Planet's Secure, Pass the Popcorn!

Book: The Ultimates – Vol 2: Homeland Security
Pen: Mark Millar
Pencil: Bryan Hitch

The origin story is over. We had intros, adjustment issues, management lessons on teamwork, a threat to a big city, an almost happy ending and an unexpected cliffhanger. Now comes the part where we wrap up Season 1. If the first volume of The Ultimates gave an idea which book vaguely inspired The Avengers movie, then The Ultimates Vol 1 – Homeland Security will almost have you calling Joss Whedon a plagiarist! Relax, folks, it’s all in the family!

Super-Human ended with a freak attack, the true story of which never reached the common man. As a result, the Ultimates suddenly became heroes. While New York was grieving for its dead, the Ultimates suddenly had to deal with a rogue element within the team. As I said before, The Ultimates showed Captain America in a new, exciting light. In this volume he has a bigger role and you see how a man who believes in simple things like right and wrong goes about his business. The values he stood for should seem silly and out-of-place in these times. Yet you root for him. It doesn’t hurt that Millar saves some of the best one-liners he has ever written for Captain America.

The second volume brings to the fore two major characters – Hawkeye and Black Widow – and introduces two minor, seemingly useless members – Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch – to the team. In the first mission starring Hawkeye aka Clint Barton and Widow aka Natasha Romanoff, we are introduced to the major villains – the Chitauri. Since we have established that the Ultimates are pretty out-of-this-world, it is only natural that the villains are aliens. Their agenda cupboard may be pretty threadbare, but it certainly needs all the Ultimates to band together to stop them.

The most striking thing about Homeland Security is the way action sequences are captured. Rarely has action seemed so fluid. It is almost like the pictures are moving. I don’t mean there are many panels of the same scene with minute differences. But it is evident that a lot of thought went into these. Millar, as he always does, wisely lets the artist come up front and centre during the violence and mayhem.

A horny Hulk is both hilarious and scary. That was one of the revelations of the first volume and it continues here. Hulk’s personality may suffer a bit here as he is not shown as anything but a big, stupid brute who comes across as being unintentionally funny. But there is lot of sympathy for Banner. Iron Man in the comics is definitely not as prominent as Robert Downey Jr in Avengers. But he does have his moments. Thor continues to be a bit of mystery with his eco-warrior avatar while being an ex-nurse who had spent time in a lunatic asylum. This would have been a good sub-plot were it not for the fact that Thor has publically saved a lot of people, so the fact that he has a lot of powers should not be a matter of question at all.

Homeland Security may not have the deafening impact of Super-Human. But it is a very solid conclusion to the Ultimates saga. We are left with a Samuel L Jacksonesque smirk feeling very satisfied with the read. That is something we cannot say about a lot of comics. I heartily recommend both volumes of The Ultimates. Just don’t expect me to lend them to you!

Houston, We Have a Solution!

Book: The Ultimates – Vol 1: Super-Human
Pen: Mark Millar
Pencil: Bryan Hitch

At the turn of the millennium Marvel comics was coming out of a tough phase where it had filed for bankruptcy. They made a decision to ‘go Hollywood’ with their main titles. The term didn’t stand for adapting their comics into movies, but changing the comics in a way that they appealed directly to most of new generation, not just the few that read comics. Like Hollywood, they decided the only people that mattered were the 18-to-25-years age-set and the comics were to reflect that.

Enter the Ultimate Marvel imprint. By basing their comics in another one of the infinite alternate universes in the Marvel Multiverse.(Essentially, a lazy excuse to churn out stories that did not fit into the continuity of the characters.A devise like ‘warp speed’ in sci fi!) All the major characters – Spider-man, X-Men, Fantastic Four – underwent the Ultimate treatment, which meant that almost all the characters became of high school age! When it came to the Avengers they realized they couldn’t just reduce the ages. A more thorough re-imagining was necessary. Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch were the people in charge and they were also asked to rename the Avengers as the Ultimates.

Nick Fury, the eye-patch-wearing boss of SHIELD, decided to get a team of highly capable individuals together in order to deal with threats that could not be handled by the military alone. He gets Dr Bruce Banner, who was holed up in a dingy research facility trying to recreate the super soldier serum that was responsible for turning puny Steve Rogers into Captain America almost 60 years ago. Also joining were Dr Hank Pym, who was researching how he could change size into a 60-feet giant, called Giant-Man, and also how he could control ants.His wife Jan, aka the Wasp, could size-shift into the size of a wasp. (Don’t you like it when the superhero names are accurate to the point!)

Fury was thrilled, but suspicious, when billionaire inventor Tony Stark decided to join in along with his entire Iron Man tech. He also tried to recruit a charismatic hippie eco-messiah called Thor who was leading a bunch of activists against consumerism and capitalism. Thor was widely known to be an ex-nurse who had spent time in a lunatic asylum. But he was also known to possess some powers. Unfortunately, Thor had no intention in joining up, definitely not when America still had a president called George W Bush! And then, they suddenly fish someone up from the Atlantic Ocean!

