By: Andy Diggle Publisher: Vertigo Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Vertigo Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: March 01, 2004 Release Date: March 01, 2004
Product Description: In the hard-hitting tale of espionage and betrayal THE LOSERS: ANTE UP, an elite U.S. Special Forces unit is targeted for assassination when they unintentionally uncover the illegal and immoral practices of the C.I.A. Believed dead and with nothing to lose, the team of wet works operatives regroup and begin a mission of revenge against the organization that betrayed them. Only as the team goes after a corrupt oil conglomerate with ties to the C.I.A., do they truly begin to realize the depths of the conspiracy they have discovered and the impossible odds of survival that they face.
If You Can Survive the Art... I've owned this book for several months now, but just recently read it. When I first purchased it I made it through about 4 pages and laid it down because the art is so absolutely horrid.
I'm glad I eventually went back to it though, because as everyone else has been shouting...it reall does play out better than any heist film Hollywood could pump out.
Interesting characters, cool plot and over-the-top action makes this a stand-out title.
Just get ready to self-interpret a lot of the art though because of the absolutely nonexistent skill of visual storytelling.
If the later volumes (which I've yet to read) snagged a better artist...this could easily be the best title on the market.
3.5 stars
another amazing Vertigo title Every volume to date has been like a big screen action movie. The perfect comic gift for fans of action novels like the Jack Ryan series, the classic 007 novels or heck, even he perfect gift for Father's Day.
If we had more comics like this instead of go-nowhere comics like Daredevil or Ultimate Spider-man, there might still be a market for western comics in the American mainstream.
Hey, Hollywood, You Paying Attention? The best way to summarize Ante Up is that it's a what a great action movie should be except on paper and with the extra goodness that comic books bring to you that movies can't (like an artist who's art can be described as stylish, cool (and not the MTV- forced cool), and original). It's a very good start to a series and immediately hooks you. At the same time, don't expect the next Watchmen or some other "classic" story. This is a good, solid story that will make you come back for more.
A Gripping Read!!! I initially picked up the first volume of this series because of the dynamically posed woman on the cover. Flipping through the book, I noticed interesting use of shadow and rough, yet structured art. While reading the summary, however; I became sceptical of the story. My initial thought was that of a story which has been told many times before - good guys who refuse to do what is asked of them, and in turn, are believed to be assassinated, only to later seek revenge for being exiled. Who hasn't heard that one already? But once I began reading The Losers, I could not believe the rush I got. The story was action-packed and suspenseful. The whole graphic novel plays like a full-featured film that has one climactic moment after another. Andy Diggle did a fantastic job writing dialogue which adds mystery, suspense and a dose of complexity that adds realism. Most of the action is very cinematic, yet believable, because the panels flow smoothly and interestingly. This composition makes for a very fluid read. No other book on the stands compares to this one, especially if you enjoy CIA and government mysteries or if you just like good comics in general. I definitely recommend this volume and the others as well!
The Losers The Losers, once upon a time a Sgt. Rock-like DC imprint, has been resurrected in this vertigo published book but don't expect to find long lost friends in this particular incarnation. All that remains of them is the name. The new Losers are this generation's disenfranchised. "The Losers were a covert U.S. Special Forces unit seconded to the CIA" explains Diggle. "When they stumbled across one of the Agency's dirty little secrets and refused to play ball, the Agency had them assassinated. Except the Losers survived. Now they've gone rogue, and have declared war on the Agency which stabbed them in the back". And while that may sound about as enticing and original as a Phil Collins ditty, Diggle proves that Mick Jagger was right - "it's the singer, not the song" because The Losers is loaded with the kind of snappy dialogue usually found in Ellis, Ennis and Bendis books or Tarantino movies.
And while you could say that Diggle's work is derivative, you could also say that he's quite good at capturing exactly what's interesting and attractive about the heist genre in the first place. His team consists of the typical characters - the tough as nails, one track mind, out for payback commander is there. The quiet, scarred, yet sure-handed and rock-solid sniper is there. The woman with a mysterious past is there. The nerdy, punky, computer hacker is there. The steady, straight man is there. The traitor is there. The ingenious planning and problem solving and the executions of the jobs that are never absent from caper movies... it's all there. And that's the book's strength. It is damned good at reinforcing the genre and it's damned good at telling the story with new voices. As a result, Diggle infuses new life into a teeming field of players and the once staid and stale is all of the sudden bright and tantalizing.
If you've read any other reviews of The Losers, you no doubt noticed that comparisons to caper movies abound. So please excuse my wholly unoriginal yet inevitable comparisons to the heist film genre but if something looks like an orange, smells like an orange and it taste like an orange, then goddammit, it's an orange. Or at least something that mimics an orange to a tee. The Losers manages to present itself in such a way as to provoke all kinds of comparisons to heist stalwarts "Three Kings", "Ocean's 11" and "Rififi". And there is really no other way to get around it - The Losers simply FEELS like a movie. As a matter of fact, it feels like a great movie. Like the sort of thing one expects, and usually gets from the likes of Soderbergh and Tarantino. And don't for a second think that this is my attempt at validating the black sheep of the entertainment world, comic books, through the use of another medium. The Losers has plenty of merit to stand on its own. The damned thing just feels like a great movie.
Anything Goes Trivia
Last Kiss
Megaton Man
Trevor
