Sidekick Ventures Alone in Graphic Novel


Give a man a fish, he'll be hungry. Or something like that. Give a comic book writer a publishing imprint and, well, he'll publish a lot of books? J. Michael Straczynski is that man and his Joe's Comics imprint under Image Comics has published Ten Grand and Sidekick, with the latter getting the TPB treatment this month. The title also features the talents of Tom Mandrake and Brian Mille to tell the story of nineteen-year-old Barry, a.k.a, Flyboy, in the aftermath of his mentor’s death. Flyboy decides to continue his crime-fighting career, even though no one takes him seriously — not the good guys, not the bad guys, nobody. Any attempt Flyboy makes to improve his image backfires, and soon, unloved and unsupported, he descends into darkness.

“Sidekick is designed to turn the usual superhero tropes upside down,” said writer Straczynski. “Having worked extensively in the world of mainstream superhero comics for the last decade-plus, you are subtly informed that there are all these things that you can't do to your main character, all these accepted rules for guys in spandex. The fun in Sidekick is in doing every one of those things that you're never supposed to do. We're going to spend a lot of time just beating the crap out of Flyboy until he finally snaps...and then the fun really begins."

For three years, flying, nigh-invulnerable teenager Barry Chase was Flyboy, sidekick to the imagination-impaired but crime-fighting master The Red Cowl, and all was well, though Flyboy was the butt of a lot of jokes. Together, The Red Cowl and Flyboy brought peace to Sol City, fighting for truth, justice and some third goal that the Red Cowl could never quite put his finger on but was sure he’d figure out in time. But then the Red Cowl was defeated and killed — some say by the villain Terraform, others by one of the Moonglow sisters — and Flyboy was left on his own.

Flyboy’s gradual disintegration into madness and crime is fueled by his desperate need for approval. His downward spiral slowly drives him to the dark side of the law, where he begins an affair with the villainous Moonglow Twins, who one night whisper something to him about the fate of his mentor that he could never have imagined possible. That secret may be the key to Flyboy’s redemption, or his damnation, giving him something to live for... and maybe, just maybe, something to kill for.

Sidekick Volume One will hit comic book stores on April 30 and bookstores on May 13. Full press release below.

THIS SIDEKICK IS ON HIS OWN IN NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL
Straczynski-penned series focuses on much-reviled superhero assistant

For three years, flying, nigh-invulnerable teenager Barry Chase was Flyboy, sidekick to the imagination-impaired but crime-fighting master The Red Cowl, and all was well, though Flyboy was the butt of a lot of jokes. Together, The Red Cowl and Flyboy brought peace to Sol City, fighting for truth, justice and some third goal that the Red Cowl could never quite put his finger on but was sure he’d figure out in time. But then the Red Cowl was defeated and killed — some say by the villain Terraform, others by one of the Moonglow sisters — and Flyboy was left on his own. It is at this point that the first volume of SIDEKICK, a new graphic novel written by J. Michael Straczynski, begins.

The second Joe’s Comics title to be published by Image Comics (the first was TEN GRAND), drawn by Tom Mandrake and Brian Mille, SIDEKICK tells the story of nineteen-year-old Barry, a.k.a, Flyboy, in the aftermath of his mentor’s death. Flyboy decides to continue his crime-fighting career, even though no one takes him seriously — not the good guys, not the bad guys, nobody. Any attempt Flyboy makes to improve his image backfires, and soon, unloved and unsupported, he descends into darkness.

Flyboy’s gradual disintegration into madness and crime is fueled by his desperate need for approval. His downward spiral slowly drives him to the dark side of the law, where he begins an affair with the villainous Moonglow Twins, who one night whisper something to him about the fate of his mentor that he could never have imagined possible. That secret may be the key to Flyboy’s redemption, or his damnation, giving him something to live for... and maybe, just maybe, something to kill for.

“Sidekick is designed to turn the usual superhero tropes upside down,” said writer Straczynski. “Having worked extensively in the world of mainstream superhero comics for the last decade-plus, you are subtly informed that there are all these things that you can't do to your main character, all these accepted rules for guys in spandex. The fun in Sidekick is in doing every one of those things that you're never supposed to do. We're going to spend a lot of time just beating the crap out of Flyboy until he finally snaps...and then the fun really begins."

SIDEKICK will be in comic book stores on April 30 and in bookstores on May 13.

SIDEKICK VOLUME ONE by J. Michael Straczynski and Tom Mandrake
ISBN 978-1-60706-861-7
160 pages, full color, paperback
$12.99
In comic book stores April 30, bookstores May 13

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