Johnny Saturn

Webcomic Spotlight: Johnny Saturn

Spotlight – Johnny Saturn

Alan Evans of Rival Angels had some marvelous words to say about us:

Since joining the Webcomic collective, I’ve been looking forward to plugging a comic that I’ve been reading for a while now, Johnny Saturn.

First things first: I grew up on superheroes, love, love, LOVED me some Spiderman and Batman. When I got to fifth grade, I started collecting comics and never looked back. Fast forward to the new century with everything that is wrong with comics. Such as, gimmicks, crappy stories that include deals with devils and other out of character nuances with smug, money hungry EIC’s laughing their asses to the bank with just enough pandering to keep me away from superheroes for a good long while.

Enter Johnny Saturn. Here’s a webcomic/comic book that is something that can help fill the big void left by the greed of the Big two. It’s not a comic for children, and I like that. I like a webcomic that is written with my tastes. It reads alot like Austin Grossman’s exceptional book, ‘Soon I will Be Invincible.’ Just like Austin Grossman’s book, there is a wonderful nod to the old school heroes and the way that they conducted themselves but leaving out the camp and frivolity.

The writing and stories of Johnny Saturn are smart and well-written. The stories are so character driven that you get caught up in the characters lives, whether they’re ‘good guys’ or ‘bad guys.’ The distinction isn’t always clear, who’s good or bad and that’s something that will entertainingly keep you on your toes. The pacing keeps things from bogging down or accelerating at a breakneck speed. You won’t help nodding approvingly when you get taken for a ride on one of the story twists.

The art is fantastic. Every update always has top notch art, always solid. Always good angles, anatomy, perspective and the coloring fits the mood. Scott doesn’t seem to take a day off or skimp on the details. Trust me, the art, especially the covers are amazing.

Come for the story, stay for the art. You’ll be happy you checked it out.

Johnny Saturn By JGray

My love for superhero comics goes back a ways. In fact, “Crisis on Infinite Earths”, the twelve part masterpiece by Marv Wolfman and George Perez was my introduction to the concept of multiple universes; something heavily explored here on Mysteries of the Arcana.

In the last several years, though, the big publishers have done a lot to tick me off. I won’t go into my laundry list because I could rant for hours. Instead, I’m just going to be thankful that Scott and Benita Story came along and took up the challenge of creating new heroes as the centerpiece of their webcomic, Johnny Saturn.

The series starts off with the death of the title character. Johnny Saturn has been fighting the good fight for over a decade, using only his fists, his wits, and the sort of body armor you can order from the back of Soldier of Fortune. From there, things get really exciting. The archive is worth spending time with. Better yet, order the print version so you can lovingly thumb through it.

I won’t give away the plot. Instead,I’ll explain some of the things I love about Johnny Saturn.

Thing #1

My favorite scene involves Johnny Saturn battling a group of powered villains. We get to see what he’s thinking as he fights. The mental narration is terse, almost like a checklist. Speedster? Telegraph your moves so you know where they’ll hit, then hit them. Problem neutralized. I love it, because in my opinion characters like Johnny Saturn (and Batman and other mystery men) aren’t amazing because of their fighting skills or detective abilities but because of their sheer tactical genius.

Thing #2

There’s a phenomenon in comics known as“Women in Refridgerators”. Female characters are often raped,beaten, murdered, depowered, and stereotyped as bitches or sluts. In some cases it seems like the writer has some sort of axe to grind with women, in others ancillary female characters are used as plot devices to promote the “growth” of male characters. The phenomenon was named after a heroes girlfriend was murdered and stuffed in his fridge. The hero then tracked down her killer and, at the last minute, decided to deliver the villain to justice rather than go the old eye for an eye route. Thus, the hero grew, proving he was just and noble and all it took was the brutal murder of a woman.

Johnny Saturn isn’t like that. The female characters are interesting. The costumes can be a bit revealing, yes, but the women have character. They aren’t two dimensional. They aren’t there to make the men look good, and they aren’t there to satisfy the writer’s craving for revenge on all the girls who rejected him in high school. In fact, the most powerful and(in my opinion) most intelligent superhero in the Johnny Saturn universe is a woman named Staff of Life. I can’t wait to see more of her in action.

Thing #3

There’s a whole lot to explore. The comic’s well written and focuses primarily on Johnny Saturn but the other heroes are just as interesting. The world, too, holds a lot of promise and begs to be explored. Truth be told, the setting deserves more than just one comic. If I could get an artist and permission from Scott and Benita I think I’d jump at a chance to crack open a secondary story there.

