Customer Reviews

Essential Killraven Volume 1: War Of The Worlds TPB

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

This essential Killraven is great. It has all of the classic killraven you could want. The comic book is not up to par with the original by H.G Wells, but it is better than all of the other adaptions and sequels out their.

What made Killraven so unique in the timeframe it was created was that, like some other Marvel series of the time, tried to elevate the comic artform to a higher level while maintaining the essential simplisity of the genre. Let's face it folks, comics are kids stuff. Even those, like myself, who enjoy comics as an adult must admit that we enjoy comics on a different artistic level. These are not Tolstoy tomes. They are not Stephen King works. They cannot be. Even today's "graphic novels" fall short if we critique them as "literature". Yes, yes the Killraven series has plotting issues and other "literary" gaffs but what makes it so interesting when judged against comics of its era, is the stellar writing of Don MacGregor. Here we find a writer willing to "talk up" to his audience and create interesting and articulate dialogue. This was rather unique for this time period. FYI- MacGregor and Russel teamed up on another short live series called Black Panther which was also excellent. Later, they brought an end to the Killraven saga with a grahic novel that tied up all the loose ends. Finally MaGregor created a graphic novel called "Blade" (not the Snipes character).

A few months ago, I approached the employees of my three local comic book stores which one simple question: Who is Killraven? I had just heard about the upcoming Essential Killraven here on Amazon and was left completely in the dark as to who this guy was. I was certain at least one of my nearby comic vendors (two of whom have been readers for nearly 35 years) would have some insight into Killraven, and yet everyone responded to my query with nothing but blank stares. Therefore, while expecting the book's release, I had to fall back on the image that the cover and the description gave me, that Killraven was a Conan-ish sword-swinging warrior who leads a revolt against the Martian invaders from H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds. I hope you can forgive me when I say that it sounded like the dumbest, shlockiest idea I had ever heard. Nonetheless, I dutifully obtained my copy last week and tried to keep an open mind. After all, I felt uneasy when I first cracked open Luke Cage's Essential (see my review) and my first suspicions were proven wrong. So what was my opinion on Killraven, the Warrior of the Worlds?

Let me put it this way. I also had all four of my wisdom teeth removed last week. Reading this was the less comfortable experience of the two.

Set in the not-too-distant future when Earth is completely under the yoke of the cruel Martian Masters, only former gladiator Jonathan Raven stands defiant. With his deadly arsenal (swords, throwing stars, crossbows, and pirate boots) and motley band of followers (a black guy, a Native American, a woman, and a big dumb guy), Killraven leads a guerilla war against the genetic monstrosities and fearsome (though wildly impractical) three-legged tanks of their alien oppressors. I actually found the first few stories to be pretty charming despite the rather hokey plot, and writers Gerry Conway and Marv Wolfman knew how to make the Martian squid creatures into truly vile villians (I thought the slave auction on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial was a nice touch). Unfortunately, tedium set in after issue upon issue of the extremely verbose, long-winded existential dialogue that was meant to drive home how the complacency and minutiae of Watergate-era America compared to the truly horrific concept of alien invasion. It's the kind of exposition that is probably fun to write but very little of it stayed in my mind after I turned the page and it really didn't help the story move forward any, and frankly the plot needed all the momentum it could get. The later stories have K.R. and his merry men wandering away from the cities, meandering across the scorched countryside, and running into random mutant freaks with no rhyme or reason. Shouldn't the future liberator and last hope of humanity be a little more goal-oriented than this? With such laid-back story arcs, there's also no excuse for having so many of the initial plot threads drawn out for so long with little resolution (like the search for Killraven's long lost brother, K.R.'s emerging psionic powers, and the origins of most of the main characters). By the time the initial run in Amazing Adventures comes to end after 22 issues with #39 (Cover: The Final Glory; Inside: K.R. befriends some kind of butterfly woman), I just couldn't help but feel anything but disappointed.

This book does include two more stories that were written after the cancellation that do thankfully provide some closure. In Marvel Graphic Novel #7, Killraven finally meets his brother Deathraven (which results in less fraternal love than he may have hoped). Also, in a 2001 issue of Marvel Knights Killraven (by far the most recent material to receive the Essential treatment), our hero meets a cryogenically frozen woman from the 1970's. They are much better and more concise stories than what came before, but not nearly good enough to save the book in my eyes.

