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The Black Plague #1

By Hervé St-Louis
August 7, 2006 - 07:18

The Black Plague is the story of the second generation villain who plans on taking over crime families and super villain organizations, just like his predecessor did. As there has not been any costumed vigilante or villain for some time, both the FBI and the criminals are shaken by this new villain. Somewhere in a park, the first Black Plague, now retired, plays chess with his retired arch enemy, an unnamed super hero, while secretly plotting the next course of action of his protege.

The Black Plague borrows much from standard super hero stories and that’s why it’s so easy to understand. The multi generational angle popularized like DC Comics’s JSA is reused here. The story borrows elements from other pulp and radio super star but say more would spoil part of the story. Story-wise, it works, although one has a feeling of deja vu with this series.

One thing I find amazing is that Boom Studios is going into the bonafide super hero market now that is has created a niche for itself in horror and thrillers. Sure, there’s the work done on Hero Squared and The Planetary Brigade, but that is more Bwa Ha Ha Ha super heroes with the distinctive touch of Giffen and Dematteis rather than standard spandex. The Black Plague is spandex and although all the elements are right, the total sum just doesn’t compete enough for my attention that material from Marvel or DC Comics.

The art is the weakness of this series. Bax is not a suitable super hero artist. While the storytelling is fine, the renderings are too generic to fool readers. The characters don’t look dynamic enough to make you feel you are reading the story of larger than life people. A more modern inker would have improved over Bax’s storytelling. Even the Johnson  cover and the colouring are uninspiring. This is not the type of cover that jumps at you. It’s more something to be expected from 1990s and 1980s Marvel Comics.

7/10

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51