Let me be clear. This isn’t a goldenage or silver age comic. There’s plenty of blood and violence and Johnny Saturn’s body bears the realistic consequences of a decade offighting crime. However, it also isn’t a Frank Miller-esque, over the top splatter comic either. Instead, Scott and Benita have found a way to balance the need for realism that marked comics in the 80s/90s and combined it with the need for escapism that marked comics in the50s/60s.

Go read Johnny Saturn. You won’t be sorry.

Reviewed by EEN on 3-26-09 on Choice Comics

Johnny Saturn is a hard comic for me to review because I have mixed feelings. There are a lot of good things to be said about JS. Sometimes it feels like Frank Miller and Grant Morrison are writing this comic instead of Scott Story….other times it reminds of why I stopped reading image comics.

In the end it is comic written by a fan of the genre for fans of the genre. This isn’t a universe where heroes have traded in the capes of leather jackets, but it is one where heroes strap their logo onto Kevlar rather than spandex. A series that isn’t afraid to give you want to expect in a super hero or deconstruct the genre depending on where the story goes. And it has an infectious energy that draw you into the world even when something makes you roll your eyes.

On Writing:
Scott’s Story lines originally where very hit or miss with me but they’ve gotten much better over time. If you’re willing to enjoy a bit of comic book logic the recent storylines have been very solid and enjoyable, more over the comic has gone from a simple noir action romp to actually having surprising emotional depth. Early on a lot of the paranormal elements really felt out of place ruining the feel of the gritty universe and snapping your suspension of disbelief like a twig but Scott backed off them for a bit and as they’ve started to creep back into the comic they now feel right at home.

Scott is a good writer of morally grey characters and the further the comics goes the more depth it starts to bring to those characters. Some obvious straw-men stand-ins for other staple superheroes have really grown from total tools in the early chapters to well rounded relatable characters with depth, motivations, virtues and flaws. The major flaw with the comic now is that the villains have not grown with the series. The grey moral haze and complexities of the heroes only makes the black hearted villains and their often nihilistic or Orwellian plans progressively more the comics critical weak point. The comic’s villains are all Red Skulls and Mephistopheles when what the comic needs is a good Doctor Doom or Magneto.

On Art:
Scott’s are style is fairly unique and a good fit for the universe. It strikes me as a cross between the Batman: Animated series style and the 90’s image style popularized by McFarlane and his like.

The colors used in the character designs would be my only complaint, but the style itself is very enjoyable and most of the characters are very visually interesting if sometimes a bit over the top, but in a super hero universe sometimes that is just what you need.

Overall:

In summery if you enjoyed things like Allen Moore’s run on Supreme in all its love letter to the genre flavor then you’ll enjoy Johnny Saturn. Johnny Saturn in listed a B class hero in the universe and maybe Johnny Saturn is B super hero comic sometimes, but it gets it right more often than not and even when it lack polish and refinement it always tries its hardest and gives a lot more than most of the main stream titles.

Read and Enjoy.

Johnny Saturn February 10th, 2009 on Topics For All

Designed by Benita and Scott Story, Johnny Saturn gave a new definition to the concept of web comic. There is a main super-hero tale at the core with a mystery man that’s been through lots of challenges in a life where there is an eternal battle between the forces of good and evil.

Hence, the typology of the characters animating the world of Johnny Saturn is close to any Romantic plot with legends, angels, demons and lots of fights between them. But there are also mad scientists and demigods as well as all sorts of conceptual beings, making up the puzzle world that is the very charm of the Johnny Saturn comic.

Basically, Johnny Saturn represents both a web comic and a superhero and fantasy book; yet, many fans consider it as the figurative representation of the way our life goes in or away from the acts of justice. On top of these all, good seems to spring from questionable deeds too, not only out of purity.

Johnny Saturn is who faces the evil Dr. Synn and his schemes. We will not consider Johnny Saturn a real hero, since he lacks the powers and the personal history that would make him one: he is the average man caught up inuncommon circumstances who has to do what he has to do. As the story in the comic {moves on|evolves, Johnny Saturn gets to other inspirational life knots: he shows the sacrifice of a savior and the determination of a leader.

The creators of the Johnny Saturn comic got something more than fame and success with their ongoing story of the character. The Storys manage to be witty and interesting in creating moods, profound messages and lots of complexity without assaulting the reader with visual tricks.

Mondays and Wednesdays are the regular days when new episodes from Johnny Saturn are uploaded; four years have passed since the release of the strip, and it still enjoys an ongoing success as thousands and thousands of fans get on the Storys’ official site every day.

