps some of those questions may lead to those answers at some point. Though this will review the first comic. I assume it's more an introductory creation to set up a series of upcoming events, but whether it can continue to hold my interest is another question, one of many already existing.

Black Hammer

Black Hammer dives into the characters already stuck within this strange realm that none of them can seem to comprehend. Slowly introducing a series of characters that each had their own abilities back on regular Earth as superheroes of some sort. Aside from some other characters which were created with more mystical events. Each of them seems to know they're stuck in this space on a farm together, tired and bored of the life they now lead. Though there's one in particular that seems content: an aged man, a former big superhero that's now ready to just enjoy his final years on the farm with a simple life and find love. The idea of a regular life finally sounding incredibly ideal to him, which is an interesting take on the whole story given we have the perspective of a character that doesn't seem to care what's real and what isn't at this point, he's where he is and he's actually content with it, not asking questions or all that interested in finding a way out. Usually in these types of stories we see the characters losing their minds, incapable of adapting. Though this is still the case, I liked that there was one that was just tired of life, ready to accept any sort of life that could be considered peaceful and simple. A regular farming life. The rest of the characters have their own weirdness to them in other ways.

There are volumes which dedicate themselves entirely to the backstory and developments of specific characters within the narrative, though I felt that a lot of this was rather underbaked, to the point where the entirety of the story felt introductory and purely exposition. Constantly speaking of upcoming potential events or teasing those questions that have no answers, as if to imply that sometime, perhaps one day, it might start to answer them, though I was left having finished the entirety of Black Hammer without any of those answers. I would've liked to have seen a few more hints, something to keep me interested, though I never really saw anything in that regard. I did enjoy some of the more personal stories which did add to the characters and their depth, though not all of them were all that interesting. Primarily the ones that added to the discovery of why some characters seemed so broken and odd, standing out more from the others. Some also had more personal stories that focused more on regret or their emotions, and how they're tormented in this realm and can't truly be themselves. A contrast to our aged retired hero that does find some peace there. But between personal drama was not enough of the broader narrative, it stagnated for a while as it dived into the personal drama and teased at there being something more interesting in the realm.

One thing to observe was how one character tried to research the town, only to discover that the library had empty books. This added a layer of mystery that I really wanted the story to explore more, given it meant that this realm was some sort of created thing, something that was clearly false, as nobody seemed to pay attention to the manufactured aspects of it all. Particularly given how this town was one that still had people living in it, people that seemed to have their own lives and interests, acting as regular people. Just that the former heroes couldn't disclose their true nature, and kept themselves relatively in secret. While those specific volumes did give some context into our main characters, detailing their abilities and how they obtained them, it didn't explore all that much their present turmoils. Most of this was injected in the regular volumes to give things some padding, showing how ultimately all of them are either crazy or rather depressed. It handles this idea of nostalgia quite well though, showing how so many of them look fondly over their better days, while also showing their regrets and struggles having delegated much of their lives to serving others at the cost of their own families and personal lives. Again, I do think there could've been a bit more, as the story felt like it was just stagnating for a while, over the span of 13 volumes. Usually enough for entire stories in other comics. I do feel that this was purely made to be introductory and expand upon everything in later editions, which seems to be the case.

Perhaps not worthy of a read if you're more caring for your time. There are stories out there that get moving much quicker without the need for so many volumes and side stories. To enter Black Hammer seems to be to enter a full on franchise, and I'm just not sure it's really worthy of such an investment. I'll check out the next edition though to see where things head and make a final conclusion over it. That appears to be Age of Doom.