Supergod #1
Reviewed by David O' Leary
Story
by: Warren Ellis
Art by: Garrie Gastonny
Colours by: Digikore Studios
Cover by: Garrie Gastonny
Publisher: Avatar Press
Cover Price: $3.99
Cover Date: October 2009
Book Summary:
SUPERGOD: praying to be saved by a man who can fly will get you killed. From the creator of THE AUTHORITY and PLANETARY comes the craziest and most horrifying superhero comic you've ever read! In the world of SUPERGOD, superhumans are the ultimate expression of the Messiah complex, and scientists can build Messiahs who will fly down from the skies to save the world. No-one thought about how they'd do it -- or even if they'd want to. So begins the apocalyptic tomorrow of SUPERGOD -- the story of how supermen killed us all and ended the world just because we wanted to be rescued by human-shaped things from beyond Science itself! Take every superhero comic ever published, shove them into a nuclear-powered blender, soak it in bad vodka and set the whole thing alight -- and SUPERGOD will crawl out and eat your brain! This five issue color series is drawn by Garrie Gastony with colors by Digikore. SUPERGOD is available with a Regular cover painted by Felipe Massafera, a Wraparound by series artist Garrie Gastony, and a special retailer incentive Church Of Supergod Edition!
Reviewer's Comments:
Warren Ellis is one of those writers who can be a bit hit and miss. His work following on Astonishing X-Men wasn't to my liking at all so I dropped the title. His work on his own creator owned projects have been mainly hits. But this title from Avatar Press is probably the best one issue of comics this guy has ever written. I am aware that this is the third in a loosely knit trilogy of comics from Avatar about heroes in one form or other by Ellis. I haven't read the other two but I will be getting this.
We open in the decimated remains of London with Simon Reddin trying to contact America to a friend of his named Tommy. Simon uses the remaining battery life in his device to retell the terrible tale of what happened. And what follows is a narrative more along the lines of a history lesson than anything else. He recounts a British Space Shuttle launch on the 1950's that forever changed the astronauts to India's attempt to create Krishna and a mention of Iran's attempt to create an angel and Somalia's raising of Haile Sellassie. What is wholly unique is how the deity in India managed to solve the problems of the country. He goes to large population centres and starts annihilating the populace in an attempt to reduce the pressures on resources. It was something that the Indians had programmed into Krishna but not the execution that they envisioned. The issue ends with the revelation that there is an American version of a Supergod in hiding. The flowing narrative focuses little on characterisation but instead on getting the reader up to speed within the confines of an issue and with the groundwork lain here, it looks like a very strong book.
The artist is Garrie Gastonny. You may know him from the Steve Niles scripted City of Dust from Radical in 2008. He does an amazing job here. He is worked big time by Ellis who looks for a huge array of varying imagery to tell the story. From the sci-fi aspects of the deities to the destruction of London to the launch of the space shuttle to the simple all American street of the final page. He shows his talent in an immense show of work in this issue. Tying in the thematic three-quel of the previous two Avatar superhero books, Gastonny is a new artist to this stable as the previous two books were done by someone else but his work is great; Dark yet kinetic, full of destruction but regret. He is a name for the future.
This is mighty impressive book from Ellis and Gastonny. It is an intelligent book and not full of mindless filler and will not appeal to everyone I would imagine but f you want a book that will take you more than five minutes to finish and leave you breathless at the end this is your book.
Rating the Issue
| Story Story: Overall 8 Concept - 8 out of 10 Plot - 8 out of 10 Dialogue - 8 out of 10 |
Art Art: Overall 8 Style - 8 out of 10 Storytelling - 8 out of 10 Colour/Tones -8 out of 10 |
Importance Importance: Overall 8 To the Title - 8 out of 10 To the Company - 8 out of 10 To the Medium - 8 out of 10 |
Take a Look Inside
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Reviewer Bio
Name: David O' Leary
email: idwfan@yahoo.co.uk
Been reading comics: for about 12 years now.
Review Bio: I am a 26-year-old Hotel Manager from the west coast of the Republic of Ireland and think this is a great way to talk to others about this cool medium. I am a husband to one wife and father to one girl (so far).
Favorites: ONI's Whiteout, Vertigo's Scalped and Garth Ennis Preacher and Punisher in Trades. In comic form I am reading a lot of Marvel and a bit of IDW, Dark Horse & WildStorm among others.
Website: Sorry, I don't have one!
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