Annihilation Conquest (2007-2008)

Like the preceding crossover there was some good and more bad. Due to its nature, using mini-series that lead into the main mini, it felt fragmented and uneven. Different artists and different styles and all that. That’s true for most crossovers, but somehow I find it even more pronounced in this one and its predecessor. That’s not to say there isn’t some good stuff.

I loved the Star-Lord mini by Giffen which had excellent art in the style of some European artists (Moebius comes to mind). It featured a “Dirty Dozen”-inspired mission to a Phalanx infested Kree-world. My main problem is that both Annihilation and Annihilation Conquest tried to feature as many of Marvel’s space characters as possible at the expense of a coherent narrative.

This approach probably could have worked with a more complex plot than just Ultron taking over the Phalanx and then Kree space. A fragmented, mosaic approach works best when trying to cover a highly complex subject, but not when you have something this simple (or at least when it’s portrayed this simple, I expect galaxy-wide invasions are highly complex operations in general, but this one didn’t look the part).

Solomon Grundy (2009)

This TPB features the seven issue mini about Solomon Grundy from last year and the Faces of Evil special that came before. In the special Grundy reverts back to Cyrus Gold. Cyrus was killed in the late 19th century and rose as the creature now known as Solomon Grundy. Cyrus want to end the endless cycle of death and rebirth, that characterized the life of Solomon Grundy so far.

The Phantom Stranger, an elusive magic-user in the DC universe, wants the same as Cyrus, but for a different reason. He grants Cyrus seven days to find out who murdered him originally and forgive his killer. The whole series starts with a very confusing layout that makes reading a chore. While the layout gets better later on, it still remains pretty hard to read and the story isn’t really that strong to make up for it. As expected, Cyrus finds the killer, but doesn’t forgive him, since big comic publishers don’t allow semi-successful villains to die. This wasn’t really interesting or even satisfying. Not recommended.

Tech Jacket: The Boy from Earth (2002-2003)

This TPB, first published in 2003 (but only in black and white), collects the early Kirkman series Tech Jacket. It’s about a kid who gets this alien tech suit which boosts his normal strength beyond measure and allows him additional powers (the usual: flight, missiles, lasers). He uses his newfound powers to save the alien race that provided the tech jacket from another evil race and his dad from a money lender.

It’s pretty simplistic, even amateurish. Considering it came out only a year before Invincible and some other more skilled works by Kirkman, it’s startling just how weak it is. That said, it’s pretty easy to read and not boring and tedious in the way that other amateurish work can be. Still not something I would recommend, even if you like everything done by Kirkman.

Iron Man: The Five Nightmares (2008-2009)

Well written and with a well designed plot, but I didn’t found it very engaging, neither on the gut-level nor content-wise. Compared to Ellis Extremis story, that used a simple conflict between a terrorist and Stark to explore the Iron Man character with great depth, this has a sophisticated surface that hides a simple vengeance story.

I heard Fraction did great things with Iron Man, but I can’t say this has won me over. While Fraction manages to convey the horror of the attacks, the sheer scale of the destruction and the deaths they cause, it makes it impossible to enjoy the resulting fight between Iron Man and Obediah’s son. Yes, I know, a rather shallow reaction, but one reason to read superheroes is for the action. On the other hand, since the story is really just another tired version of a villains son seeking revenge, the whole sophisticated storytelling approach didn’t do it either for me.

Brit: Old Soldier (2003-2004)

A collection of the three one-shots of Brit from 2003 and 2004. His main characteristic is being indestructible and being old. Brit works for the US government (some spook division) and takes out villains with superpowers. His main tactic is to go in, tire them out and then kill them without hesitation. This works splendidly most of the time, but often his action involve a high amount of collateral damage. Beside the widescreen action the comics also explore Brit’s private life, which leads to some of the more funnier moments.

Brit’s appeal as a character is someone who is simple and direct, whether he has to deal with supervillains or parents-in-law. That doesn’t mean he’s stupid, but he doesn’t do melodrama and deep introspection each moment of his life. That he can show the final pages of the collection, where all the consequences of his violent lifestyle come back to haunt him.

Brit is a comic that is plain fun, one that doesn’t take itself too seriously most of the time, but with enough sophistication to make the characters convincing and real.

Planetary (1998-2009)

Planetary is about a group of three people gifted with extraordinary skills who explore the secret history of the Wildstorm universe (although this is more like the Ellis version of the Wildstorm universe, so no annoying crossovers with stupid mega-events nor any attempt to make it fit typical Wildstorm continuity). The three seek out the weird and the otherworldly, trying to conserve the world as a place of strangeness and mystery.

The series has a pretty episodic structure, that allows Ellis to explore a new facet of fictional hero archetypes in each issue. There’s typical superhero stuff, the DC variant and the Marvel atomic age wonders, a Tarzan facsimile, pulp heroes, heroic bloodshed, a John Constantine pastiche and so on.

But instead of being a nostalgic trip to the past (hard to imagine Ellis being nostalgic about superheroes) it’s an exploration of these archetypes, to show that the modern American superhero comics didn’t spring up in whole cloth. Ellis cuts away the fat of nostalgic remembrance and incorporates everything into an ongoing narrative about a cold war over secrecy between two very powerful groups, the Planetary team and an evil version of the Fantastic Four. Read as a meta-commentary, it’s about characters in the public domain and big companies who don’t ever let their money cows run free.

