Dynamo 5 or why should I give this comic another chance?

So after much pimping by fellow CBRians I finally received my copy of the first trade (comprising issues 1-7) of this new series last night.

For those unfamiliar with the premise of the book, Captain Dynamo was the cities greatest protector (think superman archetype) with 5 powers, Telepathy, Flight, Superstrength, Shapeshifting and Laser vision. He was also a little bit of a dirty dog in the sack.

Upon his death (left as a bit of a dangling plot point), his widow seeks out his 5 illigitimate children and ensures that they can carry on his legacy. Each has one of his powers and it's a typical coming of age saga as the 5 kids struggle to work as a team whilst coming to terms with their own issues.

The pros:

There are some unusual power dynamics here - for example, the telepath in the Parkman from heroes role is a bit stupid. He's also a linebacker for his high school football team and wants to give people a bit of biff - that's quite a clever thought out idea. In addition, the seemingly most creative of the team is the bruiser and female.

The art's good, dynamic, striking and clean.

In 7 issues, we get a good feel for the dynamics of the team and Dynamo's widow in the Professor X meets Nick Fury meets Emma Frost role, whilst looking like Dr Leslie from Batman is pretty complex as characters go.

Each story is kinda self-contained

The book has a nice quasi-silver age vibe to it

It's a lot of FUN.

The cons:

I know Image are publishing shorter books these days at $1.99 but, even legislating for that, the book feels short, yet without feeling decompressed. Whilst a lot seems to happen, it doesn't feel particularly deep and is over far too quickly (I have only read it once, very late last night - I should caveat!)

Robert Kirkman writes the forward - I can't stand Kirkman - at least there aren't any zombies in it yet!

There's no sense of peril at any point. For me, one of the most exciting things about new books in recent years (I'm keeping it fairly Marvel Centric here) such as Avengers: The Initiative, New X-men, The Order, X-Statix, Winnickxiles, New Warriors, is that anyone can die. Well, for a new book, it just doesn't have that peril.

Also, is it an all ages book, as it feels, or is it an adult book. To me it feels like it sits uncomfortably in between at the moment.

All in all, I enjoyed the book and will stick with it for another arc. What it did, it did well, but there's no imagination in it beyond the initial premise and no real sense of peril. I think this book can do well but needs to find its feet a little more.

Verdict: I'll give it another trade to pick up.