From: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu (Michael Rawdon)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Grade Report: "HammerLocke"
Date: 21 Nov 92 05:45:39 GMT
Reply-To: rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu
Organization: University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Dept., Madison, WI

Spoilers for the DC series HammerLocke...

The covers of this series proudly proclaim, "Tomorrow's superhumans are here!"
as if it were some Earth-shattering event.

Well, it may not be Earth-shattering, but HammerLocke from DC *is* an event,
and most certainly *not* because of the superhumans.  The superhumans are
incidental; this is, in reality, a science fiction and human interaction
story.

The story revolves around the Starbridge (a relatively old idea in SF
involving a "bridge" between Earth and space) designed by Sir Archer Locke.
However, partway through construction, Locke was critically injured and his
life was saved only by transforming him into a cyborg.  Traumatized by the
experience, Locke withdrew from the project to roam the world alone.  The
project was taken over by Locke's wife Amanda and Jacob Kingman-Rhee, the head
of UNICORN (United Nations International Covert Operations and Research
Network) and an old nemesis of Locke's.

Years later, with the Starbridge operational, Locke returns, just in time to
see Hugo Tharn's terrorist Ecotechnic League kidnap his daughter and sabotage
the Starbridge.  Plus, of course, there's a host of other problems for Locke
to contend with involving Amanda, Kingman-Rhee, and other individuals from his
past.

So where, you ask, are the superhumans?  Well, Locke obviously is one (though
his cyborg technology is by now outdated), and there are several UNICORN
operatives with superhuman abilities.  However, for the most part they take a
backseat to the plot involving Tharn and the human interaction.

Creators Tom Joyner (writer) and K.S. Wilson (inker) have come up with a rich,
fascinating world against which to set their story, and pencciller Chris
Sprouse has succeeded admirably at bringing it to life.  (Sprouse may be one
of the best new DC artists of the last year; his faces are expressives, his
backgrounds interesting, his layouts and storytelling tight, functional, *and*
nice to look at.)  The story is complex, and *not* easily read at a
page-every-20-seconds pace as many comics these days.  (In fact, there is
quite a bit of dialogue, and it's impressive that it doesn't overwhelm the
art.)

There are quite a few interesting facets to the story, involving the King of
England, Hugo Tharn's terrorist league and their infiltration of the
Starbridge organization, and the background of Locke and company.  Plus, some
intriguing developments involving the artificial intelligence installed to
control the Starbridge (though so far this plot aspect has been only touched
on).

Through issue 4, this series has been very impressive.  Perhaps its only flaw
is that it is a bit slow at times, but it always leaves me waiting for the
next issues, of which there will be nine.  As a limited series, we can also
look forward to some sort of definite conclusion rather than having it drag on
forever.

This one I highly recommend.  I'm looking forward to Scarlett, Joyner and
Wilson's next series.  It supposedly involves vampires, which has me
skeptical, but their work on HammerLocke has won them my faith.

Grade: A

-- 
Michael Rawdon				 rawdon@colby.cs.wisc.edu
University of Wisconsin Computer Sciences Department, Madison, WI

"A pretty sight it seemed to be; an avenue of eternal peace,
 But he said, 'What is here can soon burn down... I'm the king of sunset
	town.'"
					- Marillion, "The King Of Sunset Town"
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc