Issued in 2015 by Magnetic Press, Side-Kicked is a short graphic novel written by Russell Brettholtz, and illustrated by Miguel Mendonça and Bong Dazo. The story picks up a familiar theme from a variety of superhero comics—the relatively thankless role that sidekicks play. In this case, a group of five Chicago sidekicks is so fed up with their low status compared to the heroes they support, they decide to go on strike. In modern-day Chicago, superheroes have become prima donnas who preen for the crowds and the cameras. More eager to feed their own egos than to fight crime, they have devolved into self-centered narcissists who no longer admit that they rely on the support of their sidekicks to perform their derring-do’s. The graphic novel offers several superhero archetypes, off-brand versions of famous superheroes from DC and Marvel imprints: The Fox is a masked gadgeteer like Batman, Frostbite is a knock-off Frozone from The Incredibles or Iceman from X-Men, Mr. Marvelous is clearly a Superman clone, and so on. Their sidekicks have their own problems, but primarily, they have grown sick of being disrespected, ignored, and unappreciated for everything they contribute to the success of the heroes they assist. Not only that but because their work is ignored by the media, their gigs as sidekicks are not financially lucrative—most have to take second jobs in order to make ends meet. After several hangout sessions in a bar where they can sit incognito in their secret identities, the five sidekicks decide to go on strike. Each sidekick explains his reasons for rebelling against the status quo. One sidekick no longer trusts his superhero to protect him if there is danger. Another is worried about the public deifying superheroes rather than viewing them as people. The third knows that he is far more of a hero than his super will ever be. The fourth has already eclipsed his superhero’s popularity without getting the rewards and accolades that should come with this standing. Finally, the fifth and most seriously affected sidekick has become suicidal—in or out of costume, he has hit a psychological crisis. As the striking sidekicks hang back, drinking beer in their bar, they watch Chicago fall apart around them. The villains, who have been mostly kept at bay by superhero-sidekick teams, now take the mostly idiotic and helpless superheroes out one by one. As they fall without consideration for saving the city or its citizens, superheroes are revealed to only be in the business for fame, money, and power. Finally, enough regular people have been hurt for the sidekicks once more to assume their hero mantles. Working together, they make short work of the bad guys. It is clear that their success comes from the fact that they became costumed adventurers for the right reasons—they truly love their city and want to help it whether or not they are in the spotlight. The story ends with the sidekicks forming their own superhero team and the suggestion that future issues will contain new conflicts: an alien threat that might demand sidekicks and superheroes work together once more, and the rising power of villain sidekicks who are filling the vacuum left behind by the imprisonment of their bosses. Readers have responded with middling reviews, pointing out a variety of ways in which the graphic novel doesn’t live up to its premise. Because the sidekicks are five square-jawed and muscular men, readers complain that it is often hard to tell them apart, particularly since the plot doesn’t give much of a background on any of them or take pains to distinguish their personalities or identities. The novel tries to address this problem by including a guide to the ten main characters at the end, but readers complain that the guide’s brief bios are insufficient. Readers also point to the wildly fluctuating quality of the artwork as a problem. Sometimes, it’s hard to understand who is in a frame because the drawings are too indistinct and the quality is too poor; other times, it’s easy to forget that the characters are supposed to be teenagers because they are drawn “in their late forties,” making their emotions somewhat nonsensical.

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Russell Brettholtz

Adult

Graphic Novel/Book

Fiction

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