Johnny Saturn is imbued with the concepts, issues and taboos of our world: yes there is drug addiction, depression, suicide, anger, grief and lots of others, but they are all approached in a very straight-forward manner without dramatizing. Even political themes become manifest in the story of Johnny Saturn, but the advantage here is that a comic leaves freedom enough for allegories without hinting directly at people and events from real life.

Posted by Dylan Edwards on 11-23-2008 on Crackwalking

Johnny Saturn by Scott Story and Benita Story

Superheroes have been seeing a renaissance since Hugh Jackman first popped his claws back in 2000. The potential of the genre has been increased as these stories have broken out of the confines of nerdy obscurity, and they have become familiar to a wider audience. There’s been an explosion of interest in masks and capes as people are cluing in to the huge potential of this storytelling form, a modern-day mythology that allows us to reflect on the big issues while delivering heroic thrills.

Many of these characters have been used and abused over the years. There are many superhero stories that don’t bother trying to reach for mythological greatness, but instead wallow in cheap commercialism. And there are very few that reach for the great height achieved by Alan Moore in Watchmen. Enter Johnny Saturn. It’s bloody, it’s rough around the edges, and it’s epic. Scott and Benita Story take the superhero story into a place that’s both dark & gritty while still being earnest & heartfelt.

The story begins with the funeral of Johnny Saturn, where are grateful city pays its respects to their fallen hero. We are introduced to a world that has superheroes as a part of its culture, as a combination of celebrity and additional level of law enforcement/national defense. This motif is familiar to those that read conventional comics from Marvel or DC. But rather than set up a status-quo and then return to it, the universe of Johnny Saturn evolves and changes as it progresses through the chapters.

The quality of the comic also evolves. I’ve said this elsewhere; for me, this is one of the joys of webcomics, the diamonds-in-the-rough. The joy of witnessing talent in a raw form, people working on something just because they love it. Johnny Saturn is a labour of love. This is evident in every panel. Part of what kept me clicking ‘next’ was the sense of urgency that is imbued into this work. The author was driven to create this comic, as driven as the titular character is on his mission of vigilante justice.

So yes, it’s a bit rough around the edges. Hell, it’s rough in the center as well. Professional work is always guaranteed to be of a certain level, but it’s also guaranteed to stay within certain boundaries. The plot of this comic goes out of bounds for the usual superhero story. Waaay out of bounds. I admit I was lost in the wilderness at some points. Not knowing what’s going to happen next is a kind of thrill that can be hard to find in printed comics. I would assert that this is a good thing, and it’s what makes this story transcend the bounds of popular fiction. It strives to become something more; if art is too strong a word, then literature at least.

Does it hit the mark? Not exactly, but it reaches for it. And that makes it well worth the price of admission.

Blog post for 11/7/2008 4:56:45 PM on www.frumph.net

Spotlight on: Johnny Saturn by Scott and Benita Story

This spotlight is on Johnny Saturn a graphic novel webcomic by Scott & Benita Story. It’s a superhero comic but let’s not get fooled by thinking it’s your run of the mill Saturday morning superhero cartoon or Marvel/DC comic that pretends to be edgy.

Johnny Saturn IS edgy. It has complicated and well thought out plots. Citizens and supers alike have enough thought put into each and every one of them that you imagine this was written as a book and put into graphic novel form.

I can only compare Johnny Saturn with Batman from DC… if Batman actually wasn’t a pansy who never got hurt. Ever notice how Batman never *really* get’s hurt… in ALL those fights he’s had his body isn’t torn up with scar’s and traces of fighting, if there ever was a fight and he got hurt, two panels later he’s fine and dandy. Johnny isn’t and it shows that he’s worked hard to protect the innocent.

My song pick for Johnny Saturn will probably surprise Scott Story himself who suggested alot of older 70’s style songs. This song by Oingo Boingo really struck me with it’s fast individualistic energy and determination. .. “Who Do You Want to Be” by Oingo Boingo.

By John Wilson of Graphic Content, on Comic Related on 10-29-08
Johnny Saturn by John Wilson
Johnny Saturn issues #1-6, Scott and Benita Story, Story Studios LLC

This is a comic that defies characterization. Is it a superhero book? Definitely. Is it a fantasy book dealing with demigods, demons and angels? You bet. Is it an allegory of the common man’s struggle for justice? Sure. A cautionary tail that sometimes bad things must be done for the greater good? Without a doubt. Scott and Benita have crafted a story that is all these things and more.

