The Deluded Boy: Comic Book Review: Idolized #0

Idolized #0
Written by: David Schwartz
Pencils by: Micah Gunnell
Colors by: David Curiel
Published by Aspen Comics, $2.50

Does anyone even remember what caused the rise and viral spread of reality tv shows? I do. Back in the day there was a writer's strike. Instead of caving into their demands or making television an empty wasteland, the major TV broadcast companies just ordered more reality shows. That is how all this started. So if you want to blame anyone for 95% of the crap that is on your TV, blame the writers! Nuff Said!

One of the reality shows I always find time to never watch is American Idol. I would say 98% of the singers on there are losers. Obviously technically trained to quiver their jaws and hit high notes, but most of them fade into obscurity a couple of months after they win.

Idolized plays off of American Idol by creating a show called "Superhero Idol" in which people with super powers compete to be a member of an Avengers-like team called "The Powered Protectors". Tens of thousands audition but only the top 10 compete for the grand prize. The Powered Protectors aren't cool with it, but they can't do anything because they are funded by the government and they want the show for PR.

One of the thousands of super powered beings vying for a place on the team is Leslie Linnell, or "Joule", as she has chosen to christen herself. She wants to join the Protectors because she wants revenge on a super-villain named Stasis that ruined her life. Stasis is in tune with our times as well, because even though he does horrible things, in his mind he is fighting against corporate corruption and its infiltration into our society.

The thing that surprised me most about this book is that it tells us already that Joule won the Superhero Idol contest and joined the Protectors! I thought the book was going to be about the competition and maybe it still is. Apparently, something really bad happens after she joins the team. I mean apocalyptic end times bad. The last frame of the comic shows Joule in the ruins of a building with blood all over her, and her costume in tatters. Now, THAT catches my interest. What the hell happened? I want to know! I'm very curious to see where issue #1 starts. Is it going to start with that scene or be a flashback to how she got into that situation? I also want to know what Stasis did to her.

The art and color in the book is gorgeous. In fact, that is what first attracted me to this book after seeing a preview in the Aspen free comic day book in May. There's just something about Joule's costume and character design that just looks so cool that catches your eye without being gaudy. The bright colors are vivid and the panels are drawn as epic or intimate as the story demands. I'm excited to see where this goes.

This is a zero issue so the actual story here is like a trailer for a movie, numbering about 14 pages. The rest is mostly promotional materials with background to the world of Idolized. What I found most informative were a video transcript from Stasis where he talks about his cause and some tweets exchanged between the government and the Protectors about their objections to the Idol show.

All in all, this zero issue has me interested and excited. Issue #1 is on sale August 9.

My Grade: A-

There are 4 covers available. Covers A & C are art covers while B & D are photo shots of Victoria's Secret model Rachel Clark cosplaying as Joule. I picked up the B cover because that was the only version my comic store had. I would have much preferred one of the art covers. The D version will be available at Comicon with a limited print run of 500. In my opinion Clark looks way too old to be Joule, and looks way too modelly. They could have gotten someone better to portray her. I'll put the other covers down below.

Official Idolized Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/IdolizedComic