The Owl #1 Review


The Owl tries to add a new wrinkle in the “man out of time” story line and succeeds on many levels. It’s a traditional story but spins the tale of Nick Terry just ever so slightly on it’s head.

Official description from DYNAMITE:

Fear the shadows, the Owl has returned! Lost for 50 years in an ethereal limbo, the Owl has come back to find a violent and desperate world of strangers. The woman he loved is gone, but he remains determined to continue his fight for justice.

The latest new title from Dynamite fits into it’s classic superhero mold quite nicely. The first issue introduces us to Nick Terry a hero from fifty years ago. The book begins with Nick retelling his beginnings as The Owl and his partner Owl Girl in the Golden Age of superheroes with the art to match. Cut to modern day with all new villains, new costume and new attitude. The twist is that The Owl has been lost in limbo for fifty years and he is dealing with being essentially frozen in time and waking up in a new world. Being the Owl fifty years ago is obviously vastly different than it is today and that becomes Nick’s biggest obstacle however he seems to be adapting to his new time.

This isn’t unfamiliar territory in comics but writer J.T. Krul seems to have found a fresh angle on Nick being lost in time. The limbo aspect is a nice touch and it seems that what happened in the past has the ability to come full-circle in the present. Nick just hasn’t found it yet. Krul also adds in the mystery of what happened to his partner and love Belle, aka Owl Girl, since being trapped in limbo. The ending of the issue injects new life and purpose for Nick and makes for a very intriguing mystery. Krul has a lot of meat on the bone here and it will be interesting to see where this story goes.

Hubert Khan Michael‘s art is spot on here. The opening panels are done in true golden age style and then thrust into the modern style without missing a beat. It’s done so well and solid that I couldn’t help but study the work at more length. If Michael was an actor I would say he is chewing scenery here and as readers we are better off for it. The opening splash of the modern age Owl is a glorious piece of work.

Krul and Michael have a great start here with issue one and while not a completely original idea it’s solid and well executed. The potential is there and from what I’ve seen in issue #1 that potential will be fully realized!

3.5/5

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