Black Adam: The Dark Age TPB
© DC Comics

Mania Grade: B+
Written By: Peter J. Tomasi
Art By: Doug Mahnke
Publisher: DC Comics
Pages: 144
MSRP: 17.99

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Trade Paperback Review: Black Adam - The Dark Age

Prior to reading the 52 series, I really had little knowledge of Black Adam as the entire Marvel Family of characters were ones that I simply never cared for. His interactions with the DC Universe certainly go back a long way and the way they brought him into play during 52 made it for a very engaging story arc. The character of Black Adam was, like so many other characters in that series, humanized greatly and given an interesting range of events to sift through.

 At the end of that series, it was done in a way that really made me want to see more of Black Adam. Like Renee Montoya, I wanted to see the next part of his story, where his life would go and what would happen. With his powers sealed under a new word of power, Black Adam now finds himself like any other normal man in the world. Except he’s a man who has had great power, both politically and through his superhuman godlike abilities. With all of that behind him, and the personality that he has, it’s plainly obvious that he will spend his time seeking out a way not only to regain his abilities but also that which he has lost as well.

And it’s in this area that the Black Adam: The Dark Age series takes on some eerie parallels to the Ralph Dibny storyline in 52. Ralph’s journey there to find a way of bringing his wife back to life is something that Black Adam is seeking here as well, though he has a few more hoops to leap through first. Ralph’s journey is one that led him through some cultish issues and dealing with others who were trying to warn him away from such pursuits before he ended up dealing in the realm of magic. For Black Adam, he ends up encountering Faust early on and going right for the gold in acquiring his powers in some fashion that will let him seek out that which he needs.

Black Adam: The Dark Age does take on a rather simplistic quest mode for the bulk of it once it establishes the basics. Seeking out the parts of Isis’ ring and hunting them down so he can use it as the proper catalyst is another area where there are similarities to Ralph’s storyline. And like that, Black Adam makes his way through various parts of the world and encounters old friends and enemies. Such things are amusingly interchangeable considering his long history however. And with his status as worldwide criminal number one after what happened in Bialya, China and elsewhere, he has to work rather under cover for most of this.

Through these six issues, Peter Tomasi brings in a rather solid cast of cameo characters and supporting heroes and villains to work with. Black Adam’s use of loyal fanatics is the proper angle from which all this starts, but it shifts into dealing with the Marvel family itself nicely after awhile as well as a number of the core big name superheroes that drop in to deal with some of the repercussions of his moving about the world. The best one for me was to see a proper face off between him and Hawkman after all this time, especially considering the lengthy (and repeatedly altered) history the two share from his time in the Justice Society.

When it comes to spin-off sequel series from the big tent series, especially one like 52, there’s a great chance for poor writing and artwork. Thankfully, Peter Tomasi is more than up to the task of working with a very multidimensional character, especially considering what changes he went through in 52. The internal dialogue that Black Adam goes through is engaging as is the way he deals with the world. What usually concerns me the most with these kinds of series is the artwork, but the team of Doug Mahnke and Christian Alamy really knock this out of the park. It’s consistently beautiful throughout with a lot of really haunting scenes. The first raising of Isis in particular is wonderfully done and the emotion from the last panels of the final pages is solid. Mahnke’s artwork really seems perfectly suited to bringing out the conflicted world that Black Adam lives in.

After being highly interested in following Black Adam’s adventures after 52, Black Adam: The Dark Age gave me exactly what I wanted. I took familiar themes from 52 with other characters, placed them on him, and then twisted it around in a way that leaves you wanting more. I’ve never had much affection or interest in this character before but after this series I would certainly want to see more limited run series about the character. I can’t imagine a properly sustained ongoing series for him but they could do some really solid work, especially with this team, in a series of limited run books. If you liked this character in the 52 series, definitely grab this one.