SIMON N. KIRBY, THE AGENT #5 – Review

The Details

• Written By: Rik Offenberger
• Art By: Alan Faria
• Colors By: Alan Faria
• Letters By: Eric N. Bennett
• Cover Art By: Alan Faria (cover A)
• Cover Price: $5.00 (digital edition)
• Release Date: June 2022 (estimated)

Was It Good?

G-Man Comics is the newest independent creator team we’ve had the pleasure to encounter, and SIMON N. KIRBY, THE AGENT #5 is the best comic we’ve yet to read from the team so far. Filled with big, hard-hitting action, an accessible plot, and a strong cliffhanger, this is the type of comic Silver-Age Comic homage that most independent creators aspire to make.

The highlight of this issue is the pure, non-stop superhero fun present on every page. The Agent is betrayed by one of his own, and he has to stop the villains before one of them gets away with valuable tech. The issue works because it follows the basic archetypes necessary for a classic hero story. The villain(s) are more powerful than the hero, and the line between right and wrong is crystal clear. Help arrives to boost up the hero, and the ending spells out more trouble to come that will require the hero to up his game. It would be unfair to say this comic checks boxes or is formulaic, but there’s a comfortable familiarity with the story that feels nostalgic for the way comics “used to be.”

There are two, minor down points. Both relate to the art.

First, this is a digitally illustrated comic, and you can see a little bit of disconnect between the hand-drawn linework and the too-perfect color gradients. In some panels, the illustrations and the coloring integrate well. In others, not so much. The disconnect gives you the impression the characters are pasted onto a panel rather than integrated into the scenery.

Second, most of the panels lack any background detail. In fairness, your eye is meant to focus on the characters, so the visual priority is set correctly, but it would help the issue if (again) the characters were in a scene rather than pasted onto a generic panel with a color gradient background.

Otherwise, the character designs are memorable, the action is big and exciting, and the action is well-choreographed.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with Simon and Mark testing the latest version of their super-suits. Simon’s testing out new upgrades after his most recent battles, and Mark is happy to push back… for the sake of science. Unfortunately, Simon doesn’t realize he’s about to turn traitor and steal his suit to become the self-proclaimed villain, Aktion.

Aktion kills Dr. Haas and heads for the exit, but the alarm sounds, and Simon, aka The Agent, puts his upgrades to the test. Unfortunately, Aktion and The Agent are too closely matched. Tigerstrike is called in to help Aktion escape with his vicious claws and hulking strength. Just as Aktion gets away, the G-Men arrive to help stop The Agent from getting crushed.

We enter the third act (and the conclusion) with one against many, a razor-thin victory, and a secret advantage.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.

Click Here To Buy This Comic

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