Posts Tagged ‘Warren Ellis’

ReadComics Podcast #045 – Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, a Film Confessional Joint

August 18th, 2010 by Martin

This episode was a joint podcast with our friends (and cohorts) over at the Film Confessional podcast. Jason, Justin, Angela, and Marty discuss at length the recent release of Scott Pilgrim Versus the World, which is, of course, the movie adaptation of the much loved Scott Pilgrim comics by Bryan Lee O’Malley.

Angela and Marty also share their experience seeing a very sneak preview of the movie RED, which is based on a short comic series by the same name written by Warren Ellis and illustrated by Cully Hamner.

Listen to ReadComics.org Podcast Episode #045 (105 MB, 114 minutes)

Married With Comics – October 29

November 2nd, 2008 by Martin

This is the second installment of Florence and Marty reviewing their weekly pull list. Warning: these will be spoiler-filled entries.

Sword #12

Florence: So we’ve been complaining that not a lot has happened in a few issues. Something happened in this Issue that’s going to send ripples… But what happened seems so predictable that I wasn’t really excited about it. And it seems like what’s going to come next also seems incredibly predictable. I would love to be pleasantly surprised. With Girls I never knew what was going to come next. It’s almost as if what happened shocked the characters inside the book, but it didn’t really effect anyone reading it. Reading about people being shocked doesn’t necessarily produce excitement. They set up a big epic fight to the death, and they dragged it out for several issues, so at some point someone had to win, and it was probably going to be the main character. I’m bored.

Martin: What I’d like to say is that I think there’s really no way it can be that dumb. But all signs do indicate that’s what’s happening. I’m not sure he’s really dead.

Florence: It’s even more boring if he’s not really dead.

Martin: Yeah, I definitely see what you mean, then it’s like we’ve spent the last three issues doing nothing.

Florence: It seems like, in their minds (the luna brothers), it was really interesting and creative the things he could do with water. But we’ve all been reading comic books for a long time, being punched with an ice fist just doesn’t strike me as that innovative.

Martin: He had a big floating ice ball too! But I completely agree. I did think the end of the comic was interesting, the fact that this is all publicised and on the news suggests the government organization that had her in custody briefly earlier in the comic clearly doesn’t have all that much influence.

Florence: I did think the last page was my favorite part.

Martin: I think my favorite part was seeing the battle scene from above. It was cool how all the ice spread out from the center point of his death. I hope we get to find out how they got their powers. Because if this is really the death of a god, don’t you think there’d be reprecussions? I mean they just killed water. Now what?

Florence: I never thought they were actual gods, they just had the power of gods, compared with humans. There was an origin story somewhere in there.

Martin: I thought all we knew was that their mother had been an outcast, and gone up to a mountain, and that was about it.

Florence: I’ve forgotten it now.

Martin: Exactly.

No Hero #2

Martin: I can’t help but wonder how much we’re paying for those FIVE pages of Avatar ads and order forms in the back of this comic.

Florence: I definitely felt like the comic ended abruptly, because I didn’t know we were that close to the end with all those additional pages.

Martin: That minor quibble aside, I did really like this. I think the main guy, the inventor of the drug, is naive to think he can be the only one who ever creates superheroes.

Florence: I think he uses his current power to sabotage anyone who comes close to reproducing the formula.

Martin: Obviously. But there was some kind of hint in there that this has been an ongoing struggle. They’ve been “attacked”, and I thought that was clearly by some other people with superpowers.

Florence: I think that attack could have been accomplished by someone without superpowers, and I thought that no one else had reproduced it yet.

Martin: I think time will prove me right on this one. But who knows. I just can’t see taking a super-powered person apart the way they said happened (in Minneapolis no less!) without having other super-powered people on their side. (Try saying “super powered people” three times fast.)

Florence: I think their knowledge of the anatomy is what allowed them to do it, not that they had to have identical powers.

