The latest comic from No/One writer Brian Buccellato proves that it's never too late to be a hero. Midlife (Or How to Hero at Fifty!) is a new ongoing series from Image about a middle-aged firefighter who discovers that he has a surprising superpower.
The series, which is drawn by Stefano Simeone, follows 50-year-old firefighter Ruben Kwan. Despite his job, Ruben is terrified of fire and he's spent most of the last 25 years as a pencil-pusher for the LAFD. When his wife falls pregnant, however, Ruben discovers new resources of courage and a surprising new power: he's utterly fireproof.
"I'm super excited to tell this weirdly personal story," said Brian Buccellato. "It's a combination of grounded, humorous, dark, and absurd - featuring a biracial fifty-year-old rookie hero who accepts the challenge of using his newfound powers for good... even if he does have a bad back and creaky knees."
Buccellato also described the new book as "an opportunity to tell a superhero story from a different point of view, with a protagonist who is half Chinese and half Puerto Rican and drawn from my own life experience as a father starting a new family again at fifty."
Artist Stefano Simeone added, "When Brian first talked to me about his idea for Midlife my son had just been born, so I can relate a lot with this. Ruben is 50 and I'm in my 30s, but I feel older. So now I just need superpowers. I hope people will enjoy this series, it has so much heart and action, I think we all need someone like Ruben to protect us in real life."
Midlife (Or How to Hero at Fifty!) #1 will be published by Image Comics on October 11.
The big two don't have the monopoly on superheroes. Here's our guide to the best non-Marvel and DC superhero universes.
