Crackling With Energy: Reviewing ‘Black Lightning’ #1

Amanda Waller was defeated, and the powers of the DC Universe were returned. Except, there were quite a few complications. Good thing the Justice League is back and Black Lightning is here to answer the call.

It’s a family affair as the electrically powered educator takes the spotlight again with Black Lightning #1 from Brandon Thomas, Fico Ossio, Ulises Arreola, and Lucas Gattoni.

The human element.

This is one of the keys to some of the most compelling stories featuring superheroes, or capes as they’re known colloquially on the internet. Seeing the connections between characters, their insecurities, their hopes, their dreams, their fears, and so much more connects us. Sure, we love a good superhero slugfest or power action scene, but the character depth generally keeps us coming back for more.

A book like Black Lightning has that in spades. It helps that Jefferson Pierce is one of the very human characters out there with his particular circumstances. That includes having a family with two superpowered daughters, his deep educational background, but also his status as one of the more premiere Black heroes that DC Comics has to offer.

There was no way I was passing up this book once it was announced, but the fact that Thomas was the writer made it even more a lock. This isn’t the first book starring a Black superhero from Thomas that I gobbled up happily, as he was the voice behind Aquaman: The Becoming and Aquamen which both starred Jackson Hyde, the Aqualad turned Aquaman.

Starting this series with the vulnerability of Jefferson was a perfect choice. Both in the sense of easily establishing his feelings and his relationship with his ex-wife, but also showing what effect Amanda Waller’s Absolute Power coup is still having. Superheroes shown as humans dealing with stress, failure, and other emotions always get a giant thumbs up from this writer. As said above, that vulnerability and human element makes stories even more compelling. Sure, the action is pretty sweet but two heavyweights just bashing each other with no other story elements involved is pretty darn boring.

Additionally, the overall premise of Jefferson and family reaching out to the growing number of new metahumans (predominantly showing up in marginalized population centers) is beyond solid. It’s a progressive, proactive idea for superheroes and fits both his status as a father to two metahumans as well as his past in education. Talk about understanding the character and the world.

All of this is captured so well by Ossio on the page. I’ve not encountered their work before, nor that of colorist Arreola, but I’m definitely looking forward to more. It has a rougher texture mixed with softer and smoother elements. Giving the space and the characters a lot of weight and presence on the page which helps with the story beats overall. There is a ton of detail and depth in many of the panels that allow the city spaces — and the Watchtower — to feel truly living and breathing in their own respects.

In other cases, that detail is pulled back background-wise to really capture the characters and their emotional journeys. Part of making that work means having facial expressions and body language that are clear and sing loudly. There is no worry about that here as the anger, fear, joy, and other emotions are clear as day.

A heavier hand of colors plays really well with those of a lighter variety here. Each palette style has the same overall heftier feeling with how Arreola delivers them. Night scenes and day scenes feel dynamically different, as they should, and very authentic to how the lighting works in both cases. Many of the more toned-down or shadowy tones are saved for the backgrounds and cities giving things the right feeling.

Thomas’ name wasn’t the only one I was happy to see associated with this book. Gattoni’s lettering work is one that I came to enjoy over on Catwoman. So, I’m glad to see that same attention to detail and solid ability to craft tangible voices applied here. Great additions of colors, always a sucker for caption boxes that use logos or other elements, and just a great sense of flow all around. There is a lightness to it all that plays well against the darker or heavier elements of the overall story.

Black Lightning #1 is now available from DC Comics.