The story follows Johnny Saturn, a street level non powered hero how does what he can and what he must to foil the activities of the evil Dr. Synn. Johnny is not a Meta human or powered in any way. His body is a map of the destruction he has physically suffered in his quest. Every bone in his body has been broken, some many times. He requires pills just to move. He does not suffer fools, especially super powered heroic ones that try to interfere with his work and is a firm believer in the ends justifying the means. Even death can not keep him from his tasks. Johnny is the classic street level hero. A Batman without the money and gadgets, The Shadow sans the mental manipulation, Daredevil with no radar sense. Just a man doing what he must because it must be done. And along the way, Johnny becomes a savior, an inspiration, a leader and punches out an angel! Who could ask for more?

The Storys tap into the iconography of superheroes and put their own unique spin to make them all their own. The Utopian is on the surface a hero in the Superman ideal, but scratching that surface shows a hero that sees himself above the common man in more than the obvious physical sense. From Johnny, The Utopian learns the true nature of hero and of sacrifice. On the surface the heroes that The Utopian leads are just an ad hoc Justice League, but they too have quirks and tweaks that push them beyond their surface iconography and make them special. This hurts all the more when many of them do not survive the story. We know little about these characters but we become connected. That is the earmark of great storytelling.

Scott Story’s artwork is an unmistakable draw to this story. In an era of over processed, over rendered and generally overblown art, it is refreshing to see line work and style that harkens back to the best days of the Silver Age. Scott infuses meaning in just a few lines and establishes mood and character for all his creations without having to beat the reader over the head with overblown visual trickery. He is an incredible talented colorist as well. His work is layered and vibrant without being gaudy. It is easy to see that this is a labor of love for both creators because that love is evident in every panel.

Thankfully, the story does not end with these six issues. The world of Johnny Saturn is alive and well in new adventures every Monday and Wednesday at www.johnnysaturn.com. While there, make sure you check out every area of the site by these two stellar creators (no pun intended). They are every bit as eclectic as the world that they created.

Johnny Saturn #1-5
Story Studios
3.99@, color, 28 pages@, available now
Writer and artist: Scott Story
Reviewed by Kurt Anthony Krug ***1/2 in Comic Buyers Guide

For an independent comic book, the art, story, and even the colors in this mini-series are high-quality. You’d swear this title were published by one of the larger companies instead of by Scott Story and his wife, Benita.

Johnny Saturn is a Batman-esque hero who dies at the hands of Dr. Synn, his arch-nemesis. But death is only the beginning for both Johnny Saturn and Synn. Character profiles bookend each issues.

Story said he was inspired by Watchmen and Frank Miller’s work on Batman and Daredevil. There’s also a dash of Kurt Busiek’s Astro City and Neil Gaiman, as well as DC-Wildstorm’s Apollo (as seen in Story’s Utopian) and Midnighter. The pacing remains excellent throughout, and the art is consistent, not to mention consistently good. If you read only one independent title in the next month, make it Johnny Saturn.

SketchMag Spotlight: Scott Story
July 7th, 2008 Bill Nichols Posted in Bill Nichols, General, conventions |

One of the best things that happened over the weekend of Wizard World Chicago was meeting Scott Story and his wife Benita. Scott’s a waaay talented guy who’s plugged into a lot of things. If you read his article on Sketch Magazine a few issues ago, you hopefully learned a few things as I did!

You ought to check out his webcomic Johnny Saturn! Here’s a page from it!

Josef Andreas Crestmere on Crestmeme on Wednesday, November 21, 2007

It came from WOWIO 5

Johnny Saturn 1 Date: Spring 2007 (from WOWIO, date not in the comic) Story: Scott and Benita Story Art: Scott Story Letters: Scott and Benita Story Colors: Scott Story and Lulu Borges

Scott had requested that I move this up in the queue. So I feel really special that I am getting a few review requests.

I want to start by saying that I am giving this book a qualified grade. This is probably the first time I have done this on Crestmeme. The book gets a B-*. That is a qualified B minus.

I have read quite a few superhero comics. Probably not as many as most comic fans but enough that I feel I have some kind of grasp on the genre. I am also going to include superhero related cartoons and movies as part of where I am drawing my knowledge from.

The problem that I see with superhero books outside of Marvel and DC is that they really try to go for the same effect. The problem is that Marvel and DC are coming from shared universes that have like seventy years worth of history to them that can be drawn from. When people try to draw from them and place them in an original form, they either go the way of archetype or pastiche (or some mix of the two). And a lot of this involves spending a little too much time actually framing us within the world. This is something that I have seen in indie superhero books that go across the board in terms of quality. But it is something that I feel needs to be put out in the open. Scott and Benita are not the first people to be guilty of this nor will they be the last.

The first issue spends far too long in cliched territory before it gets in to itself.

But, once it gets in to what it is really about then it takes off and it really is quite effective. I get the feeling that the future issues will be in solid B/B+ territory and possible the A range. This is probably the lowest grade I have given to a book I can’t wait to continue reading.

