Luke Cage Vol. 1: Sins of the Father

by David F. Walker

[Quirky Cat]

After the success that Jessica Jones comic has been having, it’s really no surprise that they decided to reboot Luke Cage’s storyline (and side note: Defenders is also on the way, so be excited!). Thankfully a few cues have been taken from the show, as far as style is concerned. So while there is still the iconic yellow shirt (which they even comment on!) most of the costume has been pretty modernized (and it looks fantastic).
I would just like to say this upfront; while fans of the Luke Cage Netflix show would probably enjoy this series, it is not the same continuity, so don’t expect everything to tie together with a neat little bow on top.



I was really looking forward to this series (I figured if it was even half as good as its counterpart – Jessica Jones – then I was going to love it), which I think resulted in me being just a bit disappointed by this story. There were times were I found myself confused about what was going on, and while I admit maybe I missed something, I’m not entirely sure what, and man do I hate that feeling.
Perhaps it’s because I haven’t read all of the classic Luke Cage comics (though I have read most, as well as most of his appearances with the Avengers), but I had a lot of trouble with all of the sudden character introductions. I’m not good at names to begin with (seriously – half the time I can’t recall the characters from my favorite series, even though I adore them), so the sudden onrush of ten or so named characters with minimal context throws me through a loop.
I think Luke Cage suffered from what a lot of series go through when they first start up. It’s hard to get any plot/character established, and I imagine that’s even more frustrating for the authors when it’s an established character in the world and they have long term ideas for him that they just want to get to. We’ve all seen that happen (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood for example). So while the series isn’t bad it does try and go too far and too fast, resulting in character development and world building taking a backseat.
I think this series does have potential (though perhaps that’s my bias talking) and with enough time it could even out and become something truly amazing. The only way to find out (in my mind) is to stick with it and see where it leads. In the meantime I’m happy to say the next volume of Jessica Jones is out soon, as is the Defenders. Perhaps they’ll help explain and explore Luke Cage’s world a bit.


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