Brad Meltzer was a New York Times bestselling author of Grisham-style thrillers when he was recruited by DC to pen Identity Crisis, a murder mystery starring its stable of superhero characters. Who better to lead a story that had crossover potential, bringing not only his expertise in the medium but also his existing audience of crime fiction fans who might be willing to give these cape comics a try now this guy's writing them? Well, anybody, it turns out, because Identity Crisis is a well-documented shambles. It sold like gangbusters, sure, but that doesn't necessarily mean anyone enjoyed it. It's difficult to imagine they did, either, what with the inconsistent characterisation, constant use of rape and murder as plot devices in order to make this superhero book seem more "mature", and some truly ugly artwork courtesy of Rags Morales. If somebody wants an example of what a mature comic is...this isn't it.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
