You know, lately I’ve been pretty down on Mark Millar. As one of my longtime favorite writers, I hold the dude to a certain set of standards. Perhaps unfairly.   Recently the dude hasn’t come anywhere near these standards. In place of the dude I used to love has come a plethora of sensationalist slop, and hardcore hyping of his own wares. Maybe the dude is spread so thin, on so many projects, that it makes sense that he’s cranking out scripts while he’s cranking out craps on the toilet. Pure speculation on my part.

But say what I will, there’s no denying that the dude loves comic books. And so with that in mind, I have to get behind him and be stoked at his announcement of the Kapow! Comic-Con in London. Now, I don’t live in the Old World. Firmly entrenched in the Newest of Englands. But the idea of taking the glitz and glamor of San Diego Comic-Con and stapling it into the heart of a different continent? Awesome. It’s about time you guys got some love over there. The shit is going down at the London Business Design Centre from April 9-10 in 2011. Oh, Centre! We really are in England!

Comics Alliance Drops Some Deets:

Name-checked in the video announcement — which also includes filmed endorsements from Dave Gibbons, Frank Quitely and Leinil Francis Yu — as attendees are Andy Diggle, Jock, Steve Dillon, Duncan Fregredo, Kevin O’Niel, Adi Granov, Pat Mills, Paul Cornell, David Hine, Brendan McCarthy, Simon Furman, John Romita, Jr., David Lloyd, Olivier Coipel, Kieron Gillen, Bryan Hitch, John McCrea, among others. Representatives from the film industry are to be announced February 14.

Millar, a master of the hard sell, made a point of saying that Kapow! is ideally scheduled to take advantage of 2011 and 2012’s motion picture lineups, which are heavy with comic book and genre movies including Thor, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Dredd, a Star Trek sequel and a Spider-Man reboot. The convention will be held in April, giving promoters a chance to show their wares to a European audience about two months before Comic-Con in San Diego.

It’s exciting! I don’t know why, but I’m excited. I won’t get anywhere near it. Just the idea of spreading the virulent comic book convention strain to another continent! All run in horror as all of us comic book nerds come out of the wood work, spreading our dorkery and esoteric references!

Well done, Mr. Mark Millar.

Hit the jump for the announcement video.

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Remember last week when Previews teased the OMFG DEATH OF SPIDER-MAN last week? Well, new details have begun to trickle out about it. For starters, the son of a bitch takes place in the Ultimate universe. Which is a good thing, since while I snag a few titles from over in their alternate reality, it doesn’t excite me like it used to. Also, the entire endeavor is being overseen by Brian Marvel Bendis and Mark Swear Words Are Awesome! Millar. The storyline kicks off in February in Ultimate Spidey #153, then follows through into Ultimate Avengers vs. New Ultimates #1 (groan), while continuing through both titles during the month.

Five years ago, this would have excited me to pieces. Now I’m just weary. Good thing for me, both Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Millar are annoyingly hyperbolic as ever.

Comics Alliance:

“This is the biggest, boldest thing we’ve attempted in the ten years since we kicked this line off,” said Millar. “This is the one thing that could be bigger than the CREATION of the Ultimate line and it’s great to be a part of it. Being part of something like this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and soon you’ll all get to read the story we’ve written for you, This should be up there with the very small number of events that really mattered. This is going to be big.”

I don’t expect him to not be completely excited. Especially since it’s Mark Millar, and he super-hypes everything. So why wouldn’t he hype the hell out of this? But it’s hard to get super jazzed about anything predicated around THE DEATH OF CHARACTER X. At least for me. Right?

Are you like me? Still not jazzed? Brian Michael Bendis up in your house!

Comics Alliance:

“As a group and as individuals we have made a conscious effort to create stories this year that no one has ever seen before… I am very, very proud to be a part of this storyline and very proud of Marvel for even attempting such a bold endeavor. Sit back and watch as we unveil a storyline unlike any other!!”

A storyline like any other? Oh, you mean a status-quo destroying storyline that features the death of a character? Jesus Christ, that’s new and exciting. I’m being a bitter dick. I know I am. Underneath it all, with two big names behind it, I am going to check it out of of nothing other than curiosity.

Also, although I only really enjoy Bendis’ for his work on Scarlet at the moment, and I checked out of Mark Millar’s retarded adolescent fantasies when he decided to have one gay character of his involuntarily rape his own sister (no, I’m serious, that’s from the piece of refuse that is Nemesis), at one point in my life they were two of my favorite writers. So when Bendis isn’t stretched completely thin, and Mark Millar isn’t devolving into a shock jock bullshit satire of himself, I love the two of them.

