Today, Drew and Ryan D. are discussing Last Sons of America 1, originally released November 11th, 2015.

As a distant planet was destroyed by old age, a scientist placed his infant son within a hastily devised space-ship, launching it toward Earth!

Action Comics 1, Jerry Siegel

Drew: I’m tempted to make the argument that world-building is an inherent aspect of comics storytelling — the environment that the characters inhabit literally needs to be created, line by line — but whatever the reason, world-building has been an integral part of comics at least as far back as Action Comics 1. Indeed, world-building has become increasingly important in modern comics, as characters are spun off into multi-platform franchises. It’s also become increasingly important for certain segments of comics readers, who catalogue every piece of continuity and police every perceived contradiction. Those readers tend to forget that the world is the setting, not the story, and that even the most intriguing worlds are nothing without compelling characters and an actual narrative. Sometimes that means a brilliant setting is relegated to the background, but when the story itself grabs you, as it does in Last Sons of America 1, that’s the right choice. Continue reading →