By: Warren Ellis Publisher: Wildstorm Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Wildstorm Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 160 Publication Date: December 01, 2005 Release Date: December 01, 2005
One of the best I've seen in a long time This is one of the best graphic novels I've read in some time. It's pure science fiction, set on a UN research station orbiting the Jovian moon of Europa. Under the carbon dioxide ice, there's a free-water ocean, and in the deeps of that ocean the researchers discover a vast number of sarcophagi containing alien bodies that have been in suspended animation for a billion years. But there are also robotic weapons down there, extremely dangerous ones, and they've been armed -- maybe accidentally, maybe not -- by the only other space station in the vicinity -- one owned by a highly independent multinational corporation that develops new weapons. Hence the arrival of Special Weapons Inspector Nathan Kane to see what can be done before someone blows up a planet. The writing is very high quality with considerable wittily cinematic dialogue, and the artwork is also of very high quality. This could easily be converted into a film (maybe by Peter Hyams, writer-director of OUTLAND).
Not Bad, Not what I expect from Mr. Ellis. This is ultimately a positive review though I may take a moment to get there. First I am happy I did not wait to collect and read this in six separate (and seemingly short) issues. I would probably have forgotten that I was reading it around issue four. Collected, it moves much better.
I am always happy to see a science fiction story that really has some science to it and explores the solar system. I'm also happy to see a Warren Ellis story and here we get both. It is easy to cry derivation when dealing with this genre, but there are some basic limits to originality due to the nature of the settings. Ellis is a major power in the comics writing world and has conjured some good to great concepts in this tale. There just is little follow through on these ideas.
The story reads a bit as if A.C. Clarke had written it except added villains, sort of a 2010: The Revenge. Don't get me wrong, I like the idea! What I missed was actual characterization and graphics that didn't approach the modeling style of early Batman whenever action and movement was required.
The players that populate this world are a gun hating, gun toting weapons inspector; a female commander on a deep space mission who makes good coffee; an Asian (?) female scientist who does something and is maybe the one who makes the good coffee; a man who is a scientist and says "It's so easy." repeatedly for no real reason and doesn't die a heroic death; and a hot shot female space something who wants sex. Oh yeah and the bad guy. Names? Kane is the gun hater. After that...
Some of the art really works well, especially the "special effects" sequences, but there are certain sections where I was unsure of what exactly was supposed to be happening until the narrative filled me in. Particularly when one of the space ships rams into another just in time to throw the bad guy off balance and save the gun haters life.
I did like the basic story and the ideas are often clever, but some of the satirical elements are simply too obvious. Like the statement made that they could never get `Doors 98' to work right. Lemme see? Doors, windows, oh wait I get it and it just isn't really that funny. Nor is the whole corporate sell/ your personality entirely workable, though I did like the science fiction-y ways that Ellis expressed it. Additionally the spark in the eye communication was well done through the artwork.
In the end, the most interesting characters never quite come alive and the threat is handled way too swiftly and conveniently. It all wraps up in a nice tidy package in what seems to be a very short time. Basically everything blows up and, while it looks good, is not as satisfying a conclusion as I expected. `Die Hard' in space.
On the whole I really enjoyed this and will quite probably reread this at some future point. It is well worth the price of admission and does not take a lot of time commitment to read. Light and entertaining, but that is not what I normally expect from Mr. Ellis.
Graphic SF Reader A science fiction graphic novel by Warren Ellis. A scientific group is out exploiting a planetary resource, and when they make a find, their corporate overlords decide to take some drastic action. However, a government agent/troubleshooter also gets involved, luckily for the non-corporate types.
Amusing, with action, and a fairly blatant Microsoft satire.
Good material, pacing felt off This feels like an action film that forgot to take it's thyroid meds. The material is good, but the pacing is off. The character development is limited by the number of pages available, and the "weapons inspector who hates guns" just didn't sit right with me; there was more story there that would have been useful to the story as a whole.
ok but not great A good story but not on par with Planetary or the first 12 issues of the Authority
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