So I guess I’m excited?

Thoughts?

"Shhh...It's still supposed to be a secret."

Mark Millar’s Nemesis has been optioned for a film and Tony Scott is going to direct.

Read the rest of this entry »

I used to love me some Mark Millar. And to an extent I still do, though I’m beginning to grow tired of his formula. Super Vulgarity + Super Violence + “Superheroes in the Real World” x Infinity Comic books. But despite my Millar-Fatigue, I’m sort of excited for another creator owned title of his. Because I’m a worthless fanboy.

via cbr

Mark Millar and Leinil Francis Yu have announced “Superior,” a new, creator-owned project that will be hitting stores in October 2010. While little is known about the series at this time other than the title, Millar has provided CBR with an exclusive look at these 5 teaser posters for the project.

Perhaps Millar is taking on a more uplifting approach with this comic? The teasers seem pretty dismal, and a bit provocative. It’d be nice to see Millar take on something that isn’t all doom and gloom, or rather convey a message that isn’t “LOL, Superdeath!!!!”, but maybe I’m just overreacting. His run on Old Man Logan certainly posited a flower amidst a wasteland. Like I said, I can’t help but be intrigued.

[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

Spoilers Ahead. Forreal.

Holy shit. I really am a goddamn fanboy.

This is the realization I came to when doing the prep-work for this week’s Images & Words (see: reading comic books). While I believe in the power of comics as a medium first and foremost, I can’t help but willingly belly-flop into some of its pitfalls. Dudes with capes battling nefarious evil-doers. Womenfolk with impossible boobs and butts. Over-the-top splash pages. It’s all so damn glorious.

And the reigning king, the master of the dominion that is Nerd Manor, is Mark Millar. And that’s why we’ve written about him once or twice at OL. The man knows how to take the time-tested characters and put just enough spin on them to make them interesting again while retaining those properties we fell in love with in the first place. In short, Millar rules.

So I really shouldn’t feel bad about awarding yet another Millar book a spot on Images & Words. I shouldn’t. Seriously. But when I concluded that the pick of the week would be Ultimate Avengers 2 #1 I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had just given a Mark Millar comic the weekly feature…oh wait a second…I did…just last week.

Fuck it, this is my post and I make the damn rules. I am the arbiter of the OMEGA-COMIX-ZONE! I rule with a turkey drumstick in one hand and a paneled page in the other! Fear my lack of hygiene! Admire my useless knowledge! Now, step off my Nikes, you’re going to smudge them you prick!

*Ahem* Sorry. It’s been a long day.

Anyways, this introductory issue of Ultimate Avengers 2 shakes the narrative ropes like the Ultimate Warrior. The first caption reads “The Punisher gets busy” and is followed by eight pages wholly dedicated to various murders committed by Frank Castle. While most Marvel readers know that the Punisher’s methods often border on pure sadistic savagery, this first third of the comic takes the uninitiated and throws them into the deep-end without any floaties. “Swim kid, swim for your life!”

Millar’s Punisher is a man whose heart has truly been blackened and swept away by the wind. Without remorse, he guns down not only the targeted criminals but also anyone unfortunate enough to be (even loosely) affiliated with them. It’s unadulterated brutality.

In one instance we see Castle shoot a potentially innocent man. Hoping to be spared, the man pleads, “…I have two young sons. I do not even know these people. I am just their driver, man.” In another scene, the Punisher is reminded that one of his most recent targets, though a criminal, was still only in high school. For all intents and purposes, this is an exaggerated, hyperbolic version of the character. Which is interesting, because his status as a hero (or, I suppose, anti-hero) has to be called into question.

Of course, there’s a sting operation and right when Frank Castle thinks he’s going to nab some Russian mobster, Captain America pops out and fucks his shit up. Ah, good `ole Stevie Rogers, always willing to arrest people convicted of murdering “over two hundred people.” Once in custody, Castle is informed by Nick Fury and Black Widow that the only way he can stay off of Death Row is to lead a black ops team tasked with doing the dirty work that Captain America and his buddies aren’t willing to deal with.

Right now, I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this whole bad boy working for the good guys plot. If it turns into nothing more than Frank Castle and Steve Rogers punching each other out in the name of conflicting ideologies, I fear I’ll be a bit disappointed. But if we get to see these two heroes look past their differences for the sake of beating villainous ass, well then I’m all in. Either way, the first issue of Ultimate Avengers 2 instills enough faith to remain optimistic and so I plan on doing so. Remaining. Optimistic, that is.

