Fearless

This collection of the 2007 miniseries presents a city whose criminal gangs are kept in check primarily by the unceasing efforts of the vigilante named Fear. Contrary to the name he has assumed, Adam “Fear” Rygert is a man crippled by phobias, able to function only because he has access to a drug that neutralizes his anxieties. A superhero is only as invulnerable as his most easily kidnapped loved one; a mysterious third party steps in to assist gang lord Goran by striking at Adam through Lionel, Adam’s mentor and the source of Adam’s drug. Adam soon finds himself struggling against a foe who has more in common with Adam than Adam suspects, in a city thrown into chaos by the sudden availability of the antianxiety drug. While a competent reworking of very familiar superhero tropes, Fearless never exceeds the barely competent. Sable and company’s posturing vigilante never convinces that he has a reason to charge around the city in his armor; the reader is similarly denied any reason to care about these two-dimensional characters as they flail their way through a standard fallen hero plot. (Dec.)