compound
Well-Known Member
Just finished reading this Image mini-series, in one go.
Basically, it's a very Ultimates-esque take on the archetypal Invaders-style World War 2 hero team.
I understand it was plagued by severe delays, but reading it all at once, I must insist that Marvel ought to give B. Clay Moore a chance to write at least one Ultimates-related story.
Seriously, I'm relatively familiar with the whole canon of the cynical, "postmodern", superheroes-being-manipulated-by-the-government trope, but I honestly believe that Moore has a better grasp than most writers about how to expand on the theme in ALL areas, from inter-character dynamics, to how it affects battlefield strategies, and power relations, in the larger scale.
Okay, so Moore's got scheduling issues... So what? Ultimates readers are used to it.
Just hire the guy already! Read this, and you'll realize why I'm being so adamant. It's a bit formulaic, but it just works, and makes me grin like a big dorky kid on one page, before proceeding to another jaw-dropping oh-**** moment, on the next.
Of course, I realize that part of the reason he can get away with a lot of this stuff is because he's writing analogs of established characters, but he gives them enough unique personality quirks and individualized nueroses to care about them as original characters, in their own right. So when a major status quo change happens, it does feel like a big deal, and not another inconsequential what-if or Elseworlds scenario.
I'll post some covers and sample artwork here by Jerry Haun, in a few minutes. It's goregous stuff. Comparable to Hitch, or Ex Machina's Tony Harris. In the meantime...
Preview of the opening scenes of Battle Hymn #1 @ BrokenFrontier
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headl...77&PHPSESSID=1af9cd382d47e985dffd168c4705c04a
Interview with writer B. Clay Moore about the premise of Battle Hymn
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3962
Review of Battle Hymn #1 @ TheFourthRail
http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/022105/battlehymn1.shtml
Basically, it's a very Ultimates-esque take on the archetypal Invaders-style World War 2 hero team.
I understand it was plagued by severe delays, but reading it all at once, I must insist that Marvel ought to give B. Clay Moore a chance to write at least one Ultimates-related story.
Seriously, I'm relatively familiar with the whole canon of the cynical, "postmodern", superheroes-being-manipulated-by-the-government trope, but I honestly believe that Moore has a better grasp than most writers about how to expand on the theme in ALL areas, from inter-character dynamics, to how it affects battlefield strategies, and power relations, in the larger scale.
Okay, so Moore's got scheduling issues... So what? Ultimates readers are used to it.
Just hire the guy already! Read this, and you'll realize why I'm being so adamant. It's a bit formulaic, but it just works, and makes me grin like a big dorky kid on one page, before proceeding to another jaw-dropping oh-**** moment, on the next.
Of course, I realize that part of the reason he can get away with a lot of this stuff is because he's writing analogs of established characters, but he gives them enough unique personality quirks and individualized nueroses to care about them as original characters, in their own right. So when a major status quo change happens, it does feel like a big deal, and not another inconsequential what-if or Elseworlds scenario.
I'll post some covers and sample artwork here by Jerry Haun, in a few minutes. It's goregous stuff. Comparable to Hitch, or Ex Machina's Tony Harris. In the meantime...
Preview of the opening scenes of Battle Hymn #1 @ BrokenFrontier
http://www.brokenfrontier.com/headl...77&PHPSESSID=1af9cd382d47e985dffd168c4705c04a
Interview with writer B. Clay Moore about the premise of Battle Hymn
http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=3962
Review of Battle Hymn #1 @ TheFourthRail
http://www.thefourthrail.com/reviews/snapjudgments/022105/battlehymn1.shtml
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