GEN13 1

I just got this book from my local comic book store and thought I should comment. The story was well done if the bad guys were cliche unto hilarity. The teens were more real than their earlier introduction. I like the art and while the story wasn't amazing it was a satisfying read.

Gail Simone is writing the best teen-team book on the market in Gen13. This arc takes a handful of misfit, abused kids and explores their growth into friends, teammates and heroes. The kids read as real, not as the idealized childhoods of middle-aged writers - we feel the rollercoaster highs and lows of teen life, pushed to their secret agent/superhero extremes. Gen13 *did* need to be re-imagined. Fun as the original series was, it was hugely dated by a 90s aesthetic and sensibility. Gail's makeover of Grunge is the best retelling since Ultimate Fantastic Four, explaining why he'd take the name of a music trend popular around the time he was born, and giving the goofball immense depth and pathos. Gen13, to my huge surprise, is at the top of my pile every time it releases. Gail is one of the best in the business, and in this book she's at the top of her game.