While the origins for becoming a hero can be as varied as the powers themselves, writer Jason Cook isn’t afraid to take step to the dark side with Blake Undying, the tale of a young man who tries to kill himself but finds out he cannot die and so uses his new-found powers to help.

Publisher: Digital Fiasco
Writer: Jason Cook
Artist: Ezequiel Rubio
Price: £0.79 from ComiXology

Essentially this first issue takes the classic hero origin story and crosses it with middle section of Groundhog Day. It’s not your usual superhero fare but it makes for a really engaging and absorbing read. The tone is very gritty and real and by not mentioning powers or capes has the kind of grounded quality we lived in M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable movies.

There is a real darkness and nihilism to Blake Undying but without it ever becoming too over-wrought and over-bearing. With it’s dark concept it’s not going to be for everyone, but if you like your comics with jet black sense of humour and some witty self aware moments then this is for you. It reminded us a bit of early Grant Morrison or Garth Ennis for the way it makes the most of a strong idea and develops it in fresh and new ways.

Artist Ezequiel Rubio manages to balance realism with some outrageous moments all of which are captured with superb detail and strong composition. The artwork is unfussy and slightly unrefined but is of a high enough standard to not detract from the overall product.

This is one of those books that feels like it should being released on a much grander scale than it currently is. It has the genre awareness and savvy story telling of a major indie release and if this is the start of a new ongoing series then we are delighted that Blake won’t be killing himself off any time soon!