Book Review - Midnighter and Apollo (2016-) #1

Midnighter and Apollo (2016-) #1 by Steve Orlando
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have no clue what happened in this comic, and have less idea of who these people are, but the hype around the new Midnighter comic has been around for an age, so why not give it a shot. I don't delve into DC comics much - I can hardly make it through more than a few Marvel comics at a time before bursting a gasket, so with DC my tolerance level is way lower. But this one feels a bit different. Midnighter seems like a nice guy stuck with a pretty rotten ability - one he never asked for. Apollo seems like a seriously nice fella, with a heart as golden as his hair. Together they seem to be the ideal yin-yang team for a comic book series.

I really enjoyed this book, even though most of it made no sense to me. There are God Trains and a dude with facial hair only on half his face (like... what?); there's an entire cast of weird looking supporting characters with even weirder names who avid readers will be intrigued by; and the central baddie is a guy Midnighter has history with but is unknown to me; and poor Apollo's in a soup that we're supposed to be terrified by but it's meaningless words to me; and all I can say is that I still loved it! I'm cool with not getting the background of this stuff, because the central relationship is a solid one, and one we can understand and get behind. I quite like the humanity imbued in the comic's superhero characters, it really appealed to me. I hope the rest of this six-part series continues in the same vein, pivoting the grandiose action with a human interest drama. Midnighter and Apollo is one of the more refreshing comics I've come across in a while and I believe is more representative of DC's shift towards better quality comics. Here's hoping for more.

View all my reviews