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Halcyon #1-5
Halcyon
¿Qué ocurre cuando la interminable batalla por la verdad y la justicia, termina? En un mundo sin crimen ni violencia y una raza humana que parece haber superado las tendencias agresivas, los superhéroes de Halcyon parece que han completado su misión. Pero un miembro de el superequipo no está conforme con el nuevo estado...
Marc Guggenheim y Ryan Bodenheim unen sus talentos para desarrollar esta idea, con reminiscencias al Watchmen de Alan Moore.
Marc Guggenheim y Ryan Bodenheim unen sus talentos para desarrollar esta idea, con reminiscencias al Watchmen de Alan Moore.
ebook
First published August 30, 2011
63 people want to read
About the author
Marc Guggenheim
943 books174 followersMarc Guggenheim grew up on Long Island, New York, and earned his law degree from Boston University. After over four years in practice, he left law to pursue a career in television.
Today, Guggenheim is an Emmy Award–winning writer who writes for multiple mediums including television, film, video games, comic books, and new media. His work includes projects for such popular franchises as Percy Jackson, Star Wars, Call of Duty, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes.
His next book, In Any Lifetime, coming from Lake Union Publishing on August 1st.
Guggenheim currently lives in Encino, California, with his wife, two daughters, and a handful of pets.
Keep up to date on his latest projects with LegalDispatch, a weekly newsletter where he shares news and notes about writing, comics, and the entertainment industry.
Today, Guggenheim is an Emmy Award–winning writer who writes for multiple mediums including television, film, video games, comic books, and new media. His work includes projects for such popular franchises as Percy Jackson, Star Wars, Call of Duty, Star Trek, and Planet of the Apes.
His next book, In Any Lifetime, coming from Lake Union Publishing on August 1st.
Guggenheim currently lives in Encino, California, with his wife, two daughters, and a handful of pets.
Keep up to date on his latest projects with LegalDispatch, a weekly newsletter where he shares news and notes about writing, comics, and the entertainment industry.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 15, 2016
A great, exciting, and unique look at superheroes, and a world that (possibly) doesn't need them anymore. What would happen if there were no more war, crime, or violence of any kind? What would the heroes do? It's an interesting, philosophical question that Bodenheim does an excellent job of exploring through a murder-mystery-esque plot. Who made the world good? Is it natural? Even if its unnatural, does it matter, since violence is a thing of the past?
This is genuinely one of the best superhero comics I've read in a long time. Gripping, with interesting characters that are just analogous enough to other heroes we're familiar with (mostly the Justice League) that we don't have to spend a ton of time developing them. They're archetypes for sure, but that's important here. It makes it that much easier to digest, and makes the 5-issue length pretty much perfect.
This is a book that sticks to its guns, never backing away from its premise, and exploring to pretty much its fullest extent. I think the only thing that would make it better would be if it were ACTUALLY the Justice League, but who cares. This is a great, compelling read that I can't recommend highly enough.
This is genuinely one of the best superhero comics I've read in a long time. Gripping, with interesting characters that are just analogous enough to other heroes we're familiar with (mostly the Justice League) that we don't have to spend a ton of time developing them. They're archetypes for sure, but that's important here. It makes it that much easier to digest, and makes the 5-issue length pretty much perfect.
This is a book that sticks to its guns, never backing away from its premise, and exploring to pretty much its fullest extent. I think the only thing that would make it better would be if it were ACTUALLY the Justice League, but who cares. This is a great, compelling read that I can't recommend highly enough.
