Alpha: Big Time #1 Review

Given how much we didn’t like Alpha when he appeared in Amazing Spider-Man, approaching this mini-series with caution seemed prudent. However, with Joshua Hale Fialkov taking the reins -- a writer whose hits far outnumber his misses -- Alpha now has a reason to warrant your attention.

Fialkov immediately plays up the humor of Alpha’s situation. He’s a superhero has-been now stuck at the loser’s lunch table in high school. In this dejection, Alpha has become a little more humble and relatable while still embodying the attitude that makes him who he is. Ock-Spidey’s machinations are the cherry on top as they allow a feasible reason for Alpha to regain his superhero mantle, and it’s their snappy and humorous back-and-forth that proves to be the highlight of the book.

If there’s going to be a point of contention for this book, it might as well be the art. Nuno Plati did a knockout job on his Amazing Spider-Man backup with FIalkov, and he delivers similar results here. His fluid and heavily stylized character designs might be too atypical for some, but I enjoyed his Gennedy Tartakovsky-esque drawings where everyone has a distinct visual look along with a pair of thick eyebrows. If you hated Alpha before -- and who didn’t? -- then try this story out. You might be surprised that you come to like the little twerp.

Joshua writes for IGN. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaYehl or on IGN, where he’ll tell you more than you ever wanted to know about Green Lantern, Darth Maul, and Pokemon.

Source : ign[dot]com