Written by: Mark Russell
Art by: Ben Caldwell
Publisher: DC Comics
After reading the first issue of Prez, what stuck out to me was that it didn’t seem to have a clear cut audience. It didn’t go quite deep enough into the policies to attract the hardcore political junkies, and the art and writing style would suggest it’s going after the same audience that something like Batgirl under Fletcher and Stewart or Gotham Academy. It’s an audience that seems to be growing, and one that DC has been going after pretty aggressively. The thing is, outside of general through lines pertaining to art and writing, the first issue of Prez didn’t have too much in common with those books either. Issue #2, despite being a much stronger issue, doesn’t do much to answer that question either. Though this may have read as a critique, it really isn’t one. The comic book industry has, of late, been trending towards pandering to very specific audiences. This review isn’t the time or place for that discussion, but it suffices to say that it’s refreshing to read a book like Prez that doesn’t seem too concerned with drawing a specific audience.
Prez #2 builds on the first issue, but gives us a much deeper look into the world and our main character. Though series writer Mark Ross isn’t afraid to play around with absurdity, this issue has given him the opportunity to tether the book to something. Allowing the reader to delve deeper into the life of Corn Dog Girl (or Beth Ross, if you’re one for technicalities) prevents the book from collapsing due to the weight of its own self-indulgence. Because Ross gets some solid character work done, the absurd moments feel deserved, and aren’t (always) there just for the sake of doing something crazy.
The other tether we have is the social commentary element of the book. While this is what ultimately lends itself to the most absurdity, Ross’ masterful use of hyperbole and a somewhat reasonable extension of our current political situation allow this element of the book to hit home. While I don’t expect the creative team to ever do anything too serious with the politics, what they have here may be enough. I will admit that the commentary can be a bit on the nose at times – Ross isn’t one for subtlety when it comes to politics and Ben Caldwell’s art complements this perfectly – but it’s effective. Often, in order to expose a problem occurring out of the public eye, writers will need to go to the extreme, which Ross and Caldwell are more than willing to do. The political message behind this book, while lending itself to some ridiculous scenes, will still be recognizable to many readers.
All that being said, Prez is still far from perfect. It’s a solid book, but it’s still lacking an identity. I said earlier that the book not having a distinct audience wasn’t a critique, and I stand by that. However, it does need an identity, because right now, it feels a little bit scattershot. It feels like the creative team can’t decided if they want to be a character study, a complete social commentary, a comedy, or a political drama. Obviously, that’s not a huge problem two issues in, because, well, it’s only two issues in. There also isn’t much of a supporting cast yet – there’s really just one character in the book that readers have any reason to care about. There have been a few characters with small roles pepper in here and there, though there’s a character introduced here that is likely to hold a major role.
The problem with bringing any substantial criticisms to bear against Prez is that all, or at least most, of the book’s issues can be attributed to the fact that the book is still getting off the ground and finding its footing. The second issue of the series is a little bit less about that than the first, but there’s still a lot of set up going on in this issue. Some of it is incidental to the rest of the story, but a lot of it isn’t. Again, this can be excused as growing pains for the creative team as they grow into this new book. Fortunately, the book does have more than just promise, in this issue it begins to deliver on that promise. For now, it being a fun romp with a decent amount of depth is enough to keep the book going for some time. If Prez continues on this trend, it could easily become one of DC’s best books, which, considering the overall quality of their soft reboot, has a lot of credence.
