The Protector First Issue Review

The Golden Age of comics was a unique period in the medium. Heroes were larger than life personifications of our finest virtues. Sterling examples of humanity whom said “Please” and “Thank you” while bullets bounced off their chests. They would effortlessly dump criminals from their upended getaway cars while smiling for the crowd, and then shake the hand of the nearest police officer before bounding off to do it all again somewhere else.

In the newest series from Hound Comics, an indie comic publisher out of New York, creator Chris R. Notarile plans to bring back a great deal of that same classic sense of truth, honor and justice. His new book, The Protector, is actually based on a concept he originally brought to life as a short film. And its titular hero, mild mannered insurance investigator Allen Adams, has all the larger than life qualities that one might expect from a loving homage to those bygone days of comic book glory.

The Protector starts at the very beginning of our heroes journey. It’s his first day on the job as a costumed hero, and everyone who takes in the sight of his staggering abilities is left slack-jawed and amazed. No one knows who he is, and even the most common of super-feats is met with looks of wide-eyed fear and amazement. You know right off the bat that Republic City, Allen Adams’ adopted home, has never seen anything quite like The Protector.

You might be understandably confused when you see the credits on this book, because the names of the writer/creator Chris R. Notarile, and the artist Chris Notarile, are so damned similar. But the reason for this is quite simple. They’re related. Father and son have teamed up to form their own sort of dynamic duo, and combine their considerable talents to make this new hero come to life.

Chris R. Notarile, the son in this particular father/son equation, is a successful independent filmmaker with a passion for comic books and the heroes that populate them. He’s become well known in certain circles for not only his fan films, but also for his more mainstream efforts as well. In fact, I reviewed one of his horror film productions quite awhile back; a well executed homage to the Halloween films called Methodic. You can check out that article here:

Methodic Review
Chris Notarile (without the “R” this time) is the elder half of this effort, and brings 40 years of experience as a commercial artist to the table. And while the majority of his career has taken place in the mainstream arenas of wide-circulation magazines, TV Guide, and countless advertising contracts, he also spent a period of time as a freelancer for Marvel Comics while attending design school in his youth.

Both Chris the elder, as well as Chris the younger, (quick, stop me, I’m starting to sound Biblical) have managed to bring a titanic amount of talent to this project, and the result is more than worthy of praise. The artwork on this book is simply beautiful, as well as borderline photo-realistic in many instances. And Chris Notarile’s years of experience and expertise are immediately apparent. Expressions are dynamic and believable. Action takes place with a genuine sense of movement and urgency. And even the smallest of details jumps out as a masterfully crafted piece of work.

The writing is also well-executed, and does a bang up job of bringing The Protector to life, not only as a hero and symbol, but also as a human being who chooses to don a cape and costume to help his fellow man. There’s an especially telling scene in which Allen Adams talks to his mother and father on the phone. He’s opening a parcel with a pair of scissors and answering, “Yes, Mom. I just got it.” He then lifts a hand-sewn costume from the box and takes a look at it for the first time. “What do you think?” his mother asks. And Allen just smiles before commenting, “It’s perfect. You really outdid yourself. Thank you so much.”

Allen’s father then comes on the line and wishes him good luck. He also reminds his son to remember everything they taught him, and gives him a final word of encouragement before ending the call, “Go get ‘em!”

The Protector is Chris R. Notarile’s loving homage to that bygone era of earnest, apple pie Americana that we’ve come to associate most closely with classic tales of Superman. He does an excellent job on this first issue, and also manages to build reader expectations for the next installment, by showing us a glimpse of another hero about to enter the world stage. Chris’ father also adds an impeccable sense of style and artistry through his pencil work, and makes the whole thing look effortless by how beautifully he does it.

This is definitely a book you guys will want to check out. The cover price is a little steep at $5.00, but you can tell the book is printed on some really nice quality paper, and the whole thing looks beautiful, so I’m sure it’s worth the price of admission.

Writer: Chris R. Notarile (Blinky Productions)
Pencils: Chris Notarile (Outlines, Inc.)
Publisher: Hound Comics

This comic receives a score of:

8.5 out of 10