Mark Millar proves that he still has his finger on the pulse of popular consciousness with Jupiter’s Legacy #1, a premiere issue that explores superheroics in a way that is both refreshing and cynical. Millar manages to pack a lot of backstory into the first issue without making it feel overcrowded by exposition. The world of Jupiter’s Legacy is both immediately familiar and uniquely original. The theme of incorporating heroes of extraordinary abilities into our world is an ongoing theme Millar explores in his work and nowhere has it struck as strong a chord as it does here.

This is our world with a few additions. Super-powered beings inhabit it but they are no more or less heroic than the average person. Through a series of day-in-the-life moments, Millar introduces us to aging patriarchs whose ideologies are as graying as their beards and a new generation of heroes who don’t yet understand or appreciate their place in the world.Frank Quitely delivers some of the loveliest art amongst this week’s new releases. The aesthetic of Jupiter’s Legacy blends a powerful realism with a sense of the fantastical in a way that is seamlessly integrated with Millar’s narrative. The trick behind Quitely’s art is how easy he makes it look. It’s not. His subtle mastery of angles and composition makes the world of Jupiter’s Legacy come alive with almost cinematic realism. The facial expressions and body language of his figures sometimes speaks louder than the words Millar has them speak.When The Utopian puffs his chest and squares his shoulders, we see the shadow of the man he used to be. When his son slouches low, wiling away his time in a nightclub while ignoring a summons to join the fray, we understand what a disappoint he must be.For an introductory issue, Jupiter’s Legacy hits the notes it has to in terms of world-building and character development, if the action does feel a little anemic in some places. Together, Millar and Quitely have constructed a world as rich and vibrant as our own, peopled with individuals who are neither heroes nor villains. Jupiter’s Legacy looks to be the sort of book that explores the shades of gray between black and white.

Melissa Grey is a lover of all things cats, comics, and outer space. She can be found on MyIGN at MelissaGrey or lurking on Twitter @meligrey