What makes Planetary so great is that it’s not just a collection of references, but an engaging story with excellent (albeit typical Ellis) characters. The main plotline is another meta-commentary on superhero comics and their conflicted use of science fictional tropes. For all the aliens that turn up, for all the technology they leave behind or other advanced manmade technology, the settings (Marvel, DC, Wildstorm, etc.) remain on the same tech level as our world. Technological progress is hindered by editorial mandate.

In Planetary this problem is embodied by the Four, who collect and then shut away all advanced technology. As Elijah Snow says near the end of the series, the world is a “Third World”-world, one that could be so much more.

This is the anti-thesis to science fiction, with its focus on seeing how available technology changes the world, for better or worse. And Planetary is about cracking that nut, breaking the world free. In the end this isn’t the Wildstorm universe anymore, but a world taking its first steps into the future. For better or worse.

Gravel: Bloody Liars & The Major Seven (2007-2009)

Great Britain’s hierarchy of magicians consist of seven minor and seven major ones. The minor magicians, all very powerful, still engage themselves in worldly concerns, acting as sort of a police force to regulate the secret magic underworld. The major seven, even more powerful than the minor, are the heart of Britannia’s magic. Without them, magic would reign with no control leash.

Gravel, the combat-magician, comes back from his latest mission and learns that his place in the minor seven has been usurped. As expected, he isn’t happy about it and goes at correcting the error in his usual highly violent ways. And when he learns of a big magic tome shared by the other six, he goes after each of them.

When he is the last man standing, he gets an offer to join the major seven. But while their marketing makes them out to be above petty human concerns, the reality is different. Now tasked with replacing the minor seven and finding a murder among the major ones, Gravel has enough reasons to get a murderous headache.

I liked the original Gravel minis with their undemanding nature. Easily read, highly enjoyable (if you like a modest amount of violence and some gore) and just plain cool. The ongoing follows the formula but adds its own tweaks. Gravel’s character gets a little more depth and the story feels heavier due to the expanded space and the stronger connections between the first and the second story arc. The original minis were very self-contained, here things work together to build a much bigger tapestry. That doesn’t work for all comic series, but in this case it transforms Gravel from a good read into a must buy.

The A-Team (2010)

The movie adaptation of the famous 80ies series tries to be as close as possible to the source material, but still can’t help itself being somewhat different. The source material worked because of the unique characters, the plots were always negligible and interchangeable. Local bad guys with delusions of grandeur taken out by four mercenaries on the run from the army. The weakest characters of the lot are Liam Neeson as Hannibal and Quinton Jackson as Baracus. Not managing to find a good replacement for Baracus is understandable, but Liam Neeson could have been a perfect Hannibal. Sadly the plot had other plans and shows Neeson’s Hannibal as somewhat out of his element halfway through the movie. Either you try to follow the source material as closely as possible or you go for a different interpretation, but you can’t have both. Interestingly, where Hannibal falters, Faceman rises to the challenge. IMHO the weakest of the original characters, here he replaces Hannibal as the leader and takes over his role to a degree. This is odd, but the movie manages to make it work. But I would have preferred a stronger Hannibal in the lead.

But was the movie entertaining? Well, it passed the time and I wasn’t really bored, but it didn’t manage to recapture the fun of the TV-series. It might have worked better with an approach less tied to the source material. I (and probably many others) enjoyed the A-Team TV-series despite its many faults. It wasn’t perfect. Merely transplanting the A-Team on the big screen with different actors hasn’t helped to alleviate some of these problems (weak plot, weapon fire doesn’t hurt people much, stupid and overly complex solutions).

Brit (2007-2009)

First there were three excellent one-shots with Brit, the old, no-nonsense and mainly indestructible superhero by Robert Kirkman. This short-lived ongoing from 2007 has the same zeal and energy and especially the same enthusiasm for wide-screen destruction that made the original one-shots so enjoyable.

Interestingly it’s not written by Kirkman, but some other guy named Bruce Brown. It’s still as good, so that’s the only thing that counts. At times I was reminded of Warren Ellis’s NextWave, but it’s not as unhinged. It’s humoristic in places, but it’s not a humor comic. The action is real, people can get hurt and even killed. Actions have consequences. The fun comes from the kick-ass attitude of the characters and weird elements like sharks with rocket packs.

Over the course of the ongoing Brit has to deal with a traitorous government spook, an evil alternate self and his evil brother. As you can see it’s not original, but the delivery is excellent. While it was terminated due to low sales, Brown managed to finish on a high note with a satisfying ending. It’s not a big finish with the whole world hanging in the balance, but just Brit saving his son. And then using him like a baseball bat on the villain. Gotta love that.

Lost at Sea (2003)

Most of us feel lost at one moment or another in life. It’s the realization that there’s no true safe harbor, no certainty, no absolute truths. Sooner or later we also realize that this isn’t an unique experience. We’re all just muddling through, trying to get on with life. Sometimes people call it growing up. But what helps is company, having other people around. Lost at Sea by Scott Pilgrim creator Bryan Lee O’Malley perfectly captures this feeling. Its 18-year old heroine believes that her soul has been taken away by a cat. This isn’t fantasy, mind you, just your everyday delusion to cope with a world that doesn’t conform to childish expectations.

The comic could have easily gone down the emo-road, but while it’s a bit like that initially, Malley makes the soul-searching of his heroine into a fun road trip. There’s cat-chasing in the night, there’s jumping-on-beds and just plain having fun while trying to figure out what makes the world tick. And while it has its share of soul-gazing, there’s none of the annoying, angsty teenage melodrama that makes these things so annoying in general.