Martin: We shall see. But you’re wrong. Oh, and I do really like the art. I think Juan Jose Ryp is getting a lot better.

Florence: I don’t really like the art. I think it serves the story pretty well, but it’s too brutal and bloody for me to enjoy it.

Martin: There wasn’t even that much blood in this one. Just some vomit, and a sort of blood-spattered hallucinatory orgy at the end. Do you think he’ll survive the induction?

Florence: Yes, or else there wouldn’t be a comic about him. I do think he’s intended to be the main character. He’s just been sort of passive so far. I think his journey is supposed to be the main story.

Martin: I think he’s getting set up to be the one who takes down the whole organization.

Florence: So what do you think the consequences they are referring to are? Is it just the pain and suffering he’s going through now, or that it’s long term? I think it fucks with your anatomy and physiology in ways that are not well balanced. In standard superhero fare, once you get your powers, that’s sort of it, you usually don’t have to deal with long term consequences. It’s just assumed that the rest of your bodily functions remain as normal. But in this, a sort of intentional drug-based alteration of the human body, I think the intention is that the rest of your body isn’t going to compensate in a pleasant way. That one woman was saying that you get the power of flight, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that your kneecaps can withstand the force of landing. I think there are going to be additional consequences that we don’t really understand yet.

Martin: So do you think this is going to be more about him, or more about the political story? I feel like what you’re suggesting could be a really cool premise for an interesting comic. But I think, and maybe this is just because I know this same creative team (Warren Ellis and Juan Jose Ryp) created Black Summer, that this is going in a totally different direction. I actually believe that the story you’re talking about might be more interesting, but that it’s more likely this is not a personal story. I would love to be wrong about that, but I think the frequent TV spots, and talking heads really illustrate that this is supposed to be a bigger story than just about one man.

Planetary: Crossing Worlds

August 1st, 2008 by Martin

Planetary: Crossing Worlds is good, universe-expanding stuff.

Basic premise here is that there are 196,833 parallel universes. (How do they know the exact number, exactly?) Planetary and the Authority both deal with these universes on a fairly regular basis. The first story here is a Planetary/Authority crossover, where they deal with some other universe’s bad guys who look suspiciously like other versions of some of the Authority characters. The second story takes place entirely in another parallel universe, one in which the Planetary folks are the bad guys (and also “control” the world), and Batman, Superman and Wonderwoman are little more than two-bit vigilantes. Elijah Snow also looks suspiciously like Lex Luthor. The final story is a Planetary/Batman crossover, but the interesting thing about it is that we visit a bunch of (3 or 4) different Batman Universes, with a different version of Batman in each one. Totally fascinating.

I really liked this TPB, and thought each story got progressively better as the book went on. You don’t really have to know anything about the plots of Planetary or the Authority to “get” these stories, but knowing the characters is probably a pre-req for total enjoyment. And enjoy it you will.

Black Summer, Issues 0-7

July 24th, 2008 by Martin

Well, the new Black Summer came out today, and it’s time I finally wrote some kind of review about the series.

When I first read issue #0, it really floored me. I’d never been that surprised and excited about a comic, I don’t think. At least, not right off the bat. What happens in that first issue is something I consider to be the stuff of legend. Honestly, I have no idea if other comic books have done it before. Hell, maybe it’s commonplace for comics to be this anti-government, but this was the first I’d seen of it. Anyway, as you can probably see from the Issue 0 wrap-around cover shown here, in that first issue, we see the President of the United States of America, killed by a superhero.

And at first, the premise alone was enough to get me to read the comic. But, as the story wore on, honestly, I started to lose interest. Yes, it’s still good, but in comparison with that one first deliberate act of insane marketing prowess, the rest of the comic honestly just fails to live up to it for me. And that was never more true for me than in this final issue.

