As a fan of alternate worlds and alternate history, it’s always refreshing to come across something brand new. I remember the first time I read Man In The High Castle, Philip K. Dick’s magnum opus and ultimately a masterclass in an alternate history. The television show revealed to the world just how well he developed characters and how exquisite his worldbuilding was.

Which is why when I heard Amazon was adapting Garth Ennis’s The Boys, I knew that their deft hand at adapting work would be greatly utilized. It took the humor of The Incredibles, with the dark heart of Watchmen, and fused it with the evils of corporate America to craft a sharp and twisted story. In the first collected volume of Gun, we find a world where there are superheroes and the villains who look to make the world theirs.

Welcome to the world of Gun, where superheroes are called capes and villains are called guns like our protagonist, Trevor Werner. We find out that his boss, and the man who thought him everything about this world, Captain Bedlam, is the man responsible for making him ruthless. We’re taken to present day where Trevor, aka Captain Vertigo, is looking to get out of the life by attending Villainon meetings. He eventually becomes part of a heist to steal from a local pawn shop, but when a “cape” gets knocked unconscious, Trevor and his crew plot to exploit the situation. They put the hero up for bid to the wealthiest of supervillains, to be bought and tortured. Trevor and his crew are double-crossed and a call goes out to the superheroes about what they’ve done which forces them to go on the run.

Overall, a suspenseful mile a minute comic that’ll draw readers in with its grit and style but will get them to appreciate the execution. The story by Jack Foster is engaging, smart and well characterized. The art by Foster is captivating. Altogether, a story, a world, and characters, that pierces the reader’s minds in such a satisfying way.

Story: Jack Foster Art: Jack Foster
Story: 9.7 Art: 9. 5 Overall: 9.6 Recommendation: Buy