City of Heroes (2005 Series) #10

February 2, 2006

Quick Rating: Good
Title: Trading Places Part 1

Manticore is off the job – at the worst possible time.

Writer: David Wohl
Pencils: David Nakayama
Inks: Roland Paris
Colors: Sonia Oback & Blond
Letters: Troy Peteri
Cover Art: Rodolfo Migliari
Publisher: Image Comics/Top Cow

Although this edition of City of Heroes continues to have a new writer with each story arc, this is the first time where we’re given any sense of continuity, as Wohl picks up on a thread from Dan Jurgens’s recent storyline – specifically, Manticore killing the villain Proteus. An unapproving Statesman places Manticore on suspension, not only from the Freedom Phalanx, but from acting as a superhero in Paragon City at all.

While the suspension is being handed down, though, a pair of rookie heroes get in over their heads, and only Manticore and the ex-sidekick team called the Vindicators can lend a hand. This is one of the things I really enjoy about this comic, particularly this story arc and the Jurgens arc – I’m a big fan of the game, and the various missions and historical tidbits you find give you a sense like you’ve stepped into a long-running superhero universe. With characters like the Vindicators or stories about Manticore’s father, you get that same sense in the comic book. You don’t feel like you’re part of something new, you feel like you’re part of something as timeless as the Marvel or DC Universe, and that’s what you really want.

As far as the story itself goes, it’s good. The hero ostracized from his team isn’t a new concept, of course, but that kind of gets back into the basic idea of the game – this is a superhero universe (and specifically, a superhero city) like any other. The heroic archetypes are familiar enough that people who don’t play the game won’t have any problem following along. For fans who do play, however, it’s fun to see the characters and environments you’ve interacted with in comic book form. (Just two days ago, in fact, I played my first mission in the part of the city called “Dark Astoria,” and was quite excited as I read this issue and learned the backstory of that very community.)

David Nakayama has been a more consistent presence on this title than any of the writers, and that’s to the good. While there are certainly a lot of stories to be told about Paragon City by a lot of different voices, keeping the same artist around gives the book more of a feeling of stability that I think is important. Nakayama is a very strong artist, perfect for the kind of classic superhero storytelling this book requires.

I love this game, and I’m becoming a bigger fan of the comic as well.

Rating: 7/10