Advance Review: ‘Second Coming: Trinity’ #1 Offers Up A Very Different Perspective, That Of The Villain

Once more we return to a world in which Jesus has returned and made the people he has come to know better people. And so it was with Sunstar. But that is now, not way back when and certainly not when he first encountered Cranius. And, like so many arch-enemies, we take these bad guys for granted. In the oft-times back and what world of Golden Age and Silver Age comics, guys like Cranius had no redeeming qualities. Just a malevolent, Machiavellian ego the size of a small corporation. But, as we witness in  Second Coming: Trinity #1, not everything is so binary. There is a lot of grey areas in anyone’s life and writer Mark Russell peels back the layers to reveal a man who you may well feel has a lot to hold again our hero, Sunstar. 

It would seem not all villains are born bad. Some are forged through trials, tribulations and the psychological scars delved out by Sunstar too. A hero who is only now, thanks to his new found friendship with Jesus, showing signs of remorse. If anything, by the end of the issue, and thanks to a prolonged scene of an earlier school reunion, you’ll think Sunstar is the dick. And, rightly so. But then, didn’t he change? Can’t we all? And, in doing so, don’t we all have an obligation to forgive?

Like so much of Russell’s writings, behind the satire lies something more profound. As has always been the case for Second Coming. It’s series that doesn’t preach, but uses the well-trodden tropes of comic book superhero storytelling to spin a more nuanced and complex take on the usual duality portrayed whenever the likes of Superman goes up against Lex Luthor. 

Once again, Russell is joined by Richard Pace (on layouts) and Leonard Kirk (finishes). Together they deliver their inimitable style of comic book art that in its ceremony of line and smooth finishes, evokes the kind of Silver Age comics Russell is drawing inspiration from. It’s a brightly coloured comic too, thanks to the colour art of Andy Troy, which helps sell the deceptively upbeat wold of Sunstar. A world that seems simple enough on the surface, but clearly has complexity to it, as is revealed by just one man’s story. Giving the villain a voice is not a new thing, but persuading the reader to empathise with him is a hard act to pull off. Something Russell, and the whole team do exceptionally well.

Another witty but deep comic book and out this Wednesday 5th April from AHOY Comics.