A cosmic action adventure for fans and readers of Watchmen, Strange Adventures, and Hawkeye, The Blue Flame tells the story of a blue collar working man/DIY vigilante/cosmic hero, who must defend Earth with an answer to the “Is humanity worth saving?” Repairman. Vigilante. Cosmic Hero. The Blue Flame is a cosmic hero. The Blue Flame is a DIY vigilante that fights crime on the streets of Milwaukee. The Blue Flame is a blue collar HVAC repairman named Sam Brausam. In the wake of a horrific tragedy, the boundaries of the Blue Flame’s identity blur even further. Now, before a universal trial, the Blue Flame must prove that humanity is worth saving. But in order to do that, Sam Brausam has to save himself. Can he? An odyssey for answers at the heart of the universe. Collects the entire series.
I discovered this graphic novel on my virtual library section called “Waiting on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and I thought I’d check this out. So let’s heat up this review of The Blue Flame.
I guess I can see the similarities between Blue Flame’s Night Brigade and The Guardians. Sam aka Blue Flame reminds me a lot of Peter Quill who is the leader of the Guardians. They both have this idealistic view of humanity, while both characters have problematic qualities.
For example, after the tragedy, Sam falls into a deep depression and gets addicted to alcohol and his pain meds. When his brother-in-law gets arrested by ICE because he was in the US illegally, Sam goes to the person who tipped off ICE and beats him up which lands him in trouble with the law.
All of this on top of trying to defend Earth from being obliterated. Then it becomes more of a philosophical debate rather than a traditional superhero comic. There’s even moments of religious verbiage, and I was surprised to see that in a comic book.
Overall this comic was solid, I liked seeing the debates that Sam and the alien prosecutor got into, but it quickly got old. I’m not sure who I’d recommend this comic to, but if you’re looking for an action-packed comic adventure, I’d give this one a pass.
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