Brat Pack

Brat Pack by Rick Veitch
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Doctor Blasphemy kills the Brat Pack, the kid sidekicks of the heroes of Slumburg, Moon Mistress, the Midnight Mink, King Rad, and Judge Jury have to find some new recruits. Will the new Brat Pack even find their footing before joining the old Brat Pack in their fate?

I've been aware of this book for years, thanks to the iconic cover of Chippy, the Robin analogue, shaving his legs. When I saw it was being brought back into print, I decided it was time to finally read the thing.

Brat Pack reminds me of Garth Ennis' The Boys in that it shows the dark side of living in a world of super heroes. It also asks the question "What kind of sociopath would bring a kid into a life of fighting crime?" The answer is these kinds of sociopaths!

The book is basically Robin, Wonder Girl, Speedy, and Bucky trying to fill the shoes of their disposable predecessors while finding out what kind of people their mentors are. Chippy, Luna, Wild Boy, and Kid Vicious have their work cut out for them. The heroes of Slumburg are pretty terrible, more focused on merchandising than fighting crime. And what the hell do they want sidekicks for anyway?

This is one of those books that I recognize as high quality but I wouldn't say I actually liked it. Rick Veitch's art is spectacular, especially the backgrounds of Slumburg, and he does a great job portraying what pieces of shit the heroes of Slumburg are. There's just not a likable character in the entire book by the end and the ending felt kind of rushed.

Brat Pack is an interesting, if brutal and depressing, piece of comics history. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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