Thus far, the true beauty of Ultimate Avengers 2 is found in its art. Leinil Francis Yu rocks a pencil with a precision and detail that would make surgeons weep. When Frank Castle brains someone, blood is expelled not in a single horror-movie stream, but with miniscule droplets and tiny rivulets streaming all about. When a body is flung into a car window, it really seems as though millions of shards of glass are going to fly off of the page. Hell, he even makes a black eye fold over with multiple creases the way they actually do.

Another thing I love about Yu’s pencils (and an open source of debate between Caffeine Powered and me) is that not all of the lines are cleaned up or erased. In fact, a lot of them remain and are inked right over. I love this shit. I think it hits the reader’s subconscious, reminding him that what is being experienced is a fucking comic book. Not a photograph. But a comic book, a series of real drawings that were crafted by an artist.

Again, I’m not sure where Ultimate Avengers 2 is going. It has the potential to be campier and more ridiculous than its predecessor, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But so far, the big violent roller-coaster of a sequel has come out of the gate and ascended the first peak. Arms up, motherfuckers.

[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

Spoilers Ahead. Forreal.

This week’s top comic came down to two serious contenders. One of them was more of a fantasy-based, all-ages type deal. The second was the comics equivalent of a hard PG-13, a book with superheroes who aren’t afraid to fuck shit up. And while both were worthy adversaries, one got the definite edge after displaying supreme excellence in the squared circle. So if you can afford two comics this week, make sure you pick up Joe the Barbarian #4.

But if you’ve only got enough pennies for one cartoon-book, make your choice Ultimate Avengers #6.

Millar and Pacheco bring the first arc of Ultimate Avengers to an ending that is equal parts shocking and appropriate. Taking place in the Ultimate Universe of Marvel Comics, Captain America has spent the first five issues evading capture at the hands of his friends. Why’re the Avengers hunting down Steve Rogers? Well, he just found out that the Red Skull is his son and they’re worried that he’s going to go loco. With good reason.

Of course, this issue sees Captain America and the Red Skull finally going toe-to-toe. But before this battle can occur, the requisite Pre-Final-Confrontation Confrontation has to go down. And it does. We get to see the Red Skull, wielding the fucking Cosmic Cube, dispatch each member of the Avengers. It’s an epic buildup, a suitable appetizer to the main course for which we’ve all been starving!

That isn’t to say that there aren’t some great moments in this melee as well. One highlight is seeing the cowardly Nerd Hulk finally being worked up into throwing down. Sick of the Red Skull’s hurtful words, this Banner-clone lunges into the conflict and screams,

STOP TALKING TO ME LIKE THAT! STOP PUTTING ME DOWN!

It’s a great moment.

As you can guess, this only leads to the final battle. I won’t spoil too much, but you can rest assured that Steve Rogers wins. And since this is a Mark Millar book, he wins in quite a crafty and violent manner. Ok, here’s a hint: It involves impalement. Alright, one more hint: It involves a fighter jet. In other words, mission accomplished.

But what I really love about this issue of Ultimate Avengers is that it cleans up enough of the first storyline while leaving more than enough breathing room for the next. After delivering a sincere declaration that all he ever wanted was a happy ending, Red Skull is laid to rest by Red Wasp via bullet to the head. Nick Fury and Gregory Stark have a heart-to-heart in which it is revealed that Red Skull may have been purposely lured out of retirement. The reason? To justify the necessity of a Black Ops squad led by Fury. And lastly, we’ve still got all of the members of the Avengers alive and accounted for (clearly Jeph Loeb didn’t write this shit).

Ultimate Avengers #6 is a joyride of a comic book. If you haven’t read any of the previous issues, I’d say either hunt them down or wait for the trade paperback. But you’re going to want to hop on board for Ultimate Avengers 2, which starts at the end of this month. In addition to being penciled by the lovely Leinil Yu, the first cover features Frank Castle. The goddamn Punisher!

Ahh, I love comics so damn much!

[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

Spoilers Ahead. Forreal.

In a strange way, I had hoped that Nemesis wouldn’t end up getting the Images & Words spotlight. The reality is that I’m a Mark Millar fanboy and so is Caffeine Powered. On top of that, we’re particularly fond of the writer’s collaborations with Steve McNiven, such as Civil War and Old Man Logan. With these comic book Mega Powers reuniting, we’ve been ranting and raving for months about how sick Nemesis is lining up to be. Which, to be completely candid, calls our objectivity into question.

Hell, the OL wad might’ve already been shot — there’ve been two posts about the comic before I could even get my grubby, powdered-sugar dusted hands on it. With this much hype, picking Nemesis as the week’s top comic seemed like a foregone conclusion. And I didn’t want to know which comic released on Wednesday was best before reading them. I wanted to sit down with my stack of funnies and say, “Let’s see who wows me!”

