NO HERO #0 by Warren Ellis(2008).
© Avatar & Warren Ellis

Mania Grade: A-
Comic Series: No Hero
Authors: Warren Ellis, Juan Jose Ryp
Publisher: Avatar Comics
Price: $1.00

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NO HERO #0

To truly excel at anything, one must put other concerns aside in the relentless pursuit of a goal. Those that have truly mastered a craft harbor a near-obsessive love of their work. That love extends to sacrificing both personally and professionally to simply become the best. In the first (well, zero-eth) issue of No Hero, writer Warren Ellis asks how far someone might go to become a superhero. In his world, chemist Carrick Masterson has developed a drug called FX7 that turns regular citizens into “new humans.” He introduces his team in 1966, in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district. Calling them the Levellers, the team dons black leather and gas masks to both fight gang violence and racist police officers. Seeing that Masterson has no agenda other than altruistic vigilanteism, society accepts his team and allows the heroes to fight crime unimpeded. Through the latter half of the 20^th century, Masterson’s team undergoes a name change—now called the Front Line—a costume change, and a rotating roster of members, all of whom gradually succumb to the debilitating side effects of FX7—a drug only Masterson understands. Much as the real 1980s began a long reflection upon and criticism of the drug culture of the 1960s and ‘70s, the same decade of Ellis’s world shows one of the former members living in a dead-end apartment, ravaged by FX7. Charlie Kraft—the former Doctor Shift—reiterates the central question of No Hero—how far would you go to be a superhero. Ellis poses the question in a story that begins with a murder of a member of the Front Line, echoing the start of Alan Moore’s Watchmen. The new Doctor Shift finds his teammate, Judex, mutilated by someone who clearly understands superhero physiology better than anyone should.

Exploring the idea of superheroes in a “real world” context has moved past clever and become clichéd. However, Ellis writes with an angle that hasn’t been explored nearly as much. Becoming a superhero would require a commitment above and beyond that of almost any other profession. Anyone that has mastered a craft or profession knows that being the best means forgoing a lot. In the case of the Front Line, they subject themselves to a chemical compound that carries horrible side-effects—among them, “Constant pain. Headaches. Sunlight hurts.” And, some new would-be crime-fighters will have to ask themselves how far they will go. According to the afterward, Masterson has begun the search for replacements for the Front Line in the wake of a few murdered members. It might be too much for most aspiring heroes, because someone will always push just that little bit harder on his or her way to the top. 

No Hero promises to be a fascinating examination of the limits people will push for a dream. This prelude issue only offers a taste of the story and plenty of background information. As such, it serves as more of an enticing introduction than a satisfying read in and of itself. But, readers should pick this one up and begin this eight-part “serialized graphic novel” before it moves too far along.

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