Read on for continued discussion of Black Summer, including spoilers. (more…)

Global Frequency, Vol. 1 & 2

July 12th, 2008 by Martin

A couple of observations: 1) These felt like multiple stories, rather than one cohesive thing, and 2) I liked the first TPB much better than the second. I think there were just more interesting ideas in it. Don’t get me wrong, they were both good, just the second not as much. I’ll admit that story where Miranda Zero gets abducted had me pretty tense though.

Basically, the Global Frequency is a benevolent organization that is called upon when circumstances are particularly dire. There are 1001 members located throughout the world, and they are called upon when their specialized talents are needed. Most of the members we see are special ops type people. People who kick ass in a special way. Anyway, there are some really interesting things that happen here, but again, no real plot to speak of.

ReadComics Podcast #010 – From Chicago

June 23rd, 2008 by Martin

Our podcast tonight came to you from Susie’s living room in Chicago, recorded on Marty’s iPhone.

We talk about Wizard World extensively (duh), Wonder Woman, Warren Ellis, FreakAngels, Batman: Gotham Knight, Madman, The Filth, Grant Morrison, jason’s love of Image Comics (and Zombies), x-men, Chicago comic book shops: Brain Storm (and the Comic Book Queers Podcast) & Dark Tower (and the Around Comics Podcast), Jason’s green skin fetish (mostly for Hulkling and Changeling), Karate Kid and Ralph Macchio, (but not Ralph Macchio the Marvel Editor, the not the Karate Kid from Legion), and a bouncing zombie jesus f-ing christ.

Listen to ReadComics.org Podcast Episode #010 (37.4 MB, 1:21 hours)

Authority Variety Pack

June 13th, 2008 by florence

While shelving comics at our new place, I came across a stack of Authority comics in Marty’s ‘to read’ pile. I started reading and couldn’t stop with just one arc. I read Volume 2 issues #5-14 which contained the arcs ‘Behemoth’, ‘Godhead’, ‘Fractured Universe’, and a one-off called ‘Street Life.’ Then I found a miniseries called ‘Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of the Authority’ and devoured it, as well.

I have to admit that a past boyfriend introduced me to the Authority (my first Warren Ellis comic), and between him and later searches, I made it through all ~29 issues of volume 1. It looks like we’re still missing vol.2 issue 1-4, a bunch of miniseries, and vol. 3. They don’t make it easy to track down the entire series, but it has been worth it so far.

‘Godhead’ was an irreverent arc taking on the idea of religion as a drug/ virus. A new religion, led by a charismatic former movie star, takes hold of the nation and quickly spreads to a large percentage of the population, including world leaders. It bears some resemblance to Scientology, but this leader makes sure that his devoted disciples declare him ‘better than Tom Cruise’ while in the heat of the passion. The Authority doesn’t take notice until other religious sites and communities start coming under violent attack. They attack right back, until the Doctor becomes a convert and the others are captured or wounded enough to retreat. Midnighter is one of the captured, but manages to resist the attempts to brainwash away his love for Apollo. Very sweet, but very bloody. In the end, the rush of being a Godhead, and the mulititude of willing, unthinking followers, is acknowledged and somewhat coopted by the Authority.

The ‘Fractured World’ arc starts with the next issue, but it felt like I was being thrust into the middle of a story. I looked it up, and apparently it is connected to a larger crossover event within Wildstorm comics which includes an Authority miniseries called ‘Coup d’État.’ By the time this issue starts, the Authority has undertaken a coup and ousted the president of the United States. Jack Hawksmoor has taken on that role, swearing at press conferences and showing no patience for the bureaucracy that comes with the job. He explains that he will not bullshit the American people, but then refuses to comment on questions about the sudden emergence of Jenny Sparks’s alleged birth mother in China. I don’t want to spoil the outcome of that storyline, but I do find it interesting that the Authority just continues to expand the scope of its power to include head of state as well as leading a new religion, despite its original identity as ‘an anarchist cell.’ I wonder where it can possibly go next- empire-building in alternate dimensions or future centuries? Was this the original vision, or is their power expanding to find new stories as the years go on and new writers take on the characters? Is it a commentary on the difference between the political landscape of the 20th century vs. the 21st, the age of growing global conglomerates?

