NEMESIS #1 (OF 4)
What did the
iFanboy
community think?
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PENCILS: Steve McNiven
COVER BY: Steve Mcniven
Size: 32 pages
Price: 2.99
Dennis Rodman started his basketball career as an exceptionally talented defensive player, and rebounder. He always had his own flamboyant personality, but during the late nineties, he made the conscious choice to be rembered more for his celebrity and image, then his skills on the court. That didn’t take away his past skills, or his occasional aggressive genius on the floor in his later career. But it did cause his skills to suffer. He got tired from being The Dennis Rodman show 24 hours a day. And, slowly, but surely, he became more of a VH1 star, than a basketball star.
Some people love that side of him. They’d much rather be dazzled by his persona then watch him play basketball, and that’s fine. I’m not the world’s biggest basketball fan, but I loved watching him play, even though he and that bastard, Bill Laimbeer, totally hated on my Celtics. And was sad when he chose wrestling Hulk Hogan over playing Game Four of the NBA Finals.
What I’m saying is, Mark Millar has left the finals to go wrestle. He doesn’t care about writing comics, he’s only putting in an appearance to sell his next movie script. And, if you’re okay with that, you won’t mind this comic. It’s not the worst thing he’s ever written, but it’s not basketball.
If you miss Millar, go back and read Civil War or Red Son or The Ultimate X-Men.; this is not for you. But if you like it when he writes more for spectacle then for the sake of writing, this is exactly your cup of mud. It’s like Kick-Ass but with more swearing, and less originality!
I won’t be picking up issue two when it comes out in 2012. But I’ll totally go out and see the film version when it hits theaters. And I’ll probably love it. (Seriously, go see Kick-Ass when it comes out. I saw it with a theather full of comic book store employees, and none of us could think of anything negative to say about it. It was awesome. I would say it was 1,000 times better than the comic, which was, itself, ok.)
Art: 4 - Very Good
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Loved the analogy and Rodman reference.
That was a great review akamuu! I love the Dennis Rodman analogy, and the little pieces of sarcasm peppered throughout made me LOL, as the kids say. Too bad I only get my comics shipped to me once a month from DCBS, so I’ve already ordered the first three issues. Guess I’ll have to come back and read this review to make up for the comic every time I read it.
Wow, really well-written and thoughtful review, man. I’m not planning on reading this (so I can’t say for sure), but I’d guess that you put more thought into this review than Millar did into the actual book.
That’s a shame. I’m getting just to get it, but that really sucks.
Ah, reliably crazy, crazy Akamuu!!! Love ya for your consistent wrongness!!!
So, KickAss, if I’m always wrong, are you saying that the movie sucks?
Which Movie, Kick-Ass? Cannot confirm. I’m waiting for it to hit theaters. Didn’t make it to the premiere. Millar’s too cheap to buy my plane fare!
@akamuu lol. I loved this. I definitely see where you’re coming from though. I just really dig mindless slaughter drawn beautifully.
@vadamowens: I did give the art a 4, and it was nearly a 5. I think this would have benefitted from having much less text, which, considering how little text there was in this story, is kind of damning Millar’s writing.
Ah, Akamuu, I’m sorry, but you’re wrong! This was GREAT! My only disappointment was I thought Nemesis’ character design (all white) wasn’t that much fun visually. I thought this was original and super entertaining. Well, at least we agree that the art was awesome. Japan looked stunning.
@Urthona: But did you like multi-colored headed Dennis Rodman who was more concerned with banging Carmen Elektra than playing basketball? Because, if you did, then I told you you’d enjoy this.
Yes, the art is great, but the premise is, at best, uninspiring. At worst, stupid. I feel much the same way I feel about Loeb’s Red Hulk, in that, he’s set up a bit of a mystery as to who the protagonist is, and what his goals are, but I don’t care.
I don’t begrudge other people liking it. But, it read to me like poorly scripted artwork. Seriously, the swearing? It wasn’t over the top. It wasn’t shocking. It wasn’t in poor taste. It was just done wrong. Swearing is a form of grammar that Millar vastly misused here under the guise of being bad-ass. But real bad-asses make swearing into poetry, not clunky threats.
@akamuu-"I won’t be picking up issue two when it comes out in 2012" effin PRICELESS!! I’m lovin that analogy and your overall review!! Put me in vadamowens camp tho, Mcniven=eye candy=happy me.
I agree with you 100% about the swearing, it not only seemed unnecessary but out of character, wouldn’t Nemesis have more class…powerful men swearing makes them look weak…I compare with the swearing in Kick Ass which worked better, particular for the little girl, as it was part of it being outrageous. In general, though, swearing takes me out of the story in most comics.
I just don’t see the Rodman analogy…but man I still remember early Rodman on the Pistons boxing out and rebounding like a fiend against my Celtics, we didn’t hate him as much as Bill Lambeer (sic?) but it was close! Difference was that Rodman oozed talent and potential. Gee, I’m not off-topic, am I?
I find this whole setup much more original than you do. A single classic "Byrne-style" super-villain in a world without heroes who seems like Bruce Wayne’s doppleganger…what is going to happen? Does he win, or does the DC cop win? Seriously, I don’t know, but I am very excited to find out. The death of the Japanese cop was very chilling I thought, with the gore humorous in a Tarentino sort of way. I do wish the DC sequence had better explanation (how did he get on the plane, how did he stick to the front, why was the truck jackknifed at the end of the tunnel).
Final point: I love henchmen! Good henchmen so far. 🙂
@Urthona: Not off topic at all. The difference between Laimbeer and early Rodman was finesse. Both were dirty foul monkeys, but whereas Laimbeer made it look ugly, Rodman looked graceful.
The death of the Japanese cop would have been way cooler without the clunky dialog, because yes, training is a bad-ass murder technique. But, instead of an "Awesome!", my reaction was more "Really?"
Also, I love henchmen, too, but they didn’t do anything cool in this issue, they were barely even 60’s TV Batman villains (which I think was his intent, to give this dark, ultra-violent potty mouthed villain, lame back-patting henches).
And my final point is better summed up by Jimski’s description of the plane vs. petrol vs. old lady panels: "The thing about this that stuck with me wasn’t the image of Air Force One barreling through a freeway tunnel; it was imagining what bizarre and improbable circumstances could possibly set this scene up. So, the gas truck (which is driving through Washington, DC, USA with the word "PETROL" emblazoned on it) jackknifes before the crash, and then the lady shuffles her papoose right into the scene of the accident, not noticing the jet hurtling directly at them until she’s halfway through the intersection? "Hey, man. The sign said ‘WALK’.’""
nWo 4 Life.
I loved Rodman wrestling. And I liked this issue. Not great. I gave it a 3. If the art had been better I would’ve given it a 4. I like Millar’s epic stuff.