Written by Warren Ellis
Drawn and Colored by Jason Howard
Review by KrisK
A man, strapped to a chair and half naked, breaks under interrogation. The interrogator asks him what the old place is like. The restrained man tells him walkie-talkies, and the walkie-talkies play music and television. Computers are the sound of books, and people communicate with them. The interrogator is flabbergasted. They have technology there, but it is more advanced versions of technology that existed a hundred years ago. Nothing truly new.
The man confesses he is there as “force recon”. One man sneaks in, and he establishes a base. From there, the comic reads like any good action-packed espionage comic. Chases and explosions. Forced alliances. The Star Wars reminiscent hover bikes. Okay, the last part is a little outside the standard cloak and dagger. But what do you expect from Warren Ellis?
The man who wrote Transmetropolitan and Red, and who revitalized Iron man and Thunderbolts, returns to Image comics with a new mini-series. So far, the comic is good, but its light on meat. It sets up the premise nicely though, and it promises new visuals and ideas. In the hands of a lesser writer, I might not give so much trust, but this is Warren Ellis. He has earned it.
The art, (done by Trees co-creator Jason Howard), matches the grit of the situation. It suits a spy comic, and a sci-fi comic, so it is perfect for this miniseries. My only problem with it: it wasn’t always clear in the action sequences how we got from one panel to the next. It didn’t flow seamlessly, and I had to slow down and look at the panels again to figure it out.
The comic was more interesting to me in the first half, though, and I was disappointed it went down a familiar road. That being said, though, you have to follow some path or another.
Verdict: Check it out. I enjoyed this comic, and though, it let me down a bit towards the end, I strongly suspect it will delve deeper into a new and interesting world. Trust Ellis, kids. He won’t let you down.
