It’s 1952 and a sailor has been lost at sea after a nuclear test. He comes back with super powers and begins to operate as a hero for the benefit of the entire world. To aid him in his quest, a team of experts and media consultants are assigned to him. But one of his oldest associates is found on the verge of death and then dies. Who did it?

In 1993, DC Comics editor Brian Augustyn created a mini-series with artist Jim Baikie called Blackmask. It was the story of a vigilante that fought the mafia and dumbfounds the police in his quest. The story, it’s visual look and feel felt like we were reading a modern take on a real 1950s comic book super hero. At the time, I remember wishing strongly that Blackmask was part of Jim Robinson and Paul Smith’s The Golden Age. The feel was right, the tone too. I got a similar vibe when reading the first issue of The Mighty.

There is a touch of ligne claire, echoing Black and Mortimer, as well as strong inking work that would put master inker Matt Wagner to shame. But instead of being thick lines meshing the illustrations in overbearing shadows, Snejbjerg adds textures reminiscent of Eduardo Barreto. Visually, this comic book cannot fail.

Now, the story. The set up is different. I’m not sure if the Mighty is really to be trusted. It feels like I’ve read this story somewhere in Robinson and Smith’s The Golden Age – right down to the buzz hair cut of the prodigy. As a set up issue, it did it’s work, although nothing groundbreaking was introduced. But I’m a sucker for comic book superhero stories set in the 1950s, so who knows. This story could be the more than sum of all the other series I’ve alluded to above. It could have the epic depth of The Golden Age and the gritty reality of Blackmask.