REVIEW: ‘City Boy,’ Issue #1

City Boy #1 brings a new Asian character to the DCU with a cool, yet tragic, backstory. This issue is written by Greg Pak, with art by Minkyu Jung, colors by Sunny Gho, and letters by Wes Abbott. If you followed any of the many one-shots that fell from Lazarus Planet or caught the issue DC put out during Free Comic Book Day, then you got a sneak peek at this nifty new character. Well, first off, kudos to DC and Pak. This is not a superhero story. Not right now, anyway, and I think the DCU could stand a lot more of this.

Let’s start at the beginning. A young Korean-American kid in Metropolis is abandoned, or so it seems, by his mother. The grandfather is there, but flashbacks throughout the issue suggest that didn’t last long. Add to this Pak’s writing via City Boy’s thoughts, and you make out mainly through show don’t tell that this is a person who was left to the mean streets. And it shows. What readers are given is a wanderer who’s had it bad, survives by cunning, and thrives on giving the world the cold shoulder. But there’s a kick. Our City Boy, named Cameron, can talk to cities. They show him where hidden things are and speak their secrets to him. But that’s just the start of things.

Now, I could just come here and say this book is great because it features a diverse character (of Korean descent) and a mainly Asian-American cast from varying ethnicities, made possible by a mostly Asian creative team (plus backed by an Asian editor). This alone would be wonderful. DC needs to tell different types of stories, not because the ones they had were slack, but because more of its base is diversifying. We need other voices to add to our inspiration, y’all. City Boy, though, goes beyond the diversity glam. Cameron is a rough kid: selfish, troubled, dark, and a tad heartless. He is not cut from DC’s usual cloth, and while that might alienate some DC stans in the short run, I remind you to recall great gray characters such as John Constantine and the Doom Patrol.

So, Cameron can read cities, but the Lazarus Rain made it into something so much more. You can find out his weirder powers in the issue. But it also comes with some of the origins as to how he got it, and it’s straight out of comic book strangeness. I loved it. I really love the way this issue jolts you at the end. This kid already had it bad, and it looks like a world of hurt is going to come down on him. Good news for us. We get to read all about it.

I can see this will be a story about two things: Cameron being used for his powers by less-than-savory types and whether or not our dude leans toward the higher calling of heroism. I wouldn’t mind if he stayed rogue-like, to be honest. I’m just glad this complicated person inhabits the DC Universe to wow us with another new perspective, a Korean voice in comics, and a set of odd powers to make him stand out from the crowd.

Jung’s art is minimal, with very slight sketching. Slim on details but firm in the foundations of dynamic art. Gho brings a more mellow set of tones to this book, a sharp contrast from the neon Day-Glo in other DC books, but I feel it makes this book more grayish and urban to fit Cameron’s ethos. A cool little point in the lettering from Abbott is words spoken in Korean get a blue tint, as opposed to being stuck in brackets. Nice touch.

I encourage you to try this title. Especially if you’re young and looking for someone closer to your age, are an Asian comic fan looking for relatable characters, a ‘regular Joe’ wanting to explore a new corner of the DCU, or maybe if you like Spider-Man style angsty teens with powers. If any of these fit, City Boy #1 is your ticket to it.

City Boy #1 is available wherever comic books are sold.