Sideways #1 Review

I Don't See Any Wine-Tasting! 

Written by: Kenneth Rocafort, Dan DiDio, and Justin Jordan

Art by: Kenneth Rocafort, Daniel Brown, and Carlos M. Mangual
Cover Price: $2.99 
Release Date: February 14, 2018

Unlike Damage and The Silencer, Sideways appears to be the only New Age book to spin out of the METAL storyline; don't fret, it doesn't spoil the story of the event in any way, shape, or form.

We start off with our protagonist, Derek James, suddenly appearing in his friend Ernie's bathroom as she gets ready for school. This understandably freaks her out but she eventually calms down when Derek profusely apologizes. It is then revealed that Ernie herself made Derek's costume, and he demonstrates some super strength for her. Her sister knocks on the door and Derek has to skedaddle.

We then get a taste of Derek's home life. Turns out he's adopted, and his mother has been incredibly protective of him since Challengers Mountain appeared in Gotham, which ties into how Derek got his powers. As is to be expected, some really inconsiderate and moronic high schoolers make fun of Derek for even getting caught up in the mayhem in Gotham, which comes across to be as incredibly contrived and not very realistic, especially in today's world.

After some high school scenes, Derek puts on the Sideways outfit and live streams himself rifting to different locations. This is where I'll end the spoiler talk, because these last few pages are pretty fun. DC, however, did print these last few pages as the preview of this book if you're interested in reading them.

This was mostly a mixed bag for me. It's easy to compare Derek James to Spider-Man since he seems to be a mild-mannered kid who is then thrust into this huge, life-changing event that turns him into a superhero, although he doesn't fight any crime in this issue. He comes across as a mix between Spider-Man and Blue Beetle to me. We'll obviously be learning more about the accident in the next few issues.

The family dynamic is intriguing but I don't find his parents particularly interesting. It's obvious where the writers are going with Derek's mom; conflict will abound between them since she's become very controlling since the accident. As for Derek's friend Ernie… she's certainly quirky, but I don't find her character engaging. She seems to dress weirdly for the sake of being weird, possibly to appeal to younger readers.

Kenneth Rocafort is a great artist and I liked a lot of what we get here. His art is very expressive and Daniel Brown's colouring works well for the tone he's going for. This artwork certainly feels like it's aimed at a younger audience.

Bits and Pieces:

This is definitely the weakest book to come out of this New Age line so far. I like Derek and I'm very excited to see how he gets out of this mess he finds himself in. Aside from this and the art, there isn't much that really works here. I'm hoping that the creative team is able to impress me the next time around.

6.5/10