October 22, 2012
What if superheroes became obsolete? That's the question Marc Guggenheim asks with Halcyon. And while this is an interesting philosophical quandary, I really had to slog through this exposition of it. This could easily have been a "did not finish" for me, and probably the only reason I *did* finish it was because it was short. I did not find myself invested in the characters (the super heroes) or their plight...maybe because normal people have to reinvent themselves (and freakin' adapt to change!) all the time in order to outrun obsolescence. It's hard to sympathize/feel sorry for people/beings who are SO powerful otherwise who then somehow can't figure out how to deal with a pretty mundane problem. If crime didn't exist aren't there other things on which one could focus one's energy and attention? Disease, poverty, politics? I can think of a bunch of things to do. Superheroes must not have much imagination? Or maybe when you're accustomed to the hammer method of dealing with problems, everything looks like a nail. The how of how the world got to be such a nice place was far more intriguing than the superheroes' ways of dealing with their place in it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2011
DC's
Justice
touches slightly on the idea of the bad guys winning, with humanity turning against the heroes because they are incapable from saving the world from the greater threats like starvation, but Halcyon goes deeper, offering a world where all but one superhero becomes redundant. Humanity loses the desire for violence and wrongdoing, which means there is no place for superheroes whose lives were dedicated to the prevention of such, much less supervillains whose lives were dedicated to causing it.
The resulting reactions of the main characters is an interesting, though brief study for all but the two main characters, Zenith and Sabre, who are easily comparable to Superman and Batman.
Zenith finds the freedom of responsibility refreshing, while Sabre, known for his use of deadly force, has no desire to remain in a world where he has no use. Everyone recognizes that whatever has happened is unnatural, but Sabre is the only one who wants to stop it, resulting in a climactic ending and twist of loyalties.
I've always joked that Gotham is a crime hole because Batman would be bored if it were anything else, and Superman would have nothing to do if he couldn't drop criminals off there. But I'd never truly considered what would happen if superheroes truly did succeed in defeating the evils of the world. Justice came close to offering this story, but there were still nefarious schemes at the heart of the supervillains, even those putting an end to sickness and starvation. Halcyon addresses the "what do we do now?" question that would be left for superheroes, particularly those who take their jobs too seriously, or know nothing else.
The advantage this story has is that these characters are all new. This isn't a story DC or Marvel could tell without making it occur in an alternate universe with shocking splash pages and cover images, resurrections and fandom backlash. Here, not bound by fandom, Halcyon is able to tell the story without pulling punches, which was a refreshing change.
The resulting reactions of the main characters is an interesting, though brief study for all but the two main characters, Zenith and Sabre, who are easily comparable to Superman and Batman.
Zenith finds the freedom of responsibility refreshing, while Sabre, known for his use of deadly force, has no desire to remain in a world where he has no use. Everyone recognizes that whatever has happened is unnatural, but Sabre is the only one who wants to stop it, resulting in a climactic ending and twist of loyalties.
I've always joked that Gotham is a crime hole because Batman would be bored if it were anything else, and Superman would have nothing to do if he couldn't drop criminals off there. But I'd never truly considered what would happen if superheroes truly did succeed in defeating the evils of the world. Justice came close to offering this story, but there were still nefarious schemes at the heart of the supervillains, even those putting an end to sickness and starvation. Halcyon addresses the "what do we do now?" question that would be left for superheroes, particularly those who take their jobs too seriously, or know nothing else.
The advantage this story has is that these characters are all new. This isn't a story DC or Marvel could tell without making it occur in an alternate universe with shocking splash pages and cover images, resurrections and fandom backlash. Here, not bound by fandom, Halcyon is able to tell the story without pulling punches, which was a refreshing change.
July 11, 2012
Un magnífico cómic que me había pasado. Decidí leerlo gracias a la recomendación de David Sanz y me ha encantado.
Como obra, es redonda.
Como publicación... me hubiese gustado que se hubiese promocionado mucho más para que la gente tuviese más referencias y se decidiese a leerlo. Por otro lado contiene dos capítulos 4 y carece de capítulo 3. No afecta mi lectura pero me gustaría que estos detallitos se cuidasen un poco más.
Como obra, es redonda.
Como publicación... me hubiese gustado que se hubiese promocionado mucho más para que la gente tuviese más referencias y se decidiese a leerlo. Por otro lado contiene dos capítulos 4 y carece de capítulo 3. No afecta mi lectura pero me gustaría que estos detallitos se cuidasen un poco más.
May 24, 2021
Creo que no soy su público objetivo o que hay cosas que no he terminado de pillar.
