Comics Stuff

Now that I am living back home, the chance to go to the Comic Swap and pick up my comics has gone from maybe once a month, to pretty much once a week. Which is good news for everyone because I will be able to post more comic reviews.

I am all caught up with stuff and would like to talk about two book that I read. I have cut my pull list way down because of all the crap that Marvel/DC are putting out. The first series I want to talk about is from Warren Ellis called Ignition City.

The beauty of being one of Ellis’ followers is that you get to see the creative process at work. For example, a long time ago he mentioned about Crecy and how he wanted to do something with it, but using Deadwood as the template (modern day language, fairly accurate historicity, and some of the things they never want to tell you when the glorify the past…)

This is also true of Ignition City. He has been saying for awhile about different ideas for the series and what he wanted to do. And now, we finally get to take a look at it.

The story is set in 1956. Remember all those sci-fi movies and books from that time? Well probably not, most of us are too young. But, there was a period where spacemen went out and battled monsters on Venus and Mars and whatnot. Well that time is coming to an end, the governments are banning spaceflight. All the washed up space heroes go to a place called Ignition City.

The story revolves around the daughter of one of the space men, who is investigating her father’s death. Also, she is lamenting about the fact that she may never get to go back into space.

As with most Ellis books, there are plenty of hilarious parts, but also some very thought provoking ones as well.

I also picked up Invincible: Ultimate Collect Volume 4, which collects issues 36-47. This book is always pretty fantastic, all sorts of fun things. The main thing has been the growth of Mark, who breaks up with Amber to pursue things Atom Eve. Unfortunately, he is like most guys and screws that up by mentioning that he knew her feelings because her future self told him.

Allen the Alien also pops up again, and we learn that the leader of the Consortium is also a Viltrumite who rebelled. Allen gets himself captured by the Viltrumites so he can be tossed in their prison, most likely to break out Omni-Man (Mark’s dad). Allen has discovered that his powers have grown and he may be more powerful than a Viltrumite.

Mark also realizes that the Viltrumite threat will not go away, so he must be prepared. He begins to work out, trying to push his body to the limit so that he can take on the evil empire when they finally do arrive. Also, his little brother has manifested powers, so we get to see if the rapidly aging Oliver can grow more powerful than Mark in a short amount of time. Also, will he help fight the Viltrumites when they finally do come?

This is definitely a series worth checking out, even if you are not a fan of superhero comics. Half the time it does not feel like a superhero book. If you are reading either series, let me know.

Author: Ngewo

2 thoughts on “Comics Stuff

  1. I’ve fallen a little behind on Invincible, but I’ve read those issues you mentioned. That arc with Allen the Alien in prison was one of my favorites from the entire run. On the other hand, I’ve always been a little annoyed by Oliver, but I DO want to see what Kirkman ends up doing with him.

  2. Sadly, I am thinking of switching more and more comics to trade form, which would make doing any reviews very untimely, haha.

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