Wanted by Mark Millar, J.G. Jones Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Wanted
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: Millar has nothing to say and can not write......
Summary: 1 Stars
Millar must either be sick or he hates everything in the world. This book is full of racist and bigoted jokes. It has nothing to say and it's audience are geeks who have no life, just like the writer has no life.Book Review: Morally Repugnant
Summary: 1 Stars
The trade is introduced by Brian Vaughan, ironically he says "At their worst, superhero stories are just dopey male power fantasies, but at their best, these myths don't just entertain, they work as powerful allegories that help us understand who we are." In my opinion "Wanted" falls firmly in the former category... or it would except 'dopey' implies a level of harmlessness that "Wanted" lacks.
This is the story of a thoroughly unlikable loser who gets the sort of life he couldn't even dream about before by picking up a gun and killing everyone he dislikes or who got in his way. Plus some random by-standards just for the heck of it. It's a book about killing lots of people while looking cool and feeling no remorse. It's a glorification of the sort of thinking that leads to high school shootings.
Book Review: NOT wanted
Summary: 1 Stars
This piece of rubbish has a clever setup which goes nowhere interesting after Wesley turns into a super-villain (early in the book). The setup posits a world where murder, rape, etc. (on any scale) goes unpunished, and the notions of guilt or remorse never arise. This makes a mockery of the idea that this is an 'adult' story, or even 'edgy'.
The artwork is good, there's plenty of violent action, blood, guts, profanity, and dark humour. A cheering adolescent may feel a bit conned however since there's almost no sex.
Book Review: No More Heroes
Summary: 5 Stars
The super-hero comic is something I normally stay away from. Maybe I just got bored with all the spandex, good intentions and the fact that you almost always knew the good guys were going to win. But a comic about super-villains? Now that I'll give a chance.
Mark Millar's Wanted is the story of 24 year old Wesley Gibson. He's an average, under-achieving, timid loser. He goes about his life getting picked on by his boss, spit on by his neighbors and cheated on by his girlfriend (with his best friend no less).
But everything changes when he finds out he's the son of one of the world's most feared assassins and super-villains "The Killer." And if that's not enough The Killer's been killed and Wesley stands to inherit everything - the name, the millions and his father's place in the world-wide criminal fraternity - if he can fill the shoes.
Only Wesley doesn't have to contend with super-heroes in the world that Millar has created. Oh no. They've all been killed. In 1986 the bad guys from around the world all teamed up to annihilate every last super-hero in a war that climaxed above Manhattan. Only their deaths weren't enough. They wiped the very memories of those super-heroes from the face of the planet, obliterating all traces of their existence.
The detailed drawings by J.G. Jones are exquisite and highly detailed, expertly illustrating an entire world and the colors of Paul Mounts vividly bring this gritty world to life.
The only real complaint I have about this comic is that it was too short. By the time everything was done and concluded I didn't want to put the book down. I'm not saying it felt unfinished, in fact it was very well crafted. Besides, there's something to be said for a writer that can tell a compelling story and not lose track of the plot for 100 pages (or a few TPB's for that matter).
Be warned however, this series is graphic and explicit. It is certainly not intended for younger readers.