Remember the Martian invasion of 2001? No? Not to worry, some of Marvel's top talents have preserved it for you! Re-live the sequel to H.G. Wells's masterpiece as a sword-wielding slave leads a band of fearless freedom fighters against Earth's alien overlords! Featuring mutants, madmen, metal monsters, and more! Guest-starring (who else?) Spider-Man! Free Earth! Collects Amazing Adventures (Vol. 2) #18-39, Marvel Team-Up #45, Marvel Graphic Novel #7, and Killraven #1 (Marvel Knights).
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not Essential - Which is Great That It Was Done,
By
This review is from: Essential Killraven Volume 1: War Of The Worlds TPB (Paperback)
Killraven is another of the relatively short-lived series that I missed picking up in the seventies. Marvel's Essentials has once again come to my rescue and I now have the Essential Killraven, while not very essential in and or itself, but still a treat with reservations. The series got off to a rocky start as the creative team shifted, including both quite weak work from Herb Trimpe and an excellant origin issue by Neal Adams. It finally settled down with Don McGregor and P. Craig Russell (except for a few regrettable fill-in issues). Unfortunately, the storyline itself meandered along with the characters as they took an impossibly roundabout route to Yellowstone National Park (which they did not ever get to). Some of the interesting creations only lasted an issue or two and most of the secrets and personalities of all the characters never had time to be developed properly. The artwork was always interesting, though. Still, despite all that, this is still a fascinating example of Marvel's seventies experiments and the Essentials is perfectly designed to showcase a series such as this. In the end, worth picking up.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant, Once It Hit Its Stride,
By
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This review is from: Essential Killraven Volume 1: War Of The Worlds TPB (Paperback)
In the seventies, superhero books were, if not dead, at least very sleepy. So Marvel tried everything but the kitchen sink. And not only were many of these works highly experimental, but they were often passed from creator to creator until something clicked (Master of Kung Fu and Iron Fist were two other features that took a while to find their feet).
That Killraven survived is miraculous-- the early versions of the feature were less-than-wonderful. But once P. Craig Russell and Don McGregor took over, this was some of the stuff of the decade. The writing moves from cheesy post-apocalyptic tripe to subtle, nuanced examinations of war and heroism, laced with moments of humor and extraordinary beauty. Not until Moore's Swamp Thing and Moench's Shang-Chi would anyone write comics this powerful and literate. But yes-- you do have to wade through some other stuff to get there. Think of it as just gathering backstory until you get to the real meat. Marvel did the creators the favor of a heads-up on cancellation, so there is a story that gives a sense of completion. Then Russell and McGregor got to create a graphic novel that really tied things up-- unfortunately, translating the oversized, painted-illustration pages to this format loses a little something. There's certainly some dross here, but get this volume for some pure comics gold from the seventies.
8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A lot griping aside,
By Richard A. Tucker "Tucker at large" (Pembroke Pines, FL) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Essential Killraven Volume 1: War Of The Worlds TPB (Paperback)
Well, the fanboys have spoken. Forget objectivity when it comes to fans of superhero fare. They know what they like and anything else just can't hold a candle. For what it's worth Killraven was never a stellar character.
He wasn't supposed to be. His storyline is not one of triumphing in tights. It's a grim story about shattered hopes and survival in a world no longer run by his species but by a merciless species more interested in food and entertainment (waitaminute! who does that sound like?). This series is a SF adventure and the outfits of the rebels are hardly very practical but rather exotic and formfitting, more like futuristic pirates and adventurers. However, the world these folks live in is not one of charismatic leadership and daring deeds, but one of avoiding capture and, on occasion, some violent acts of vengeance with side trips for the freeing of some slaves (those who want to be freed, seeing as slavery makes some feel secure where life on the run is not very romantic or practical). The stories are often off the mark BUT they are still very often poingant and relevant to life on a shattered world. Killraven's fellows are a motley lot but they are also, clearly, family. The artwork in these books is uneven but some of these tales had beautiful, illustrative qualities that were pure artistic endulgence. P. Craig Russell really grew with each issue going from a very lush, full bodied style to a minimalistic yet well rendered style (a style he with for several years after this run). The first tale is illustrated by a very inspired Neal Adams (in my opinion this was his best work ever) and new guy by the name of Howard Chaykin who also did a very good job. Herb Trimpe drew several issues and some of it may not have been his best but the earlier issues were certainly, wonderfully, different from his previous superhero work. Now to the charge that Earth could not be over-run by Martians with the host of Marvel Heroes to contend with; well, the early issues made no reference to the Marvel Earth of the time. This was done later when Marvel tried to marry the 2 completely divergent worlds into a single one. When the Martians attack in the issue of Amazing Adventures #18 there were no superhero references. After all, this was meant to be a different kind of property. Marvel's editors did the same asinine thing with Robert Howard's characters, Conan, Kull and Red Sonya (and during roughly the same time period which says something about the editorial direction of the period which was very disheartening). It was beyond stupid to do this. They probably hoped to promote the book more by tying this series into the "Marvelverse" but evidently hadn't seriously thought it through. The writers can't be held totally responsible for this bad idea. Anyway, the point is, I found this series inspired if not always on the mark. The efforts are to be applauded but not regaled. For those who didn't "get it", well no surprise there. They view all comics from a superhero genre standpoint (often ignoring the drek that regularly inhabits that genre and it's characters). This work should not be judged from the superheroic perspective or that genre. It was much more like a science fiction adventure, something like Sparticus meets the Martian invaders (that just came to me!). It's flawed like all comics that suffer from a lot of handling and manipulation at the hands of several editors over a short time period. Imagine a film that has three different directors, and each one having a different take on the story. Despite this manhandling the writers and artists actually provided some reliable and, sometimes, well-above-the-standard, entertainment. And you can't beat the price. This is among my favorites in the Essential line. I give it 4 stars for efforts not appreciated and for some very good work that rises above a lot of what was a bleak period for Marvel.
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