Vibe #1
The new origin for the character is pretty good, as far as explaining how people get superpowers are concerned, but it doesn’t explain as much as you’d like. Furthermore Vibe’s introduction to the superhuman world feels shoehorned and contrived. I won’t spoil it for you, but it seems like the kind of thing that Johns may have thought of in an attempt to make the new DCU look like one big puzzle . I applaud him for trying to make it all seem interconnected and cohesive, but it doesn’t feel natural and brought me out of the story. It’s not poorly written, it just doesn’t feel complete or concise.
The things that work about the story aren’t the things you’d expect in a superhero comic staring a singular character. All the really interesting plot points and action don’t belong to Vibe and the story doesn’t even get fully engaging until the last page.
Artist Pete Woods does a decent enough job for what he is given, but what we get isn’t 100% eye candy. Though not every comic can achieve this, it does help that exposition heavy scenes have good artwork to move you along, but Woods’ art only gets really interesting when there are lots of explosions or parademons.
Vibe #1 isn’t a mess like some debuts have been lately, but it’s not that close to being a comic I would get excited for every month. The artwork is fine for what it is, but the story is boring and forced at times. It plants a lot of seeds for an awesome future, but I have my doubts I’ll be sticking around to see it.
Rating: 5 / 10
Go to page 2 for our review of Justice League of America #1!