The Ultimates is extremely fast-paced. It also explores real-world issues, and also very convincingly. Captain America was always supposed to be a fish out of water, having woken up decades later. But few comics have explored that theme with such pathos. The characters are well-rounded, not just Nick Fury, who was actually modeled after Samuel L Jackson, with his permission. And this was before the movies. 

It is a thrill-a-minute ride that leaves you stunned with its audaciousness. Millar reinvents the classic characters, in imaginative ways, but at no time does it seem forced. While remaining true to the spirit of the Avengers, the Ultimates end up being different. Complementing the story is the incredibly detailed art of Bryan Hitch. You end up staring for minutes at each single panel, even if you are artistically challenged like yours truly! 

Of all my comics, The Ultimates is the one I have read most times. It is likely to continue being so. This is what superhero comics should be. Incredible situations, crackling wit, memorable characters, just enough gratuitousness, and, above all, lots of fun. In that way, this is a comic that is worthy of its name.

Iron Man is Invincible, the Story not so Much

Book: Iron Man: Extremis
Pen: Warren Ellis
Pencils: Adi Granov

We have all heard about how Marvel took a bet on a second-string superhero and made a movie that set them on the path to recovery from bankruptcy and established them as a major player in Hollywood.  Well, everyone has seen the Iron Man movies, but few knew him before he became Robert Downey Jr. (No, I didn't mean to write “before Robert Downey Jr. became Iron Man”.) In comics, Iron Man is a major player in the Avengers, but his own comics are known only to ardent fans.

In 2005 Warren Ellis (he who brought us Transmetropolitan) sat down with artist Adi Granov for a small six-issue limited series. In the early comics, before the whole “I am Iron Man” declaration, Iron Man was not known as a superhero with a secret identity, but rather a suit wore by an employee of Tony Stark. 

In such a scenario Tony Stark gets a call from an old friend Maya Hansen. Maya’s boss at Futurepharm Coorporation, Dr Killian, commits suicide leaving a suicide note in which he takes responsibility for the loss of the Extremis serum that the company was developing. Extremis turns out to be another copycat of the Super-soldier serum that created Captain America. It is now in the hands of a man named Mallen who is wreaking havoc and proving unstoppable.

Iron Man tries to stop Mallen, but is unable to do so and is seriously injured. He gets back to Maya and they embark on a dangerous experiment in an attempt to stop Mallen. Will he be successful? Clue: Have you heard of a super-anything called Mallen? 

Extremis was actually the first Iron Man comic that I read. Afterwards, I found that it is one of the most popular and famous standalone Iron Man titles. That is a dampener, because, you see, Extremis is not very good. There is a plot that is worthy of development and the decision to stick to just six issues is admirable, but it feels like a patch-up job. 

Part of the blame should lie with the artist. Remember the initial days of motion capture in animated cinema where the faces were wooden and eyes were scary? Well, Adi Granov’s art is a bit like that. It is moved away from the kitschy comic style, but has not reached the stylized photo realist style. I am the first to admit my knowledge of art is zilch. But as a common reader, I think it neither felt neither realistic nor stylistic.

Ellis also has to shoulder some blame for not developing either Mallen or Iron Man. There is an obligatory reference to Iron Man’s origins, a part philosophical part political rambling with Stark and Maya’s guru, a bit of contrived introspection by Stark, all of which could have been avoided. While there are enough action sequences, there is not much happening plot-wise. A good editor could have condensed the whole story into one issue and made it more interesting.

What was supposed to be a definitive milestone in Iron Man’s continuity instead reads like a manufactured event.  Which is sad because Extremis was a premise with potential. Unfortunately, like the movie that took its theme, Extremis remains half-baked.

Those Magnificent Druids and their Golden Sickles

Book: Asterix and the Golden Sickle
Pen: René Goscinny 
Pencils: Albert Uderzo

Once the introductions were over Goscinny and Uderzo decided to get into the serious business of going on adventures out of home turf. This time it is not too far, but to Lutetia, the town which would, one day, become Paris.

Opening with the trademark peaceful village scene, we are rudely jolted by a string of obscenities. The kind that are best explained using symbols! Getafix the druid has broken his golden sickle. Mistletoe, a major ingredient in his magic potion, has to be cut with a golden sickle or else it wouldn't retain any magic qualities. The best golden sickles were made in Lutetia by the sicklesmith Metallurgix, who just happens to be a distant cousin of Obelix. The two friend decide to undertake the perilous journey across Gaul and get their druid a golden sickle.

