Meltdown: The Definitive Collection

Meltdown #1-3

by David B. Schwartz, Sean Wang (Illustrator)

The Flare is dying. His own super-powers are eating him alive, melting him down from within. During his final days, The Flare must struggle with his volatile life and the questionable decisions he's made along the way, hoping to find redemption before time runs out. See the final moments that prove what a hero can -- and should -- be, in the stunning mini-series that took the comic industry by storm.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Comic Book

160 pages, Paperback

First published July 19, 2007

About the author

David B. Schwartz is a comic book writer.

Reviews

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

After reading all the glowing reviews for this book, I came away a bit disappointed. The hero is very compelling and the story is fairly unique. But the depiction of modern superheroics is starting to lose its novelty. Every indie book (and even some in the mainstream) are now going the postmodern route of making their heroes self-aware and giving them publicists, corporate sponsorships and a line of merchandise. That's no longer interesting in and of itself.
The art was solid and the writing was better than average. But I live and die by the rule of "show, don't tell." (Especially in a comic book, where "show" is even more of a concern.) So any story where the script is 75% captions is going to lose me. I realize there isn't much space here to work with, but you have to make room for character development and not use lazy captions declaring "Heroes don't act this way" and "Neuron often comes across as self-absorbed..."

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Flare is dying and this book chronicles the final days of a superhero for hire.

I did enjoy the ending. But since I almost stopped reading at the beginning I can't really justify a 4 star rating. The book starts with whining: nice guy who likes a girl who only dates "jerks". Not that they really show those men being jerks, but that is assessment. Almost, made me put down the book at that point. But I own it because an impulse buy at the store (used comic). And I figured I should read it. It deals with some tropes that other comics use: super scientist who is like magic and the like.

So, a decent read. I'll keep it.

[Nihal Vrana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly touching Super-Hero story. Each time I think that there is not much left to do in this genre, someone comes up with a good story; it is like an endless source. Even though the super-hero genre mostly moved away from the dichotomy of the hero's daily life versus its secret identity (there rests a very good Ph.D. thesis actually, to study this change in tone); this book handles Flair's double life extremely well. Also, the arch-enemy part has a nice twist to it, constantly losing to your "villain" who in some ways glorified as a Robin Hood. I did not like the last page; I would have finished the book on the scene just before; but overall it was very enjoyable.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

In thist short 3-issue epic, we examine a hero's rise and fall. The fire-manipulator known as the Flare has discovered that he has very little time left; his own powers are burning him out. Seeking to put an end to his old rival and finish out in a blaze, we explore how the Flame got so jaded - and if he can pull back from the brink in time. Meltdown pulls few punches in examining a man's quest to determine his legacy.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story with a lot of heart. packed with extras for the comic fan to see the pitch and the breakdowns.

[Mazin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Rise & Fall of a superhero...
Was ok - but I felt little disappointed after reading all reviews because I thought I was going to read a masterful story, appeared nothing masterful at all !