If there really is one real problem with the issue, it is the art. I found it tremendously inconsistent both in terms of style and quality. There were moments of brilliance in between pages that were not very good. I have skimmed through some of the later issues and it looks like the art gets better.

The first issue has some stuff that I would love to steal. A gentleman terrorist. Very cool idea that can play with expectations of what terrorism really is about. Though I may come at this from a more postmodern perspective and try to implicate the readers in acts of terrorism so it might not be the best kind of territory for me. The martial artist who uses his abilities to kick superhero ass. Awesome idea. Just imagine a fight on the streets of NYC between a wuxia Green Goblin and Spider Man. Who cares about story? I’d pay for a six issue trade of just that if you got the right artist. If Joe Quesada reads Crestmeme (god willing) please call me on this. Please. I’ll be your new best friend.

Now I am going to sound like a fourth grader. In conclusion, despite a few bumps on the road, johnny Saturn is a good comic and a comic that I want to continue reading.

The End.

Now it is time for milk and cookies and nap time.

GRADE: B-*

Thursday, January 18, 2007 Byte Marks (vol.1 / no.5)

As a long time comic fan, I am one of the voices that can be heard decrying the state of the industry. I can offer up a laundry list of all the things I think that are wrong in the four color world. It is always a pleasure for me to be able to shine a light on what is right in comics.

One of the shining examples of what is right is Scott and Benita Story’s Johnny Saturn. Take tight storytelling and old school artwork, toss them in a blender with the best of what has come before and the hope of things to come and Johnny Saturn is what is born from that volatile concoction.

Johnny Saturn, for me, is definitely a throwback to those heady days of mid-twentieth century “mystery men”, ala The Shadow, Doc Savage, and even The Batman (as originally conceived). He is the embodiment of that spartan work ethic and sure moral center that is largely missing in todays comics.

Johnny Saturn is hard-boiled, tooth and nail heroism that invokes the old school stylings of Jack Kirby, Wally Wood, Joe Simon, and Gil Kane, but matched with that peculier blend of modern angst and classic art that has been the trademark of creators like Frank Miller and Dave Gibbons.

Johnny Saturn is larger than life in a way that can only be showcased by the “street-level” adventures of a man of mystery. It is a snapshot of reality, played out on a grand stage, with all the inner turmoil that is wrestled with by we, the readers, and that’s what makes Johnny Saturn tick. We know we are lesser men than Johnny Saturn, but his will and moral fibre are inspiring, and that kids, is what comics were meant to do. Not to be masterbatory fantasies, but inspiring tales that show us what we can be…

Johnny Saturn, in summation, rocks.

‘Nuff Said…

Visit Scott Story’s MySpace for more information…

4 out of 5 stars

posted by Bob Freeman at 10:11 AM

Indy Spotlight: Johnny Saturn

I love superheroes. Yes, there are times when I wish there weren’t quite so many of them in comics. I don’t think there is a person in the hobby who doesn’t like a good superhero tale. There’s just something great about someone stepping up and trying to do the right thing, even with everything against you.

There are three types of superheroes. There’s what I call the everyman hero, like Spider-Man and Kyle Rayner; the natural hero like Superman or Hal Jordan or the final type I like to call the “mystery man,” they are grim, gritty and mysterious. They are often known more so for their intestinal fortitude and ingenuity rather than any likeability or morality. Usually, they are the darker characters like Batman or Daredevil. On a more classic level, they are the old radio characters like the Shadow or even the Phantom. This week’s book is the return of such a mystery man.

The Book: Johnny Saturn  Created, Written and Penciled by: Scott Story  Written and Inked by: Benita Story  Colored by: Lulu Borges  Publisher: Story Studios

Overview

Johnny Saturn is a very entertaining throwback to the mystery man concept. The story begins right off the bat with Johnny’s “final tale” as a character known as the Utopian describes his meeting with Johnny. The Utopian comes across as arrogant, pompous and snide and I think it was deliberate so readers would root for Johnny when the two fought. I know I was rooting for Johnny to beat his head in as I read on.

In spite of the fact that Utopian has superpowers akin to a super-man, it’s Utopian that ends up flat on his back. Wounded in both body and pride, he seeks revenge by calling in the rest of his team and finding out Saturn’s identity.

In the meantime a scientist by the name of Doctor Synn seeks to prove his hypothesis about chaos and creates little incidents to test out his theorems in nice interludes. Soon his theorems head to the extremes.