In fact, I even said, “Maybe Nemesis won’t even be that good. Maybe Millar’s played out. Maybe the new Streets of Gotham is going to rise to the occasion. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.”

Maybe I shouldn’t have acted a damn fool.

The first chapter of Nemesis is fucking awesome. As promised, Millar delivers an ultra-violent, wonderfully vulgar twist on the billionaire-superhero archetype. The reader gets to see what would happen if someone had all of the resources and ambition of Bruce Wayne, but not a single ounce of his altruism. Matt Anderson is the end product of replacing the philanthropic sentiments with sheer lunacy, and then stripping away every good intention so that they can be raped in the bathroom of an abandoned bowling alley. He is the Nemesis.

The titular character hunts for sport. But, as a maniac, he conducts his very own rendition of The Most Dangerous Game; he finds the best law enforcement officers in the world and then sends them a card that tells them exactly when they are going to be murdered. This game that Anderson plays is both incredibly cerebral and shockingly destructive. Not only does this predator toy with his prey, savoring the moments leading up to the killing stroke, but he makes sure to make a spectacle of the event as well.

In the opening sequence, Nemesis reminds a Japanese inspector of all the recent crimes he has failed to prevent. He then informs his target that the men coming to the rescue are on time, but two miles away — in a hotel that Nemesis has rigged with explosions. Then, in a grand twist, the inspector realizes that he is bound to a chair that is on a train track; not only is he killed by the oncoming transport, but the train derails as wreckage from the hotel bombing interferes with the train line. This is the undiluted, masterfully-executed plan of a homicidal genius.

Opposing Nemesis in this series is Blake Morrow, the thematic equivalent of Jim Gordon. The reader is introduced to the Washington D.C. Chief of Police as he shotgun blasts a bunch of crack-heads that have taken hostages in their attempt to hold up a convenience store. This dude is the archetypal old man bad ass, the aging dude who has paid his dues but still isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. Take for instance, this exchange with younger officers;

Officer: What the Hell? How’d you even get in here, Chief?

Morrow: Well, crack-heads tend not to count their hostages, son. I just wandered in the back door wearing a baseball cap.

Sergeant Lee: You are something else, boss. I had your job, I wouldn’t come near this shit.

Morrow: Language, please, Sergeant Lee. We’re supposed to be an example here.

Of course, Morrow isn’t one to piss his pants when he gets the death-sentence card from Nemesis. Instead, he remains calm and decides to put together a plan to take on the world’s only supervillian. Which is even more impressive when the reader realizes that this is an impossible task — to prove his dominance, Nemesis hijacks and crashes Air Force One. He then televises his challenge to Morrow, informing the public that “It’s time you hailed your new fucking Chief” as the President of the United States kneels before him beaten and whimpering.

Thus far, the most intriguing aspect of Nemesis is that I’m not sure who I’m rooting for yet. I’m not even sure if the reader is supposed to favor one character over another, as Millar introduces Matt Anderson as Player One and Blake Morrow as Player Two. Perhaps this is all just a game to sit back and enjoy, not worrying ourselves with getting too invested in either side. In effect, both players can be lauded for their respective supremacy.

Yes, Matt Anderson is a fucking lunatic whose atrocities would never be praised in reality. But this is comics. And moreover, the character has a swagger about him, exuding a confidence and fuck you attitude that most of us wish we had a little more of. And to top it all off, Millar intimates that Anderson has some sort of troubled past, as the character declares,

“Washington shall suffer just like Tokyo before it, but my new campaign has a personal touch. Call it revenge for a stolen childhood. The black sheep of the Anderson family has returned to burn these idiots who believe that you protect them.”

Even if you end up hating Matt Anderson, I have a feeling that you are going to love to hate him.

I genuinely think I could read Millar’s script and be on the edge of my seat. Fortunately, I don’t have to, as the mighty Steve McNiven rocks that shit out of this book. The highlights include three splash pages, two of which I foresee becoming requisite posters for every comics shop. Seriously, within the first issue McNiven’s visuals help convince the reader that Matt Anderson is a bad, bad man.

The only other note pertaining to the art is that I perceive a slight difference between Nemesis and McNiven’s other work. In this book, some of the art seems to have more lines. It’s not as sketchy as Leinil Yu’s art (which I adore), but keeps a sincerity that is sometimes inked right over. The art speaks as though it is proud of itself, and not as a comic that desperately wishes it were a movie or television show. Again, I know very little about formal art, so take that for what it’s worth.

