Review: Black Hammer Age of Doom #7
Jeff Lemire’s reboot of the Black Hammer universe takes a side trip into the strange and surreal in Black Hammer Age of Doom #7. That is an odd statement to make as much of Black Hammer relies on surrealism. However, this issue has a surfeit of it before entering deep philosophical waters at the issue’s end.
Colonel Weird finds himself in a strange world with a variety of new powered individuals and animals gathered around him. Notably absent are his companions: Golden Gail, Abraham Slam, Madame Dragonfly, Black Hammer and Barbalien. Presumably, those five are back in Spiral City in the “real” universe after stepping into a portal in a previous issue of Black Hammer. Each of these new individuals share their abbreviated backgrounds and origin stories with Weird before revealing that they are the whispers of beings that might have been in Spiral City. For one reason or another, each of these beings never came to be and are now residents of this world of dreams, shadows and as it so happens, nightmares. When Weird and his companions dispatched Anti-God from Spiral City it seems that he was sent to this pocket dimension where he has been systematically destroying its inhabitants. Desperate to return to Spiral City and his friends before Anti-God, Weird enlists the aid of a talking goose that was originally meant to be a companion to Golden Gail. Golden Goose directs them to a distant cave and the group flees with the Anti-God in pursuit. 
Many of the members of this new group of heroes prove their mettle and sacrifices themselves in battle so that Weird can reach his destination. However, what Weird finds when he reaches this cave has profound implications on Spiral City and its wider universe.
In this issue Jeff Lemire tackles a common philosophical question; are we merely the products of someone else’s imagination and what is God? Once again, Lemire is able to seamlessly weave these deep questions into an entertaining and compelling comic book which is a testament to his mastery of this art form. The artwork, shading and coloring in this book are classic and rudimentary giving credence to the idea that this world that Weird finds himself in is one of unfinished thoughts and unrealized creative dreams. In short, the entire book is yet another master class in world building and story telling. Black Hammer continues to be a must read and I can’t recommend this issue of Black Hammer highly enough.
Writing – 5 of 5 Stars
Art – 5 of 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writing – Jeff Lemire
Art – Rich Tommaso
Author Profile
- Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.
He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
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