All the while, the Utopian finds Johnny and his secret identity and brings the rest of his team known as the Squadron Premier to settle the score only for Johnny to beat the whole team singlehandedly. Here is where this book really starts to find its own identity as the mysteries start to unravel. Johnny is a pain pill addict who’s body has shown signs of breaking down. He literally has bruises on his bruises and it actually made me wince when I looked at this guy.

As Utopian and Johnny come to a truce, Dr. Synn decides to perform his first large-scale experiment involving a truck and explosives.Ultimately, it’s Johnny that stops the amoral Dr. Synn, but only at the cost of his and Synn’s lives.

We return to the present day with Johnny’s funeral. Johnny’s wife reads about his death and decides to investigate for herself. This is when the series takes a drastic turn. Angels, demons and resurrections play a major role at this point as both Johnny and Synn come back from beyond the grave much different then they were before.

Synn in particular transforms into more then he was, literally consuming a demon in hell before escaping. Upon his return, he single-handedly destroys the Squadron. Johnny returns without any powers and finds himself in a sewer being healed up by the denizons below. All the while, this series builds up to the final battle.

Each issue comes with an extra feature that profiles the heroes and villains at the end. It took me back during the times when I collected Marvel trading cards. Lots of stats ranging from abilities to affiliations and martial arts styles. All in all, very fun stuff.

Story wise there are quite a few things to like about the series. I liked the fact that for the first few issues, you really didn’t actually get inside Johnny’s head. Instead his tale was told by others. It adds to the “mystery man” theme. It wasn’t until the third issue that you even had a remote idea of what was going on with Johnny. He is someone that was filled with determination and a will that long outlasted a body that had broken down.

My other favorite thing to note is the fact that superpowers play such a minor role in this story. In fact, superpowers seem more like a hindrance than a help to the many characters in here. Many of the superpowered are amateurish in abilities and just don’t have the same intestinal fortitude as Johnny or Synn. It’s an interesting take on powers that I don’t think I’ve seen before in any comic.

As for the art, Story is amazing. His pencils are crisp and are some of the best I’ve seen. He’s capable of drawing big, musclebound heroes or just plain people with amazing efficiency. My favorite stuff is his battle scenes. There is definitely hints of boxing in each punch he lands. You’ll notice there aren’t a lot of kicks or fancy maneuvers in each issue. It’s just plain, bone-crunching blows that actually can make you wince.

The “It” Factor

Scott Story’s art is incredible. It’s breathtaking and very pleasing to the eye. His art easily reminds me of some of the great artists at Image in the early ‘90s, yet he clearly stands out as a master in his own right. This series is a treasure to look at.

The other main “it” for me is that this is an entertaining superhero story. While there are some similarities to some of the characters, this story tells the tale of how one’s will and not one’s powers make the difference in the world for good or bad. Johnny is a hero due to his will to make a difference and that is always a great story. The elements may be borrowed but make no mistake, this book is its own tale and it is one that is definitely worth reading.

Reads Like …

If you like Batman, Daredevil, Spawn, Moon Knight, Punisher, this book is for you. Scott Story is an amazingly talented artist and this book showcases those abilities perfectly. Johnny Saturn is available online at http://www.storystudios.com in both online and single issue versions. I suggest picking it up.

That will do it for another column. I want to thank the Story’s for letting me take a look at this. Next week, I’ll be looking at another great book.

Essential Reading Johnny Saturn #1-4

http://www.storystudios.com

The Comic Review of Johnny Saturn! By Hatch Tarr, Monday, October 16, 2006

Johnny Saturn has got to be one of the best indie comics following a superhero I have ever read. That is a very strong statement but I love this storyline very much. Johnny is a mortal man that does the job that a dozen “Supers” can’t. The character reminds me alot of Batman in a way. A very bloody, beaten past that is unraveled with every issue.

I am not going to give anything away in the series because quit frankly you need to pick up copies for yourself and get into this amazing tale. This comic also has an interesting opening for a story. The story begins at the end… the end of Johnny’s life that is. Like a pulp fiction storyline. The Johnny Saturn series has a very unique way of tell a tale of a awsome new character that I know any comic fan would love. The storyline has lots of twist and turns that keeps you very excited.

I also must touch on the art in this comic, Simply amazing! You can tell that alot of time is put into this comic that Scott Story and wife/partner Benita Story put into it.

Check out Johnny Saturn and his creators Scott and Benita at http://www.myspace.com/scott_story . Tell them That Hatch Sent ya.

From LOP Magazine

Johnny Saturn

Co-Writer/Artist: Scott StoryCo-Writer/Letterer: Benita Story Updated: Every Weekday

Johnny Saturn is the story of a street level Batman type character that evidently bites the big one. The story is told by Utopian as a eulogy at Saturn’s funeral. The two knocked heads and the super-powered Utopian learned that martial arts and intellect can be formidable foes even for super powered beings.  Story’s writing is classic and timeless, and fun yet smart. His art is beautiful, dynamic and energetic. Overall the story is very interesting so far and I intend to keep up with it to see where it goes from here. You should do the same.

