Future Quest Presents Birdman #7 Review

Writer: Phil Hester

Artist: Steve Rude

Colorist: John Kalisz

Published by: DC Comics

From time to time I am reminded why I love comics so much. This is one of those times. Ever since DC Comics launched their Hanna-Barbera line almost two years ago with some funky, revamped properties, I re-fell in love with a lot of these characters I knew from my childhood. This new series encapsulates everything I loved about those cartoons by bringing some old-school sensibilities to today’s comics landscape.

This issue by Hester and Rude pretty much has it all. Excellent action, some great intrigue and a whole lot of hero getting his groove back, for a lack of a better expression.

As we left off the last issue, Birdman was being confronted on two sides. On one side, a woman who claims to have known him in his past life is also claiming that her dying son is his. On the other, we have Mentok on the verge of realizing his ultimate plan: the complete destruction of humanity at the hands of the flesh gods.

All of this might be to much for any other hero, but as I said above, Birdman is getting his mojo back and is up to the task of not only having to confront his past - with the help of Inter-Nation’s files on him - but also looking towards the future as the hero he knows he can be.

On art, Rude is nothing short of masterful in this issue. His pencils convey so much movement and action in every panel he draws that it will take a few re-reads to fully embrace everything that is going on on the page. Couple that with Kalisz’s fantastic colors in this issue and you have a comic that does exactly what a comic should do: be a visual storytelling medium.