This miniseries visits Jenny Sparks throughout her 100 year lifespan. Apparently she has always been cute, hard-drinking, and of questionable taste in men. This expands on some of the storylines that have been touched on in the Authority title (her acquaintance with Hitler as a struggling young artist in Vienna, her marriage in Sliding Albion), and add some new twists (Einstein as a loving godfather/ time-traveling spy). It includes her deep friendship with Angie, her dalliance with an incredibly hot Shen, and her introduction to Jack as a boy tortured into his powers.

It also introduces the idea that perhaps Angie, the Engineer, is the true founder of the Authority. Her intelligence and force of will drove her to create her own powers. Did she also find a way to give direction and hope to Jenny and start the chain of events that led to the formation of a team that would provide her with home and family and an unprecedented combined power? I hope that later issues explore her ambition and her goals in more depth. There have been hints that her relationship with Jack is disappointing- in issue #14 ‘Street Life,’ Jack refers to a past lover as ‘the closest thing he’s ever had to a relationship,’ and confirms that he never wants kids of his own (partly because he has no idea what his manipulated body would produce). Will Angie settle for what she can get with him? Will she move on with someone new? Or will the drive that is hinted at in this miniseries reemerge to create the relationship she wants? Will her means be benevolent? I can’t wait to read more and find out.

Warren Ellis Roundup

April 8th, 2008 by Martin

Gravel #2How does Warren Ellis write so freekin’ much?!

First off, I read Gravel #2, and it wasn’t terrible! It didn’t really have much in the way of plot development or story, but it was pretty, and there were ghost-horses and spilled brains! (Literally, brains. Brains are a bit too graphic me for some reason. The blood I didn’t really mind, the the brains? Yeesh.) So yeah, if you’re not a fan of man on stallion action, then maybe this isn’t the book for you. There were about six pages of ghost-horse chasing Gravel, while he flips and jumps and gets hit and finally finds his special ghost-shooting gun. It’s cool, but not super cool.

The latest issue of Freak Angels, on the other hand, is absolutely fantastic. Awesome art and a compelling story. My only qualm with the series thus far is that we’ve got a lot of characters we’ve now been introduced to, and I’m not sure whether the plot is really moving along at all. We have some notion of the “bad guy”, an outcast Freak Angel, but otherwise we’re really just getting glimpses into the lives of the characters so far.

I do have to wonder whether the comic is supposed to generate revenue at some point, or what the goal is exactly here. There aren’t any ads thus far, but the site does seem to have some affiliation with Avatar, since the about page links to Avatar’s flickr stream. (Incidentally, there is lots of cool stuff on that flickr stream, I’ve added it as a contact.)

Anna Mercury #1Finally, I also just read Anna Mercury #1, and damn if it wasn’t awesome. This book was swashbucklingly spectacular. We basically get thrown into a steampunk-like world where there are magneticly powered space ships that fly to the moon. Anna Mercury herself is a red-haired firebrand secret-agent type who is clearly not afraid to break a few eggs to crack the case. We even glimpse her mission control in the comic’s last page, which makes us wonder where exactly Anna is at this time.

As with these other comics, I felt a little let down that more didn’t happen in this issue. We did get introduced to a so-far-so-intriguing world, but we got left with a big cliff-hanger, and not much else. I wonder if the answer to my initial question is that Ellis is stretching himself pretty thin. He can write a bunch of comics each month because each one is really only a few pages of story, with a bunch of filler thrown in for good measure. Don’t get me wrong, none of these are all filler, but all of them felt a bit padded to some degree. Surprisingly, the one that felt the least like it was padded was the one without any page-length constraints whatsoever. If you haven’t started reading Freak Angel yet, now’s as good a time as any to get started!