Comics / Comic Reviews / More Comics

Black Summer #0

By Al Kratina
June 10, 2007 - 21:19

 

            I love Watchmen. And, apparently, so does Warren Ellis. And that’s great, because it means we have some common ground where we can meet and enjoy Black Summer, Ellis’ adult superhero offering from Avatar. Ever since Alan Moore’s seminal 1986 miniseries essentially re-invented comics, the industry has been spinning genres traditionally geared towards children so they appeal to adults. Or more accurately, 17 year-olds who are way too old for Captain America comics but still would rather read a picture book with punching than do a report on an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel for Mr. Godwin’s English class. On one end of the mature-readers equation is found the gritty violence of Frank Miller, the advanced pulp science fiction of Warren Ellis, and the barely cohesive transcendentalism of Grant Morrison. On the other, you have Spawn fighting a fat clown with Magic: The Gathering spells. Thankfully, it’s in the former category that we find Black Summer.

 

            Black Summer #0 gives us yet another world in which superheroes are treated with as much realism as you can bestow upon a costumed crusader without bursting out laughing. Ellis is a consummate professional, and Black Summer begins like all good narratives: about halfway through the story. In modern day America, a superhero team called the Seven Guns has come and gone. The only still-active member is Horus, an invincible, incredibly powerful hero who decides to take justice into his own hands and kill the president for invading Iraq. His ex-teammate, Tom Noir, now a crippled alcoholic, is left stunned and appalled by Horus’ actions.  Hard-edged, grim, and gritty, it’s not really anything we haven’t seen before, but the book has an inherently intriguing premise, and Ellis looks to be using it as a staging ground for an attack on the American government, and the vigilante nature of superheroes themselves. This approach, where larger issues are addressed by subverting traditional forms, is one that helps elevate the story above the clichés of the genre.  There are only eight pages in this preview issue, but they’re more than enough for Ellis to break out his strong dialogue and flawless sense of pacing, so from a writing standpoint, it's a near perfect introduction to the series.

 

            The art, however, seems a little basic, especially in comparison to Ellis’ complex writing. Juan Jose Ryp brings a style that seems like a slightly more simplistic version of Geoff Darrow mixed with the exaggeration of Robert Crumb. Actually, that sounds kind of interesting. And there are moments where it is, but at other times it seems too bright, clean, and comical for this sort of story. Nevertheless, Ryp is certainly a capable artist, and the illustrations don’t entirely detract from the story. But, it they art and the writing don’t click enough to really propel the book to any of the heights reached by Ellis, Morrison, or anyone else who really likes Watchmen.  

 

Rating: 7 on 10

 

alkratina@comicbookbin.com

Last Updated: January 17, 2025 - 08:20