Omega Unknown
Comic Summary: Written by JONATHAN LETHEM with KARL RUSNAK Art by FAREL DALRYMPLE & PAUL HORNSCHEMEIER The story of a mute, reluctant superhero from another planet, and the earthly teenager with whom he shares a strange destiny -- and the legion of robots and nanoviruses that have been sent from afar to hunt the two of them down. Created in 1975 by Steve Gerber and Mary Skrenes, the original Omega The Unknown lasted only ten issues but was a legend to those who recall it -- an ahead-of-its-time tale of an anti-hero, inflected with brilliant ambiguity. One of Omega's teenage fans was award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem, who has used the original as a springboard for a superbly strange, funny, and moving graphic novel in ten chapters.
Codes: 75960605783200111 AUG072249
- Price:
$2.99$2.39- Artist:
- Farel Dalrymple
- Artist:
- Paul Hornschemeier
- Author:
- Jonathan Lethem
- Author:
- Karl Rusnak
- Release Date:
- October 3, 2007
- In Stock?
- Yes!
- Genre:
- Superhero
- Lists:
- Not on any lists. Start your own!
Customer Reviews
The first thing that strikes you about Omega is the artwork. Dalrymple’s coarse, cartoonish style evokes years of indy titles. However, it’s clear this is a stylistic choice: individual panels are thoroughly rendered, with full backgrounds and details. At second glance I decided it reminded me more of Golden Age artwork. Once I adjusted to it, I enjoyed the departure from typical comic art.
The storyline is somewhat familiar to me, although I never bought the original Omega. Back in those days I was juggling an allowance, so new titles got short shrift. I did soak up some of Omega’s backstory through guest appearances in books I did read, and it was typically convoluted, to the point where I was glad I never picked up the title. Lethem seems to be updating and modernizing the original tale, which is certainly appropriate.
The original Omega was an artificial life form linked to another artificial life form (okay, android) in the form of a boy. The new book maintains that part of Omega’s story, but establishes considerable mystery about the origins of both Omega and the boy, Alexander. I have a minor quibble about the hospital releasing the boy into the custody of a nurse (I’m pretty sure there are a number of rules to be followed in such cases), but other than that, I’m curious to find out more about both Omega and Alexander. I’ll be back for the next issue.
1 pts.