By Brant Fowler on Indy-Pendant at http://comicavalanche.com/columns/indypendant.htm

Johnny Saturn #1-3

Posted: Friday, September 8  By: Ariel Carmona Jr.  Scott Story: story and art  Benita Story: story, letters and edits  Publisher: Story Studios

Have you seen that commercial where the guy is painted from head to toe in the colors of his favorite team? I think it’s a soap commercial. His girlfriend leaves a message on his answering machine saying she’s coming over and bringing her parents. Naturally he freaks and jumps in the shower to rub off the body paint. Then the parents arrive with the girl at his door and they are all painted. Thing is, I guessed that was about to happen halfway through the darn thing.

This illustrates the problem of originality, or lack of it. It’s hard to be original these days, but that’s an ailment Johnny Saturn does not suffer from. It’s easily one of the most original comics I’ve read in quite sometimes, and it’s also one of the best indy comics I have ever read. Originally a web comic updated through Komikwerks.com, its creators describe it as a strange mix of mythology, demonology and 19th century romanticism. I think it’s the protagonist himself, a throwback to the pulp heroes of yesteryear which gives the comic its edge. That and the superbly crafted artwork and concepts by the husband and wife team of Scott and Benita Story whose Spire city milieu, reminiscent of Image’s Paragon City, is the perfect setting for the convergence of all these unique elements though it’s certainly also influenced by seminal works such as Sin City and Frank Miller’s The Dark Knight Returns.

Through three issues, we get to know these characters and what makes them tick. A brawl between Saturn and Utopian in issue #1 reminded me a lot of the conflicts between the morally centered Superman and the more militant methods of Batman and their frequent ideological clashes. However, this gets interrupted by the machinations of Dr. Synn, the perfect antithesis to Saturn, bent on chaos but executing his plans with a sense of decorum and style. Synn is as much a throwback as the heroes he does battle with. The issue ends with the anticipated confrontation between Saturn and the Squadron Premiere. The second issue throws the reader for a loop by killing off its protagonist! Yet, that only leads the story into very interesting paranormal avenues which allow it to reconstruct the superhero genre into something more than its confined clichés and its sometimes trite conventions.

With inviting cover visuals (the best of which is the rugged countenance of Saturn gritting at the reader through his cowl on the inaugural issue surrounded by a plethora of weird creatures) a compelling narrative, better than average artwork, and character bios at the end of every issue, Saturn is a tour de force and well worth reading.

Posted on Silver Bullet Comics

A selection from the cheeseboard December 16th, 2006 — vileboy

Johnny Saturn by Scott Story (artist, co-writer), and Benita Story (letterer, co-writer) is a homage to silver age comics,. It tells the tale of human punchbag Johnny Saturn and his one man mission to stop Dr Synn and his campaign of terror. It starts off with a good old Butch and Sundance battle between the Utopian and Johnny. Their relationship has taken more than a little inspiration from the problematic relationship between Supes and the Batman.

I think we can safely say that the comic has its tongue firmly in cheek with characters like Madame Fishnet. The character design and storyline are one hundred percent pulp (The Utopian makes the Beyonder look like a style guru).

The art is excellently drawn and reminds me of Marvel and DC comics from the 70’s and 80’s not only in style but also through the colouring, lettering and typography.

This comic puts the kitsch back into kapow. Go retro and give it a read.

As posted on Webcomicgeek at http://webcomicgeek.wordpress.com/

Webcomicsnation Peer Review by Steve Horton

Scott and Benita Story’s JOHNN SATURN is a terrific grim and gritty superhero tale in the tradition of WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS.

Johnny Saturn is an aged, burned-out street level crimefighter. He’s scarred up and constantly on painkillers. But he never says die – even when he does die. That’s the premise of Scott and Benita Story’s hard-hitting daily superhero series, JOHNNY SATURN. There are many superheroes in Spire City, the world Johnny lives in, and he doesn’t get along with many of them, especially the ones that get in his way. The Squadrom Premiere is the large superhero group that polices Spire City, but Johnny has never felt like he belonged with them. Opposing Johnny for most of his life is Dr. Horatio Synn, a sadistic doctor with interest in the occult. Johnny is ably drawn by Scott Story, who is equally good at the quiet, street-level scenes and high-flying, sometimes very bloody action. The series is co-written and lettered by Scott’s wife, Benita Story. The lettering is a perfect fit for the no-holds-barred scripting. Check out Johnny Saturn if you want a darker, fascinating take on superheroes. I recommend it highly. … read it now!

