Review by Karl Verhoven

It’s been five years since the Squadron Supreme powerhouses Hyperion and Doctor Spectrum have been seen. Just after Nick Fury announced a new presidentially approved S.H.I.E.L.D. organisation they returned to a more complicated world than they left.

In effect Howard Chaykin’s starting a new story in Bright Shining Lies. The return changes everything, and most of the cast introduced in Power to the People become bit players. Considering the long, dry build-up occupying all those pages it’s fortunate they’re not redundant, as the purpose has been to ensure that there’s several groups of powers. “Ladies and gentlemen it gives me great pleasure to say you are about to witness a new dawn for mankind”, announces Hyperion hovering above the Capitol building. Even more ominous is his sign-off “whether you like it or not”.

The better news is that you can just start here instead, and the art gets a definite upgrade with Marco Checchetto replacing Marco Turini. Now every page looks good instead of just the portraits. At least for four chapters, that is. Then it’s back to other artists seemingly working in a rush.

Neither Neil Edwards nor Kevin Sharpe is anywhere near as good as Checchetto, and the ordinary art reveals an ordinary story also. After the glacial pace of the previous volume Chaykin throws in a new Earth-shattering threat to close every chapter here. Sadly, though, it’s dealt with over the first few pages of the following chapter, and off we go again. It’s almost a satire of superhero comics with all the pauses removed. Any one of the ideas given any space would have made for a viable story, but instead they’re just squandered with little thought.

Chaykin’s Squadron Supreme is average rather than poor, and so disappointing from a writer who can do so much better.