Wanted (Assassin's Edition) by Mark Millar, J. G. Jones Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Wanted (Assassin's Edition)
Book Review: The Greatest Superpower
Summary: 5 Stars
In the universe of "Wanted", the supervillains all ganged up to pick off the superheroes one by one, and now the supervillains rule the world. Our hero (well...protagonist, anyway) doesn't know anything about this--he's a human dumping ground for everyone else's bad vibes. Then he discovers that his father was the greatest killer in the world, and he's inherited the skills...as well as his father's money and his father's hot girlfriend. He goes to work for the world's nicest criminal mastermind, and when faced up against people who can alter reality and defy physics, villains with staggering physical and psychic powers, he discovers that the greatest power of all is the casual, ruthless willingness to end the lives of others, without pain or pleasure or any human feeling. The message of this graphic novel has obvious appeal for any nerdy sociopath, but its wit, the beautiful execution (pardon the pun) of the art, and the depth that Millar and Jones gave to the world of "Wanted" should make it appeal to any comic reader with a dark side...and with the imminent release of the movie, it will likely appeal to any moviegoer with a dark side, too. (And, in the comic, anyway, the Down's Syndrome take on Bizarro is probably worth the price of admission for Superman fans.)Book Review: I did not like it.
Summary: 1 Stars
I won't join the legion of readers that have been expressing their moral disappointment towards this volume. The author is probably happy that he had generated such level of controversy and attention around his product. I did not get the ultimate message, I found the violence senseless and I did not enjoy the comic. This will also prevent me from watching the upcoming movie. However I am pretty sure that the movie producers have reworked the storyline and the carachters in order to please the general public.Book Review: Lowbrow, Cheap-O Fun
Summary: 3 Stars
The first third of this trade paperback is shallow, pointless, and slow. When the plot and multiverse concepts kick in by the fourth issue, the series reaches its high point (and, wow, there's even a little character development!). But then the ending comes along and ruins it all with a generic, all-too-tidy twist.
It's rather enjoyable, but only when (1) the characters aren't behaving like high society snobs (Mister Rictus is the only true villain here; ironically, everybody else is as "evil" as spoiled preppies, (2) when the story abandons its angst and adopts genuine conflict, and (3) when the dialog doesn't come off as wanna-be gangsta (like a mid-nineties indie rip-off of Pulp Fiction).
I was disappointed, and the writing was a tad amateurish. But it was lowbrow, cheap-o fun.
Book Review: All Shock and some substance
Summary: 3 Stars
I liked the art in this, not the best I've seen but still good. The story was good at the beginning and building to be something great but I have to say I was disappointed in the ending, an ending that again was only meant to shock. Most of this novel is filled with vulgar words, situations, and ideas (The Shock of the novel) but in the end the characters never deal with there actions. in the end i felt the writer couldn't close the deal on this story. It was OK at bestBook Review: A subversive masterpiece certainly not for everyone
Summary: 5 Stars
It's kind of amazing the type of reactions that Millar and Jones' "Wanted" evokes in people. Some people absolutely despise it. Other people absolutely adore it. I personally think it's wonderful, but I also understand why a bunch of people don't like it. Let me explain.
Upfront, let's say this: This is a book about villains. They're going to do villainous things. They aren't going to hold hands. They aren't going to be nice people. They aren't going to have a change of heart. They aren't going to see the error of their ways. Not because they couldn't, but because they don't care. Many of the criticisms people have leveled at this book take that one thing for granted. They want the protagonist to be a nice guy (he isn't), they want him to do good things (he doesn't), they want the story to have a happy ending (the jury's sort of out on that one). Make no mistake, this is not intended to be mainstream fiction. And to me, that's part of the appeal.
Wanted is the story of Wesley Gibbs, an office drone who's been walked on his entire life. He's been kicked by nearly everyone who could have a chance, and twice on Sundays. His girlfriend is sleeping around on him, his boss is abusive without cause, and Wesley takes it, because he can't envision any other way to live. Until someone comes along and tells him he's the son of the greatest killer who ever lived, and that he's just inherited his legacy. And while he fights it at first, he comes to embrace it, and that's where things start getting complicated.
I don't want to walk you through the book. I don't want to tell you that you should like it, because, frankly, I understand why a lot of people wouldn't like this book. It's violent, it's unsympathetic to, well, everyone, it's remorseless, it's brutal, it's needless cruel... but that's sort of the point. While I see a lot of people in other reviews comparing "Wanted" to "Fight Club" (fair) and "The Matrix" (not really applicable), in many ways, "Wanted" is an extension of some of the ideas presented in a much older book, "The Lord of the Flies." What DOES happen in a society without rules? What would you do if there wasn't a law you had to follow? What would you do if there wasn't anyone to tell you no, or stop you from doing whatever you put your mind to? The easy answer is to say that you'd just go on living your life, but with some improvements, but at the cost of what? The world is about systems. Give yourself a ton of money, money goes down in value, suddenly you have less money than you intended. Don't want to pay a speeding ticket? Now you're breaking laws, just because you can. Millar takes that concept and runs with it about as far as he can, then keeps running past where it was before.
If "Fight Club" wasn't your cup of tea, then steer clear from "Wanted." If you're looking for something with a positive message, steer clear of "Wanted." If you want a story where you agree with the actions of the protagonist, steer clear of "Wanted." It's not a book for kids. It's not a book for people who want a story that holds their hand the whole way. It is, to borrow a phrase, very bad men doing very bad things. Again, I return to my original point -- this is a story about villains.
With all that said, Jones' art is fantastic, the dialog is crisp and leaps off the page, the characters are memorable and the story is a wild roller coaster ride that asks the question "When there are no rules, and the only people who can tell you no are your fellow degenerates, what do you do?" It's uncomfortable, it's vile, it's twisted, it's darker-than-dark... and that's why I love it, and why most of you probably won't...