Jupiter's legacy

What happens to an extended family of superheroes and their friends when a growing disaffection with authority prompts a brutal coup against their leader-led by his own brother? With both her superhero parents murdered, Chloe must go into hiding with drug-distributor bad boy Hutch, son of the greatest supervillain of all time. The narrative jumps time frames, beginning in the past and returning there in the middle to show how the Utopian, Chloe's father, and his army of superheroes were born from the gifts received by an alien race. The final part of the tale is set in a future where Chloe and Hutch have a young son who must also be protected. If it all sounds intriguing, it only gets better with the exquisite storytelling of Millar (Kick-Ass, The Secret Service) and the emotive and explosive line work of Quitely (All-Star Superman, WE3). The veteran duo are adept at creating immersive environments and mesmerizing vistas that the characters naturally inhabit. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

After discovering a mysterious island in 1932, a group of Americans acquire superpowers. Cut to the global strife and shallow celebrity culture of 2013, when the long-standing policy of benevolent assistance without interference in earthly affairs cannot satisfy some of those "heroes," while their progeny refuse to realize their potential. In the wake of the inevitable treachery, cut to 2022, after the supermutineers have seized control and hunted down the last of the superpowered.or have they? In the epochal Miracleman, Alan Moore delivered the last word on superheroes as modern myths; in short, the übermensches create a perfect world and are revered as gods. The prolific Millar (Kick-Ass; many superhero titles) knows this but adds his two cents in Jupiter's Legacy, blending Miracleman, Fantastic Four, The Incredibles, Hamlet, and Henry IV & V, plus Quitely's customarily fine artwork, into a fairly tasty smoothie; includes a cover gallery. Verdict Like Bill Willingham's Fables and Brian K. Vaughan's Y: The Last Man, this is well wrought, unnecessary, and just compelling enough to recommend. Violent, profane, sexual, and drug-related content; suitable for YA and up.-J. Osicki, Saint John Free P.L., NB © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.