Steve Horton is the writer/creator of Strongarm, published by Image Comics

Scott and Benita Story’s Johnny Saturn.

Best comic I saw all weekend. It’s fun, old school, and Eisner/Kirby-esque. Definitely evokes the Spirit, the Shadow, early Batman and the best of the Silver Age team books, like All Star Squadron. This book deserves to be a big hit. For my money, it is hands down the best that the indie scene has to offer. Visit www.storystudios.com for more information.

Bob Freeman, Author of Cairnwood Manor, published by Black Death Books

Webcomicnations Peer Review by Tim Demeter

I like super heroes. But they don’t make them like they used to, do they? Over the last decade or so I can scarcely think of any new super heroe characters that have really caught my interest. Invincible comes to mind. So does Johnny Saturn.

I like super heroes. But they don’t make them like they used to, do they? Over the last decade or so I can scarcely think of any new super heroe characters that have really caught my interest. Invincible comes to mind. So does Johnny Saturn. Crafted by the husband and wife team of Scott and Benita Story, Johnny Saturn does what the best of modern super hero stories do; it takes the familiar and uses that familiarity to propel the story, and then turns your expectations completely around on you Johnny himself shares more than few traits in common with the Batman featured in The Dark Knight Returns. Except, oh yeah, that he’s dead on the very first page. The comic is CALLED Johnny Saturn. How does that even work, right? That narrative hook is the first of many turns that Johnny Saturn takes as it progresses, keeping it far from ever becoming just another tick mark on the laundry list of grim’n gritty protagonists the mainstream of super heroes force fed us in the 90’s. The title may be Johnny Saturn, but this comic is about much, much more, not the least being a villain so effortless evil you’ll wonder how he’ll ever be stopped. Assuming he is. If you’ve ever liked super heroes, but have grown a bit cynical about editorially driven crossovers and variant covers, give Johnny Saturn a look and you’ll remember exactly what a great super hero comic can be. … read it now!

Tim Demeter is the Editor of Graphic Smash, and the creator of Reckless Life

Matt Koelbl on Damn Good Comics on 10-9-07

In webcomics, Johnny Saturn is the largest example of this problem that I’ve seen. I’ve been thinking about the comic a lot, lately, because it has recently pushed a little too far for my tastes.

See, I’ve enjoyed the comic for some time now. It was a true, old-school action comic, and really seemed to represent what Graphic Smash was all about. But… well, Johnny Saturn himself was so very 90’s – a grim and gritty hero who was supposed to be more heroic than all the brightly-colored capes flying around overhead.

I like many of the secondary characters in the comic, I like the setting and the background storyarcs – and let’s be fair, in the beginning, the entire comic starts off well. The opening scene is of the Utopian (who appears an equivalent of Superman) giving a speech at Johnny’s grave, talking about how easy it is for the cosmic heroes to forget what the street heroes accomplish.

It is a very good speech.

I regret that, unfortunately, we’ll continue to have its message drilled home with every panel of every page of the comic. The comic goes on to show how Johnny, despite an ordinary man with no superpowers, was able to beat the crap out of the Utopian in a one-on-one fight. Later, he was able to do the same to the Squadron Premiere, the Utopian’s superpowered allies, before going on to handle the problems they couldn’t solve.

When he then heroically gives his own life to stop a villain (as one knows will occur from the opening scene), we got a step further – he rises from the grave through sheer force of will alone! A fortunate thing, as his archenemy has done the same, returning from Hell with a demon’s power, and is singlehandedly killing dozens of superheroes at a time. A good thing Johnny, an ordinary fellow, is around to step in and imprison him in a magic circle!

This, really, is where the strip lost me. The strip goes on to show how, despite the demon being imprisoned, one of the superheroes is still dumb enough to get himself killed by it. Fortunately, Johnny demonstrates he alone has the tactical knowledge to show how the demon can be killed – by having the supers focus their energy attacks on his head and chest.

And, with that sage advice, the evil is vanquished, thanks to Johnny Saturn.

Now, this is a comic about the guy - it is allowed to portray him as a hero. He is allowed to be the focus. But there really needs to be a limit, or it stops being about a competent hero, and more about the writer specifically setting things up to cast the character in the best possible light.

There needs to be a sense of balance. I’m not simply talking power-level – but when a character is stronger, smarter and tougher than everyone else, when there is no action they can take that will not result in triumph over their enemies… well, what’s the point?

Without even the possibility of a challenge, without the outcome ever being in doubt… why am I even reading?