Sideways #1
Publisher: DC
Story: Dan Didio, Justin Jordan
Pencils: Kenneth Rocafort
Inks: Kenneth Rocafort
Colors: Daniel Brown
Letters: Carlos M. Mangual
Sideways #1 represents the latest of DC’s “New Age of Heroes” line, featuring a young teenage kid named Derek who has suddenly developed powers in the wake of Challenger Mountain randomly appearing out of nowhere in the middle of Gotham in Dark Nights Metal #1. Origin issues are often a mixed bag, and while this entry is more successful than the first New Age of Heroes comic, Damage, it is far less successful than the second entry, Silencer.
On the positive side, Sideways is, for the first time in this new line, specifically tied into the events from the Dark Nights Metal event, which all comics in this line are touted to be. There is a flashback sequence detailing how Derek got his powers while visiting Gotham with his mom. The concept of Sideways and his power suite are interesting – he has the ability to open “rifts” or “doors” to transport himself wherever he wants, but as a new hero, he’s still getting a grasp on how the powers work, so he often ends up slighting missing his intended target location. The decision to also give him super strength is an odd, and unnecessary, choice, as the character would have been more interesting as a spy-type who tried not to get caught, or even seen, given that he would have had limited skills to protect himself.
The supporting cast so far has potential, particularly Derek’s friend Ernestine (aka “Ernie”), who is revealed to has created Sideways’ costume for him, and is aware of his powers. Her twin sister, Emie, is less developed, as are the remainder of the kids are Derek’s school, Derek’s parents, and even Derek himself. While there is limited space in an origin issue to introduce so many new characters, it would have been a better decision to focus on just Derek, his mom, and Ernie, and leave the other characters out of it until future issues.
The real star of Sideways is the art by Kenneth Rocafort, and that does seem to be a theme with the New Age of Heroes line so far. Rocafort’s character design for Sideways, while essentially almost copying Spider-Man’s black parasite suit, is sleek and eye-catching, but where the art really shines is in the details of the characters and the backgrounds. Ernie is shown at the mirror in her bathroom getting ready in the morning, and she is shown as a typical girl who just woke up, looking tired and probably not thrilled at the idea of going to school. It’s a great choice to show her this way and not as typical “eye candy” that a lot of female side characters unfortunately are so often relegated to. Further in the issue, Rocafort provides so much detail to Ernie’s room, showing typical teenage clutter, and various collections of action figures, statues, crafting ribbons, computer and gaming hardware, and much else, it really gives the reader a sense of the type of character she is. In fact, these types of details add so much more to her character that she’s significantly more developed and believable than Derek is, even though he’s the main character of the book. In addition, Rocafort’s use of perspective, wide shots, close-ups, and unique panel designs all make for a very visually appealing book.
Unfortunately, Sideways does have its problems. Aside from the lack of characterization noted above, there is also the very strong sense that this is a book being aimed at teenagers, but was written by older writers who don’t quite have a grasp on the language. This has always been a problem, going all the way back to Spider-Man’s debut in 1962. However, the situation is compounded here by the over-use of modern technology, such as a constant text conversation between Derek and Ernie that runs throughout the book, and at the end, a prolonged scene wherein Sideways chooses to record himself performing stunts and to live stream the entire thing on YouTube, even when he is being chased by the inevitable arrival of the non-descript bad guy who shows up at the tail end of the book to try to provide some necessary conflict to the story. These scenes are too over-the-top, almost screaming, “Look! We understand what the kids are doing!” which is never a good sign. Texting, live-streaming, and the like are important parts of teenagers’ lives, but it’s important to get the “voice” right and not include them in scenes merely for the sake of trying to prove knowledge of their existence.
While this first issue of Sideways is uneven, having a new teenage hero, with ideally a teen/tween appropriate plot and continued great art by Rocafort, in an ongoing book could be a great addition to DC’s stable of monthly publications. With some more work on the dialogue and character development, combined with art of this caliber, this could end up being a good title.
Martin Thomas
martin@comicattack.net
