Writer: Keith Giffen
Artists: Bilquis Evely & Ivan Plascencia
Collects Legends of Tomorrow #1-6
I readily admit this is a book some of you may feel is coming out of left field, but it does deserve a closer look. While it is indeed cool to follow Batman and his rich supporting cast, it’s important we never forget those nearly forgotten folks who populate the DC Universe. In essence, that’s what Sugar & Spike: Metahuman Investigations is a celebration of.
Veteran scribe Keith Giffen brings the unique brand of humor he has become known for to every page that is brilliantly brought to life by the team of Bilquis Evely and Ivan Plascencia; their artwork kind of reminds me of stuff you would currently see showcased by DC’s Young Animal imprint. Perhaps it was the artistic freedom that allowed these less utilized characters to thrive. Any other collective of creators may not have been able to find the right recipe, so to speak.
For those unfamiliar, Sugar and Spike are a young duo or private investigators that take cases most would not and, as you guessed, those happen to involve superheroes and villains. But what makes it more noteworthy is that it’s never something like “Get some incriminating pictures of Penguin at the Iceberg Lounge.” No. Giffen delves into the more obscure corners of the DCU as I intimated earlier.
An example would be chasing down multicolored Batsuits right out of the Silver Age that have been apparently pilfered by Killer Moth and his cohorts. Yes, we’re talking about Killer Moth, not the Joker. It’s those little touches that add to the beauty of the tome and comic book scholars will probably eat this up. Furthermore, you can expect to see more oddball cases involving several other members of the Justice League.
While Metahuman Investigations managed to put a smile on my face on more than one occasion, it didn’t exactly knock my socks off – and this was the best thing to come out of the Legends of Tomorrow anthology book, believe it or not. It’s not that it was fundamentally flawed, it’s just that I wasn’t entirely enthralled, despite the fact that the titular characters had great chemistry. Still, I think you should give it a try if you’re considering picking up a DC title that’s off the beaten path.
Images courtesy of DC Entertainment
