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Hmm. I think while this is in the same key as other works, it's not all one note. I don't find myself knowing where these works are going - even if I might know what some of the themes might be.
So yeah, I'm way excited for more No Hero, more Doktor Sleepless, more Deslolation Jones, and goddammit MORE FELL. Which is really, in a totally different key. There are quite a few Ellis works that I don't get into for whatever reason, but I guess I feel exactly the opposite of Cyman - you can count on me to buy things in this vein. ;) -
Part Lex Luthor and Tim? This doesn't bode well. And the bit about booby traps and 'special insider' knowledge is bothersome.
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CommentAuthortrini_naenae
- CommentTimeJun 28th 2008
I'm interested enough to probably read the first story arc, even though there are things that seriously ickle me out (as did Desolation Jones). -
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- CommentAuthorRockin' Rich
- CommentTimeJun 29th 2008
I liked it. Though I bailed on Black Summer (but will catch up with it in the future), I'll try to stay current with this one.
And Ryp is, indeed, a trip. -
- CommentAuthorhelloMuller
- CommentTimeJun 30th 2008
Great stuff. Love the historical backdrop and the evolution/incarnations of the team. Nice cliffhanger as well. Looking forward to the rest! -
I like interesting alternate takes on the hero genre.
I found the idea of a persons physical make up drastically changing - so they're not even really human anymore - intriguing. I've seen many conventional scenes of an "invulnerable" body being able to take a super hero punch, but I've never seen how much more it could take as shown with the still living body on the table. Creepy man.
Looking forward to the next installments. -
Oh yeah, forgot to post that I read it. It was a good teaser. Too early really to say much really, but there were some very interesting concepts in there. A chemist that creates his own superheroes? I'm alone in the lab this week, and I've just had a great idea....
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CommentAuthorBrandon Seifert
- CommentTimeJul 1st 2008
Desolation Jones, Doktor Sleepless, No Hero-- Too similar for me.
Um...
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...
...
Would you mind explaining this? Because what possible similarities there might be between those three books are completely escaping me.
To me, it sounds like saying Mek, Transmet and Doom 2099 were too similar... but in that case, since they're all set in the future, I actually see a point of commonality. -
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I liked it enough to ask for a box-subscription. Very interesting concept.
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- CommentAuthorJohnny California
- CommentTimeJul 1st 2008
For me there is a lot of similarity between Black Summer, No Hero and maybe Authority, but that's not really a turn-off. Also, the fact that Ryp is on No Hero and Black Summer may contribute a lot to their similarity.
I can see "some" similarity between Doktor Sleepless, Transmet and even Anna Mercury in tone as well as Desolation Jones and Fell or Red, but not enough to turn me off those titles by any means. -
isn't it inevitable that products from one writer are going to have a certain similarity in tone? don't people check out different titles from a writer because they liked a particular story that they wrote? i think 'transmetropolitan' dealt with a character that was balls deep in the future and the main thrust of the story dealt with the politics of the day and was perhaps a lot more optimistic about what the future had to offer us. the cloudlets, the reservations, the passion and humanity of the characters all talked of our limitless potential. doktor sleepless approaches the future from the idea that it is a more stealthy proposition and that we have had something stolen from us. i think the commonality perhaps kicks in in the fact that we have two protagonists who wish to change the way that people interact with their world -- spider does it through information spread via journalism, the dok uses different tactics, different methodologies. i think their mental make-ups are vastly different too. anna mercury interacts with information on a whole other level.
i think it is inevitable when someone is exploring ideas they are interested in that too will produce similarities. the frameworks may occasionally be similar that those ideas are mapped onto, but i don't think they are trying to do the same things each time. you can't please everyone all of the time. -
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CommentAuthorrickiep00h
- CommentTimeJul 1st 2008
Thank you, muse hick, for saying what I wanted to but didn't know how. That happens to me all the damn time on the forum. Everyone here is smarter than me... -
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black summer and newuniversal both play off similar ideas of how the powers that be react to superhumans. the authority and nextwave both take an essentially absurd approach to superhero fight comics, but one is played somewhat more straight.
thunderbolts covers some of the same ground as DV8 way back in the day with casts full of loathsome deviants, in horrible situations.
the similarities in works are not as obvious as one might think. -
Would you mind explaining this? Because what possible similarities there might be between those three books are completely escaping me.
