Black Hammer '45

Jeff Lemire reveals the waning days of World War II in this Black Hammer spin-off. The Black Hammer Squadron have been given their final assignment. With the Nazis on the brink and the Soviets tearing through Germany, this team of colored American soldiers must rescue a Jewish family of physicists before the Reds do. Seems that their inter-dimensional theories will give whomever obtains the secrets of these Jewish scientists a major advantage in the exploration of space.  

With Mind MGMT's Matt Kindt's artwork, Jeff Lemire offers fans a look at the early days of Abraham Slam as well as some of the origins of the NASA program that will send Col. Randall Weird on the space adventure of a lifetime. And since this is a part of the world of Black Hammer, expect things to be a little more on the side of the fantastical with more advanced technology.

This was a powerful read. And it was another great chapter to the world of Black Hammer. And it was a marvelous tribute to the war comics of the 50s and 60s. But there was something off about the artwork.

The use of an non-white team was pretty brilliant. Originally, Lemire and Kindt didn't plan on this. Thus, a couple of the characters actually look Caucasian. Due to deadlines, only a few changes were ables to be made. Fate allowed the pages to be recolored. However, art touch ups just weren't in the cards. 

But having a team of heroes who are willing to do anything for their country and get little to no thanks for their efforts is so powerful. There's a little bit of the Tuskegee airmen in this story and just a touch of Robert Morales and Kyle Baker's Truth: Red, White and Black. And to have Black Hammer, who was a black man, take his name from a group of commandos of color adds legacy and honor to the whole name of the series and the fallen hero.

While the artwork might have suffered from the tight deadlines, the coloring of this story actually benefited from the retouches. The water-colored effect of this book also aids texture to the page along with giving a slight sepia tone to the story. It's a lot like looking at a series of old photographs. Or maybe it's meant to look like a 1940s era comic book with how the acid in the paper browns out everything. Either way, it helped make Black Hammer '45 a Dark Horse triumph.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.