Battle Hymn: Farewell To The Golden Age

by B. Clay Moore, Jeremy Haun

It's 1944, and the first gathering of super-powered heroes may well be the last. What happens when the government assembles a new breed of super-powered beings at the height of war? Who lives? Who dies? And what exactly does the government have planned for the "heroes?" Battle Hymn: Farewell to the First Golden Age answers these questions with this beautiful collection of the sold-out acclaimed miniseries.

Genres: Comics, Superheroes, Graphic Novels

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

B. Clay Moore has written comic books for virtually every major publisher, including Image Comics, Marvel Comics, DC Comics, WildStorm, Oni Press, Valiant Comics, Aftershock Comics, DSTLRY and Ignition Press.

Upcoming projects including LAST FLIGHT OUT OF WICHITA, from DSTLRY Media in 2025, in collaboration with Mack Chater. This is the first of two books from Moore and Chater, who combine to work under the Dead Echo Press imprint. Following that will be BLOODLAND.

Hollywood has spent a lot of money optioning Moore's work.

He lives in suburban Kansas City.

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just found this book behind some other trades on my shelves. I bought it used about a year ago and still haven't read it! This must be remedied, review forthcoming. I was hoping to read comments from other readers but it looks like not many people on Goodreads have read this book.

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice mini series featuring different interpretations of some Marvel's WWII heroes. I would have liked to have seen this run longer than 4 issues to see how the plot would have run out. Recommended

[Alex Sarll]

There's one Moore who looms largest in comics, but there are plenty more Moores besides, something which comes to the fore here where artist Tony Moore offers writer B. Clay Moore an introduction (Battle Hymn artist Jeremy Haun does also get some praise, but I only know the one Haun in comics so that's less amusing). It's full of excitement over the way this WWII story "presents things how they probably would have happened if superheroes walked the land". The problem being, of course, that this is an approach that other Moore used to rather definitive effect. And at least he went to a little bit more effort when it came to disguising the Charlton characters on whom he was riffing – swapping beetles for owls, ditching the loo seat hat. Whereas here...there's the fast guy, the patriotic super-soldier, the underwater man, the android, the British one. They're so blatantly the Invaders that it's a marvel they're called the Watchguard when the Intruders, Interlopers or Impertinent Visitors would have been more in keeping with the minimum effort otherwise expanded in sanding off the serial numbers. But hey, there have been great comics done by this method before, right? So what else is on offer here? Well, it's realistic, remember, so the Cap analogue is a bit brusque! But no more so than Ultimate Captain America. The knock-off Namor is first seen swimming in the nuddy, not in tiny trunks (though careful choice of angles ensures we don't see anything untoward). The fast guy isn't called the Whizzer, he's called Johnny Zip, and he smokes, and does sex with ladies! Although arguably no longer having a name which suggests he's wazzing everywhere at super-speed actually makes him less edgy. Anyway, the group, and I know you'll be shocked to hear this, don't get on terribly well! Or follow orders! And the government is up to something behind their backs! Possibly I should flag some of that as spoilers, but the chance that you're reading this and haven't already read dozens of other stories which have primed you to expect exactly those beats seems minimal. If I describe this as a photocopy of a photocopy of a photocopy of Watchmen, I'm actually being kind, but I just can't be arsed to CtrlV as many times as it would take to accurately summarise how far this exhausted, inbred end of the revisionist superhero line is from any trace of originality or inspiration.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very mixed bag, as far as I'm concerned. I like superheroes in general, and this seemed like an original assortment. However, the story felt really sloppily handled. I especially enjoy webcomics and full-length graphic novels like V for Vendetta, which allow the writer to flesh out the story to the fullest. Although the chapters of Battle Hymn were seemingly first published all together, it had the rushed, choppy feel of a serialized comic, except that the chapter endings and perspective changes aren't even graceful, they're jarringly abrupt. There were a lot of narrative choices that I found very questionable, both in terms of taste (can we at least acknowledge that sexual exploitation is a bad thing?), plausibility (is that really how an organization would set up its squad?), and plotting. A lot happened really fast, and while this can be thrilling, I wish it had taken its time to delve into the world and let me savor the action. Where did the story need so desperately to rush off to, anyway? The conclusion pretty much rammed it into a wall as far as I can tell, damaging its own chances for a sequel.
All the same, it was fairly entertaining, even if the storytelling valued means less than ends, and poorly chosen ends at that. The art was fine--more than fine, flat out great--it contributes hugely to the tone, and some of the panels are exceptional. That is why this book gets three stars instead of two. A pity the writing couldn't keep up when the premise gave this book room enough scope to be worthy of 5.

[Shane · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked the style of this one. I got it used, and signed, randomly, but that didn't matter as I wasn't familiar with the author or artist. First off, I LOVED the artwork. The style of the 40's era combined with wide panoramic frames and dark bold color scheme - well, thats what sold me on it. I thought they did a great job visualizing it, and the sketches shown from previous editions - well, i love the end product.
The story line was also pretty entertaining, though perhaps lacking just a bit in depth. After 95% of the main characters are killed off, I'm curious to see where this goes next...They are going to have to invent some new characters... I was really surprised to see how it ended, and similarly terrified.

[David Rodriguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

eh, standard noir-influenced take on the golden age of comics and tech of the time

The art is beautiful, and everyone is terrible.

Not much nuance to the "dark side" of every character, save the British Mid-Nite Hour (who turns out was the star of the writer's previous works). Everything happens so quickly it's even more of a question what this team is even for (something that is clear because even the characters ask themselves that)
Throw in a female character who, in line with everyone else, is terrible- is terrible in kind of a lazy way that relies of promiscuity rather than a more interesting and less stereotypical way.

I would keep this in my collection simply for the art, but I don't know if that justifies it.

[Joshua Sloan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay, but could have been great with a little more characterization, some better backgrounds, and a female character that wasn't every possible stereotype.

[ComicNerdSam · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is solid and the art is . . . serviceable. But the ideas this book explores are the same kind of trodden-down ideas done better in books like Watchmen and Marshall Law.

[Krishnakumar Mohanasundaram · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's no plot development nor character development. Confusing and useless.

Not sure about this being a superhero stint or war or political thriller.