Once they reach Lutetia they find that Metallurgix has disappeared and some Romans are running the sickle business. Suspecting something fishy, Asterix and Obelix search for Metallurgix. A bunch of shady characters led by the middleman Clovogarlix and shady Navishtrix. They are repeatedly captured by Roman patrols but are released by the bored Roman prefect Surplus Dairyprodus. Finally they find Metallurgix and Getafix gets his sickle. Obelix shares equal footing with Asterix in this adventure.  

It is the first view of Lutetia and the town is showed as a crowded and dangerous town, but with its attractions. Also appearing for the first time in Asterix adventures is a version of the famous “These Romans are crazy” phrase, though it is not uttered by Obelix.  

Tackling slightly non-childish themes like forced imprisonment and trading monopoly, Asterix and the Golden Sickle takes the heroes out of their comfort zone and forces them to use their cunning as well as strength. It is a precursor to adventures to further lands and firmly establishes that the books would work best if Asterix and Obelix were both front and centre.

Best names: Surplus Dairyprodus

The Saga Begins...

Book: Asterix the Gaul
Pen: René Goscinny 
Pencils: Albert Uderzo

It was the late 1970s. I was living with the parents in a small town in Nigeria. I was being home-schooled as the only school in the vicinity was one where kids took brooms to and spent the day cleaning up. We had a Peugeot 404 (CR 1215 CA, I still remember the license plate!) And every weekend my folks would drive me 30 km to the nearest town with a small children’s library. There I discovered Asterix.

Asterix comics take place in the year 50 BC. Julius Caesar has conquered all of Gaul, an area encompassing most of modern day France, parts of Belgium and Luxemburg and bits of other countries. All, that is, except one unnamed seaside village that houses a group of indomitable Gauls who value their freedom and bow before no man. They are led by their chief Vitalstatistix and have only one fear – that of the sky falling on their heads.

Their best warrior and the hero of these adventures is Asterix, brave, sensible, loyal, and slightly on the shorter side. His best friend is Obelix, a large and large-hearted man whose occupation is the manufacture and sale of menhirs – large, upright standing stones. Obelix’s eco-conscious dog is Dogmatix. These Gauls repel any Roman attack with the help of a potion brewed by their druid, Getafix, which gives them superhuman strength. Other characters include Cacofonix the bard, who is never allowed to sing,  by Fulliautomatix, the blacksmith, who is constantly in argument about the quality of fish provided by the monger, Unhygienix.

At six one is way too young to bother about continuity and reading order. I have no idea which was the first Asterix I read. So the reviews will go in order. Asterix the Gaul introduced us to this ragtag bunch. Uderzo had just started on the drawings that would forever define him and Obelix is not very well-defined.  The story is, thankfully, less about origins and more of introductions. We meet the characters and find out how they get their powers. The Romans want to find the secret and send a spy, Caligula Minus, who disguises himself as a Gaul called Caliguliminix and infiltrates the village. He soon learns the secret, but is also outed. The Romans kidnap Getafix, Asterix comes to his rescue and a fake potion is made that hastens hair growth. Cue lots of jokes about hair.

Originally, Asterix was supposed to be the sole hero in all these adventures, which meant a lesser role for Obelix. The creators rein in their imagination and give us a small story that introduces some of the characters and brings out the feel of how the future will be. Even Julius Caesar makes a cameo. You know that something special is in front of you and you will want to continue on the journey.

For English-language readers an almost equal partner in the Goscinny-Uderzo partnership is Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge, the duo who translated the books into English. Some of the puns are so language-specific that you instantly realize that it is all the translators’ minds at work. Lesser translators could have easily ruined the legacy. Bell and Hockridge make us love it. 

It takes a very brave (I’d say, foolish) person to shrug and walk away after reading Asterix the Gaul. For a lifetime, I’ve been glad I was not that person. By Toutatis, I’m glad! Over to you, folks.

Best names: Crismus Bonus, Marcus Ginantonicus.

Panels and Balloons

The guys above, they convinced me to read. Not read comic books. Read. Yes, that is the enormity of my debt towards them. They changed my life. Absolutely for the better.

Almost two decades later I find myself in Journalism school. Asked to write about the book that inspired me to write, I wrote a piece on Asterix. They reacted just like the Establishment would. I was kinda hoping they would!

Anyway, few more years passed. I got into a decently-paying non-journalism job. Filled up my house with secondhand fiction. Was generally pleased with my lot in life. Then one day my wife - who was a journalist - introduced me to a big shot in a publishing and distribution company. They dealt with DC and Marvel. And they gave me graphic novels at a discount that I could never get from any shop - concrete or online. My life changed again.

I have resisted the temptation to calculate what the damage to our life's savings is with all the graphics I have bought. Wife doesn't mind because she knows at any point if I sell them, I will get more than I paid for!

This is my bit about comics. Please do check it out if you are interested in them. And feel free to disagree. 

Oh, about the name, neverdespairneversurrender was taken. And I was in a Rorschach mood. So there!