Mighty Love is a soap opera for the superhero set.

She is a police officer by day but, by night, she scours the city as Skylark for those who elude her more official form of justice. He is a public defender, charged with doing his best to get accused criminals back on the streets, where he hunts them down by night as the Iron Angel.

By day, they really hate each other. By night, romantic sparks fly whenever they cross paths.

The plot of Howard Chaykin's stand-alone story is unremarkable; you figure out pretty quickly that the philanthropic showman at the start of the book orchestrated the theft of his own cash. What's entertaining about it is the dynamic between this not-so-dynamic duo -- during their first few encounters, they interfere with each other and let the bad guy get away. But once they start talking and even teaming up to an extent, they find they have a whole lot in common behind those concealing masks.

Granted, the story would change dramatically if they ever got a peek at the faces they're both hiding.

Mighty Love benefits both from Chaykin's rapid-paced dialogue and his roughly chiseled art. The interaction between characters is fun enough to make me wonder what happens next -- unfortunately, Chaykin doesn't appear to be pursuing the further adventures of Iron Angel and Skylark. Maybe someday.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
23 December 2006