January
29 Villains: Thick as Thieves

Creators: Adam Cogan, writer; Ryan Cody, Charles Clark, artists
Viper Comics, 144 pages, color, $12.95
So? Comics from the villain's point of view have been tried before to varying effect, but this one manages to overcome the most obvious pitfalls of stereotype to tell a reasonably entertaining story. Story follows 20-something college dropout Nick, who loses his job and accidentally discovers his building's super is the supervillain called Hardliner. Nick forces the old man to train him to use the superpowered Hardliner armor to start a life in crime, learning all about the structure of the underworld in the process. The writing and art borrow heavily from Powers, and it's hard to avoid comparing the two. Fortunately, Villains sticks with its plot and works pretty well as a reversal of the standard hero-learns-the-business plot. There's some nice pinups and even a backup story about the early days of the Hardliner that make this a decent package for the price. Grade: B