Nemesis #1 is a sick book. You should read it if you like any of the following:

Superheroes

Supervillians

Explosions

Die Hard

Swear Words

Sick Art

Guns

Old Dudes Who Beat Ass

Condemnations of Society

Crack-Heads Getting Shot

Ultra-Violence

Cool Shit

I’m fairly certain that Pepsibones is going to write about Nemesis tomorrow for Images & Words. But I’ve been too stoked about it since reading it this afternoon not to vomit some love. Let me just say this! Isn’t that like, always the sentence you use before prattling on for fifteen paragraphs? Anyways.

Let me just say this!

When I finished reading it, I flipped it to Pepsibones and summarized the comic in one statement:

This thing is retarded in all the right ways.

I was giggling at ultra-violence and perversity like I was…well, pretty much any age throughout my depraved life.

[images & words is the comic book pick-of-the-week at OL. equal parts review and diatribe, the post highlights the most memorable/infuriating/entertaining book released that wednesday]

Looking ahead to the Wednesday releases, I assumed that First Wave #1 was going to earn the honor of OL’s pick-of-the-week. Set outside of the standard DC continuity, this title takes place in some ambiguous past, a pre-retro time of gumshoes and vigilantes. Without being bogged down by a litany of mandated superheroes and superteams, writer Brian Azzarello gets to showcase the more human qualities of Doc Savage, the Spirit and the Batman. Three bad asses who genuinely enjoy effing ess up.

And if this weren’t enough to induce pleasure-overload in the fanboy population, the series is being drawn by Rags Morales. This is the dude who did the pencils for Identity Crisis, one of the most personal and emotionally redolent superhero series I’ve ever read. He’s a great artist, but has recently done one book after another that I couldn’t care less about. Until now, that is.

First Wave #1 is an excellent comic book and I strongly suggest you snag a copy. Unless, of course, you don’t like a solid mystery story, artwork that convinces you to spend a few minutes on each page, great characterization, or good shit in general. If you’re willing to buy two comic books this week, make sure that this is one of them.

But if you’re only going to pick up one comic book this week, there is no better choice than Ultimate Avengers #5.

In case you don’t have a clue what any of this means, let me bring you up to speed. Ultimate Avengers is Mark Millar’s latest foray into Marvel Comics’ Ultimate universe, essentially updating and reimagining the Avengers. This series sees Nick Fury and Hawkeye initiating Project Avengers in an attempt to institute order after some near-apocalyptic catastrophe. With so many heroes dead or out of commission, readers are treated to some interesting twists on fan-favorite characters such as Tony Stark’s supercilious sibling Gregory and a genetically manufactured Nerd Hulk. It’s sick.

But perhaps the best wrench being thrown in the gears of Marvel continuity is Mark Millar’s approach to the Red Skull. In the Ultimate universe, Red Skull is the illegitimate son of Steve Rogers. Raised by a pack of government goons while Steve was stuck in suspended animation, Junior went totally bananas and decided that killing was a hobby he’d enjoy. Combining the physical prowess of his papa with an insatiable thirst for blood, this Red Skull is a (more than) formidable threat.

So, naturally, Steve Rogers wants to be the man to take him down. And this manhunt is what the book is all about…but insane. Basically, take whatever you’re imagining this book to be and force-feed it a six pack of Mountain Dew.

Ultimate Avengers #5 is just out of control. While Millar has used creator-owned properties to do whatever he damn well pleases, I think this comic might prove that he has been given total free reign. Pencilled by the fantastic Carlos Pacheco, this issue has some scenes so brutal that I was honestly shocked to find them in a mainstream comic. For instance, the first panel treats the reader to infanticide. And then, two pages later, an entire splash-page is dedicated to the assassination of JFK. Oh, and who could forget those panels that show the aftermath of forced cannibalism?

Reading these descriptions back to myself, I realize that this comic might seem gratuitously violent. But, really, it isn’t. Ok, that’s a lie — it is. Hell, peppered in between all of the aforementioned images are full-blown fight scenes. With that being said, the visual vulgarity of Ultimate Avengers #5 is irresistibly entertaining. Any time that I said exclaimed Holy shit! it was always closely trailed by that’s awesome!

I cannot understate the prowess of Mark Millar. This guy is firing on all cylinders, creating comics that are not only entertaining in the same way as action movies, but also filled with fresh perspectives that reinvigorate time-worn characters. It’s not just explosions, boobs & butts, and fight scenes — the madness is always anchored by a novel idea or two. And, more important, authentic sentiment.

I make no qualms about shelling out four bucks for a Millar book and neither should you. This week, the team of Millar/Pacheco/Vines have officially reached the Omega Level