Yowza.

The End League: Ballad of Big Nothing begins with the end of the world. Well, not quite, but the violent green explosion that rocks the planet kills a large portion of the population ... and triggers an evolutionary step toward superpowers. Unfortunately, in the aftermath of an apocalypse, more folks are interested in helping themselves than the rest of the world, so the number of villains rises exponentially while the number of heroes is few. It doesn't help that their leader, Astonishman (a Superman knock-off), caused the blast through hubris, and that he still, years later, wrestles with that secret guilt.

A simple plan to liberate food supplies from his evil nemesis (Dead Lexington, i.e. Lex Luthor) goes badly, and quickly members of the End League are on the ropes in a very high-stakes battle.

The tone is gloomy, but the action is constant and will hold your attention. There are plenty of overused comic-book tropes at play, and you'll recognize not-so-subtle variations on a great many popular DC and Marvel characters here, including a blatant Wonder Woman rip-off, a thinly veiled Joker and a Thor who's been reinvented as a mindless Hulk.

I like the tone of despair that pervades this book. I don't like that creator Rick Remender was unable to conceive of many new characters, satisfying himself instead with copies of familiar old ones. I like that no one here is safe, and heroes you grow attached to might fall at any turn of the page. I don't like that, despite the horror and poverty suffered by these weary, embattled heroes, they all look like they just came from their favorite superhero tailor and dry-cleaner; even during Armageddon, apparently, there's time to do the laundry. I like that there's a second volume out there so I can see where this story goes next.

The End League still has time to rise above its own limitations. Let's see what Remender can do.