I think he's saying that at this point, with the backlog of books behind him, this feels like Warren is repeating himself. And it does. No Hero and Doktor Sleepless feel like retreads, so did Desolation Jones.
Druid, Ruins, Metalscream 2099, Pryde and Wisdom, Ocean, Ministry of Space, Crecy, Aetheric Mechanics, Newuniversal, Nextwave, Ultimate Galactus, and Thunderbolts all actually felt new. Like something I'd never seen before in quite that way, and so did Black Summer.
But Desolation Jones, and Doktor Sleepless just feel like Transmetropolitan in new skin, irregardless of the fact that they are not. The same goes for No Hero, it has a completely different empowerment principle, and a different founding ethos. But it comes from the same politics, the same disenfranchised yet affluent, white empowerment fantasy, and has similar design semiotics because he's using the artist from Black Summer. -
What is No Hero a retread of? I don't understand what you are saying. I guess it shares some similarities with Black Summer. Kind of. Really broad similarities, like the creative team and the genre.
What about Desolation Jones? What is that retreading? I guess it owes a bit to Chandler, but what else is it retreading?
You need to explain yourself. -
I know there have to be similarities, and I know it's ridiculous for me to judge on an issue #0, certainly the plots could branch any number of places, I just felt that No Hero 0 has a similar enough premise that it may as well be Desolation Jones 9, which I would rather have had. Obviously not all of his work though, he's written a bajillion things so it would be ridiculous to complain about there not being enough variety, especially with my backlog.
But there is a clear common theme in Transmet, Desolation Jones, Dok Sleepless and now No Hero-- Not necessarily a bad thing, but not boding particularly well for me personally. No Biggy.
What it means to be a hero, how do we influence what the world is, or think about what the world is, or whether those two are the same thing, the cost of superpowers (tie Ultimate Human here, too), inspiring people just to be that positive change they want to see, be it by science, vigilanteism, journalism, vigilante journalism.
What these 4 characters have in common is the lack of fear-- Desolation Jones has no reason to fear anything after what he's been through, The No Hero guys are all-powerful, Dok Sleepless is Science Jesus, Spider is completely incommensurable with fear, and they're all in the apocolyptic-ish future doing reasonably similar vigilant type things.
They're similarities. It's the same writer. It's noticable. But the premise is so great and there are so many different ways to take something like that that it deserves 4 books. Really, I wish all writers (and readers) would think this critically about the world they live in; it's really awesome and I'm glad it's reaching a large audience, but just from the way I seem to be interpreting them-- I don't want to see the premise set up anymore, I know the premise, I want to see the later issues. So I'm simply saying, if Warren has that kind of control over the way he budgets his time, this one particular whiny fan would rather see the established books develop than see a 'new' similar book launched. Maybe it has more to do with the artist and the publisher and the editor and whatever, I just mean if Warren is sitting saying, "Should I write more Jones today or start a completely new thing?" One vote for the former.
For me, I read Desolation Jones first, so I could never call it a re-tread, and I think calling them 'Transmet in new skin' is blasphemous and preposterous. And after all the little details settle, I think Desolation Jones has the best looking set up to take it in so many crazy directions. He's the freest character. Nothing to lose, solo freelance type just wanting to expose some shit. He's the greatest and I want him. That is all. -
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CommentAuthorjoe.distort
- CommentTimeJul 5th 2008
wow, i just dont get this. even in the books i didnt like ive never really thought warren was treading ground he had already walked...ESPECIALLY based on a preview setup of a story we havent even seen yet. -
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CommentAuthorwarrenellis
- CommentTimeJul 5th 2008
Wow.
Desolation Jones has no reason to fear anything after what he's been through,
Not quite what's happening there.
The No Hero guys are all-powerful
Well, quite clearly, they're not.
Dok Sleepless is Science Jesus,
Well, Dok Sleepless is insane.
Spider is completely incommensurable with fear,
I don't think you have the evidence to back that up.
and they're all in the apocolyptic-ish future
No, Desolation Jones isn't.
doing reasonably similar vigilant type things.
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Guys, are you really judging the whole story-line from a $1 #0 issue. For all you know all all the super beings could be wiped out by Robot Zombie Pirates in the next issue, who will flood the world with radioactive waste and rule the high-rad seas with the rotting titanium fist of tyranny. Wouldn't that just fuck with your minds? I don't know if I recall Warren having a Robot Zombie Pirate book before, would that quench your thirst for originality??
@warrenellis if that does happen I'll expect my name to appear in the credits :)