Greatest Hits #1

This is the first superhero book from Vertigo since "The Invisibles" and with Glenn Fabry (Slaine, The Authority) doing the artwork, Todd Klein (Promethea, Fables, Sandman) lettering and a good buzz, I was expecting something special.
Basically, it's the Beatles as superheroes.  The son of a member of an iconic British 60's superhero group called "The Mates" is emotionally and financially blackmailed into doing a documentary retrospective about the group.  The fictional history of this universe is related as a backgound to the filming.
In the hands of a more talented writer (Warren Ellis, Alan Moore or Garth Ennis), this premise could have worked brilliantly.  As it is, well... There's nothing actually wrong with it.  Fabry's art is excellent and the the husband and wife coloring team of Richard and Tanya Horie make the panels look as if Fabry has painted them (even though he hasn't).  They've previously worked together on Neverwhere - as you'd expect this comic has a very similar look).  As usual, Todd Klein's lettering is almost invisible until you go back through the comic panel by panel and see how much he's added to the feel of the comic.
The problem is with the writing; it's distinctly average.  I've lost count of how many superteam origin stories I've read and this added nothing new.  The "superheroes as bastards" trope is currently being done much better by Garth Ennis in The Boys.  As I said, there's nothing wrong with it: the story flows, the dialogue is servicable and he's found some interesting parallels between superteams and rock bands.  Unfortunately, it just didn't grab me and I was left with no desire to add it to my pull list.  This is a shame because I wanted to like it.
If you get it, get it for the artwork - and to support an up-and-coming writer who's best work we've yet to see.