You know, one thing I've always liked about the classic Marvel stories is the verisimilitude of how all of the characters lived in the same world and related with each other, which is an element that should have been left out of this series. Apparently, the Martian conquest of Earth is supposed to happen in the future of Marvel continuity (since Spider-Man says hello in a time-hopping issue of Marvel Team-Up and K.R. at one point sees illusory images of Iron Man, Daredevil, et al.) and frankly that really bugged me. So with all of the experience that the FF, Avengers, and X-Men had from repelling interstellar invasions from the Kree, Skrulls, Shi'ar, Badoon, Z'nox and others, Earth got totally blind-sided and subjugated in one night from the guys on the planet right next to us! Say what you will about alternate timelines, I say that they should have set the story in another dimension, maybe slightly reworked the Spider-Man tale, and they could have avoided that whole hornet's nest.

Bottom line: Killraven didn't interest me. Sure some of the tales approached some semblance of Twilight Zone-esque dramatic irony (like the tribe of humans who'd give their lives to protect cereal boxes) or utter weirdness (There was a band of jive-talkin' Harlem refugees dwelling in caves. It was like Superfly meets Quest for Fire.), but those moments were scarce. Ultimately I had to wonder why an Essential about such a mediocre and obscure character was even made. Ok, yes, there's the Tom Cruise movie, but there's still only two Essential Captain Americas, two Iron Mans, two Thors, NO Sub-Mariners. It just isn't right!

I can only really recommend the Essential Killraven to fans from the 70's, if there really are any left, because you'll get the complete package for only $17.

Oh, I just thought of one thing I really did like about Killraven. I liked that he eventually changed his outfit.

In the world of Marvel superheroes, there are your A-Listers like Spiderman and your B-Listers like the Vision. Somewhere around the D-List, between Howard the Duck and Millie the Model, you will find Killraven. Reading the Essential Killraven (a bit of an oxymoron), you see there is a good reason he is obscure. Killraven is not a hidden treasure recently unearthed, but more like finding a small bag of coins: there is some value, but not as much as you'd hope for.

The premise of this story is a sequel to The War of the Worlds. One hundred years after the original invasion, the Martians are back, prepared for the germs that defeated them earlier. This time, they make short work of humanity, killing most people and saving the rest for either food or scientific experiments. Jonathan Raven, a child at the time of the invasion (his age seems to fluctuate as the story develops) is put into bondage and raised to be a gladiator called Killraven. Eventually he escapes and with some other "freemen" wages a guerilla war against the Martians.

The early issues of the series are instantly forgettable, a reminder that Marvel put out its share of mediocre works in the early `70s. The writing is generally bad and the art is not much better. Eventually, things do pick up, particularly with the writing and the last issues (plus the graphic novel and Marvel Knights story) are decent.

There are other problems, most glaringly that this is supposedly a story that takes in the near-future of the "Marvel Universe, " but it is impossible to believe that the Martians could so easily take over a world with the likes of Thor, the Silver Surfer and a dozen other high-powered heroes (not to mention big name villains like Magneto or Dr. Doom who might resent such an invasion); if the Martians were that tough (and they aren't), the low-powered Killraven would be impossibly out-classed. There are also continuity problems, most noticeably with Killraven's brother who changes from being younger to being older.

But the biggest problem with Killraven is the lack of interesting characters. Killraven is never very compelling and his allies are often less so. This could be offset by good villains, but with rare exception, the bad guys are as dull as the good guys.

If Killraven was a real-life person, he'd be one of those semi-celebrities that you'd wonder whatever happened to, if you even remembered him. He'd try to make a comeback on some Surreal Life-like show and then fade away again. Fortunately, Killraven is a fictional character, subject to the decisions of Marvel editors who realize that he belongs in relative obscurity; I doubt we will see any real comeback for this character, beyond the minimal amount necessary to maintain legal rights. Based on what I've read in this volume, this obscurity is well-deserved.

I have to agree with many other reviewers. After 30 years of reading comics of all genres, this was the absolute worst.
Plotlines that don't follow consecutively, characters of worth appearing and dying straight away or leaving for ridiculous reasons. Characters with swords and "ninja stars" defeating towering metal tripods with advanced weaponry? Nonsense!
Awful in every sense of the word. Don't be like me and buy this because "well-maybe-the-reviewers-don't-know-what-they-are-talking-about". It's bad news.