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Wanted
Bring On The Bad Guys
1[of 6]/DEC/2003
Publisher: Top Cow/Image Comics
Writer: Mark Millar
Pencils: J.G. Jones
Inks: J.G. Jones
Colors: Paul Mounts
Letters: Dreamer Design
Price: $2.99 US/R33.00 SA
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It has been a long wait for Mark Millar fans but finally the time
has come for his independent line of comics to take the world by
storm. ‘Millarworld’ takes off with
the first issue of a six part mini series simply entitled ‘Wanted’.
It’s being published by Image Comics in conjunction
with Top Cow and is part of the ‘Millarworld’
family of comics to be published by four different comic companies,
bringing you four very different comics, over the next few months.
Wesley Gibson is you generic young white male loser. His girlfriend
cheats on him, continuously, his boss puts him down everyday and
he is an extreme hypochondriac who believes he has every major disease
known to man. Unbeknownst to him his father, who abandoned him as
a baby, is a top-level supervillian. What happens when Wesley has
to step up and take over his father’s role? What happens when
the most scared person in the world instantly gains the powers,
wealth and freedoms of being an elite supervillian?
Mark Millar [Ultimates, Ultimate
Fantastic Four] has come up with one hell of a great premise
for a ‘superhero’ story here. He’s taken the grey
area of the supervillian’s world and created a thriving, living
world unknown to the street level citizen. Wesley steps into this
place only to find out that his father was one of the most feared
super-assassins to ever walk the earth. The ramifications and fun
to be had with this kind of plot make this a series which should
keep in line with Millar’s ability to tell ‘Widescreen’
action stories at their best.
But don’t think for a minute that this is your granddaddy’s
superhero comic cause it certainly isn’t. It’s aimed
at a mature audience and with that in mind it adds another new dimension
to the story. The villain’s massacre people and are extraordinary
violent and cruel, this world is not a happy little place that’s
for sure. The addition of the ‘Mature Readers’ rating
in conjunction with a great plot aimed at the seedier underbelly
of superhero life, makes Wanted one of the books I’m looking
forward to reading for the next five months.
J.G. Jones [Catwoman, Y
The Last Man] has long been one of my favourite cover artists
and the promise of him being on interior art was enough to make
me grab this book off the shelf in a flat second. Millar has used
his influence in the industry to bring together top-flight artistic
talent for his initial ‘Millarworld’ release.
Paul Mounts [Ultimates, Ultimate
War] joins Jones as the colourist for Wanted along with
a team of Dreamer Designs people on letters.
The artwork is very solid but not as good as I expected.
Jones is inking his own stuff here and the line work sometimes seems
a little strong and sketchy for my liking. The colours by Mounts
add a good deal of energy to the images and bring to life the supervillian
underworld and the lab of the ‘Proffesor’ nicely.
I enjoyed the choice to use matte paper instead of the normal glossy
stock this kind of event would normally use. I adored the ‘Movie
Poster’ design feel of the back cover, a nice added
extra to gain a ‘Big Screen’ feel to
the comic.
A good start to Mark Millars ‘Millarworld’ series of
titles. By far the most marketable of his proposed titles and with
the biggest names attached to it. The story is in first
place followed closely by a strong artistic showing by a world class
team of creators. If you’re looking for a mature
reader’s superhero book then this a great place to start.
Score 8/10
Reviewed By:Iain Duncan
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Comic Reviews