Está bien la historia y el dibujo, me ha gustado el color y el estilo narrativo, pero la trama y personajes se me han quedado muy a medias. Había algunos q eran como guiños a otros personajes... Y otros que no les he encontrado especialmente el sentido o la gracia. Al final en conjunto no ha estado mal, pero no me parece una historia memorable ni diferente.
Está bien la historia y el dibujo, me ha gustado el color y el estilo narrativo, pero la trama y personajes se me han quedado muy a medias. Había algunos q eran como guiños a otros personajes... Y otros que no les he encontrado especialmente el sentido o la gracia. Al final en conjunto no ha estado mal, pero no me parece una historia memorable ni diferente.
October 21, 2012
An interesting look at what happens when superheroes lose their reason for being. While not terrible, it kinda feels a bit bandwagony, since there are several other, better deconstructions out there. Also there are a few wtf/deus ex machina moments that cheapen the ending a bit. Not terrible, but not top tier, either.
March 29, 2020
A great five-issue miniseries picking up a question the authors had at the end of Watchmen (how would superheroes react to a reduction in crime and war in the world, making them redundant), and building a tight mystery around it, with a Batman / Rorschach character driving the plot. The artwork is good, particularly the wide establishing frames of cityscapes and hidden bases, and the lettering is excellent. Some of the figure work is not as strong, and two of the superhero designs are very similar to the point where I got confused which was which. However this still a fun, snappy read and a new angle on a very old and tired genre.
February 6, 2025
A perfectly okay, mildly entertaining, but ultimately forgettable read.
November 12, 2025
3.5 out of 5.
September 21, 2011
Writers Marc Guggenheim admits in the forward that he and writing partner Tara Butters were insipried by Alan Moore's famous Watchman book (she by the movie having not read it). The question becomes what happens if evil disappears from the world? I'll avoid spoilers, but the Batman analogue Sabre begins an investigation into the event refusing to let go because he feels his free will has been violated. As in Watchmen and Squadron Supreme the analogues of DC Comics characters abound. The one thing I will spoil a little is the humor I find in Sabre's sex partner (they keep saying they're not lovers) being the female Superman analogue Zenith. A heterosexual version of Midnighter and Apollo if you will.
November 1, 2013
I picked up this title not knowing to expect and I'm quite surprised by the story. Though not wholly original, it is better than a lot of comics out there with no popular superheroes in their stories. While one might say the superheroes here are uninspired, I think it fits for this book as it focused on the problem at hand which is the sudden disappearance of crime and violence all over the world.
I'm giving this a 3 because I felt it was really uneven. The curses are censored and yet this book has no problem in showing blood and gore. Also, some of the scenes are unintentionally funny, like when the hero goes to the final place. I really liked how it ended, and if they ever release a follow up, I'll probably read it.
I'm giving this a 3 because I felt it was really uneven. The curses are censored and yet this book has no problem in showing blood and gore. Also, some of the scenes are unintentionally funny, like when the hero goes to the final place. I really liked how it ended, and if they ever release a follow up, I'll probably read it.
April 14, 2013
3.5 stars -- Like Watchmen, this is a superhero comic for people who don't like superhero comics. Set in a society in which all human evil has been conquered, superheroes face irrelevancy. This graphic novel offers a meditation upon the nature of evil and the motivations of villains.
August 14, 2016
3.5 Stars
Pretty good art overall, but some of the characters looks too much alike.
Pretty good art overall, but some of the characters looks too much alike.
May 24, 2015
Dark and deep.
The true definition of a utopia that makes almost all superheroes irrelevant, and how they deal with not having a purpose.
Apparently the twist in the ending is a little hard to spot.
The true definition of a utopia that makes almost all superheroes irrelevant, and how they deal with not having a purpose.
Apparently the twist in the ending is a little hard to spot.
June 27, 2015
A modern day self fulfilling prophecy.
June 2, 2021
Goes a bit too close to Watchmen near the end, but otherwise a great story on what happens to heroes if there are no villains.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews