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Story by Mark Millar
Art by J.G. Jones
Colors by Paul Mounts
Letters by Richard Starkings
Published by Top Cow/Image Comics | $2.99
Mark Millar had completely lost me. I’d decided he was more a showman than a crafted writer. I used to give him a pass on almost everything he wrote and read it, but Trouble knocked me off that bus. I figured he’d jumped the shark and that was that. However, my retailer is a relentless promoter and I figured it was easier to just buy Millar’s latest creation, Wanted, than it was to explain why I didn’t want it.
But lo and behold, it was a damned fine read.
It was described as a Watchmen for supervillains, which I wasn’t looking to read, but excepting some of Millar’s cliches (a la sex and swearing, seemingly for the hell of it), it was well done, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of this, and to find out what happens.
Basically, the set up is similar to the gimmick behind Brian Vaughan’s The Runaways. In Wanted, a weasely, boring sap with a terrible life named Wesley, finds out that his long-estranged father was recently murdered, and more so, that he was a supervillain. The surprised young chap also learns that he’s the heir to a vast fortune of his father’s ill gotten gains. There’s a catch however, and he’s required to be a “man” and be a supervillain for a period of time before he can collect on his windfall. He finds out he’s got some supernatural latent marksmanship ability to boot. It’s a big day for our protagonist.
The art chores are handled by J.G. Jones, whose work I’ve missed since Marvel Boy. He hasn’t lost any skill since then either. His work is exciting and it seems to move rather well. You can see the defeat and desolation in Wesley’s face and know from the first frame you see him that he’s given up already. There are other bits in the issue which are violent and lascivious, which he handles just as well.
While I hasten to compare them, this is vaguely reminiscent of Watchmen. Perhaps it’s the sniper style shooting at the beginning, or the tone of Millar’s writing, which could be somewhat intentional, but it feels as if there’s a deliberate attempt at recapturing the vibe of Alan Moore’s seminal superhero work. I don’t think that’s a bad thing, and Wanted #1 was an entertaining issue, and I’m certainly looking forward to more.
Josh Flanagan
Isn’t a tribute really just a copy?
josh@ifanboy.com
Did you read Wanted #1? Add a comment and tell everyone what you think about this week’s comics!
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I found this pretty entertaining, but had one problem with it and I don’t know if I’m being oversensitive.
Twice in the book, the characters seem to be referring to an African-American in a derogatory tone.
The main character complains about not his BOSS, but his AFRICAN-AMERICAN boss. Then later in the book, the Professor (a villian I believe) asks the protagonist whether he’d rather go back to work for his AFRICAN-AMERICAN boss?
Given, one of them is a supervillian, but if it’s meant this way, I can think of another word he would’ve probably used.
Are these characters racist? Or just Millar? And if they are is he jumping around the word you’d expect would be used by these guys?
It just struck me as sort of jarring. Maybe there’s nothing to it.
I really think it was the characters. The main character had to have an vein of dispicability to become a bad guy, and the bad guy had to play on that.
I think Millar wanted to make Wesley predjudiced rather than straight out racist. But I think it’s a character thing. I hope anyway. I know exactly what you’re talking about, and I had the same thoughts.
If he wanted to use more powerful language, he might have been able to. Perhaps if it were being read aloud, it would drip with sarcasm. I guess we’ll never know.
This book isn’t even fit to stand in the shadow of Watchmen. It’s the most disgustingly juvenile piece of one-dimensional rubbish I’ve ever read. If this is the future of comics, then I want no part in it. Absolutely appalling.