Customer Reviews

The Losers (Vol.1): Ante Up

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Comparing The Losers to a Hollywood movie does it a great disservice. The dialogue in most movies doesn't even come close to what Andy Diggle serves up in this poignantly paranoid and timely series. He's Tarantino with talent. Scorcese with restraint. And Jock's bristling visuals absolutely jump off the page, bringing each character and location and emotion distinctively to life. Hollywood analogies fall short here. The Losers is a must-own, not just for fanboys and action-junkies, but for anybody that appreciates great graphic storytelling.

The best way to summarize Ante Up is that it's a what a great action movie should be except on paper and with the extra goodness that comic books bring to you that movies can't (like an artist who's art can be described as stylish, cool (and not the MTV- forced cool), and original). It's a very good start to a series and immediately hooks you. At the same time, don't expect the next Watchmen or some other "classic" story. This is a good, solid story that will make you come back for more.

I initially picked up the first volume of this series because of the dynamically posed woman on the cover. Flipping through the book, I noticed interesting use of shadow and rough, yet structured art. While reading the summary, however; I became sceptical of the story. My initial thought was that of a story which has been told many times before - good guys who refuse to do what is asked of them, and in turn, are believed to be assassinated, only to later seek revenge for being exiled. Who hasn't heard that one already?
But once I began reading The Losers, I could not believe the rush I got. The story was action-packed and suspenseful. The whole graphic novel plays like a full-featured film that has one climactic moment after another.
Andy Diggle did a fantastic job writing dialogue which adds mystery, suspense and a dose of complexity that adds realism. Most of the action is very cinematic, yet believable, because the panels flow smoothly and interestingly. This composition makes for a very fluid read.
No other book on the stands compares to this one, especially if you enjoy CIA and government mysteries or if you just like good comics in general. I definitely recommend this volume and the others as well!

A review of this book in Wizard magazine, inspired me to buy, it.
I'm very glad I did.
I plan to buy the remaining 4 volumes

With a plot that would rival most action movies The Losers is an excellent story about a group of CIA outcasts that are out for revenge. its awesome. read it.

"it's got spy crap in it. but in a good way!" that was all the recommendation i needed... see, my friend mike is a pretty good judge of what won't work for me in a comic. when he was gushing to me about his new favorite comic, The Losers (published by DC/vertigo), he said "i've never seen any comic do spy crap as well as they do it in film... until now. and (the artist) Jock is a freaking Bad [expletive deleted]!"

so there you go! i just finished reading AnteUp, the trade paperback collecting the first story arc about the newly rogue black-ops special forces team, the Losers. after seeing something they shouldn't have, the team is whacked by the CIA, or so it seems. now the Losers are back, with new team member, Iraqi killing machine/CIA mole (and seriously fly chick... don't tell her i said that!) Aisha (foreground in the cover art), and they are giving the crooked government bigwigs the bizness.

anyways, the point is, this mess is the BOMB!!! and yeah. Jock is a Bad [expletive deleted]... the book has the kind of severity and elegance in the action sequences you rarely see, and Jock's sense of style, framing and pacing is breathtaking!

i've got two more trades to read, so i won't go on too much. I advise buying the TPB if you like big-budget spy flicks.
holla!
-samax

Every volume to date has been like a big screen action movie. The perfect comic gift for fans of action novels like the Jack Ryan series, the classic 007 novels or heck, even he perfect gift for Father's Day.

If we had more comics like this instead of go-nowhere comics like Daredevil or Ultimate Spider-man, there might still be a market for western comics in the American mainstream.

Although the premise sounds a little formulaic, the execution is more than sensational. Andy Diggle and Jock deliver a pulse-racing arc that's worthy of a cinema treatment. It may not be as ground breaking as Vertigo's other titles but it's sure is up there in terms of entertainment and thrills. Jock's art is perfect for this type of comic genre. Along with Stormwatch: Team Achilles, I recommend The Losers.

"The Losers" are a group of five US special forces soldiers who went on a mission in Afghanistan for the CIA, and saw something so terrible that the CIA shot down their helicopter, believing that the Losers were on it.

Five years later, the CIA is still under the impression that the Losers died but the entire team survived and they were in hiding. The team knows that once the CIA finds out that the Losers are still alive, they'll be labeled as terrorists and hunted down; so they want to find some proof of the CIA's criminal endeavors, which they only saw a small part of in Afghanistan. With this proof they want to leverage the CIA into backing off and letting them live.

The Losers are made up of an extremely likable cast of characters. They're led by the no nonsense Col. Clay and his second in command Roque. The most entertaining character is Jensen who is their motor mouthed infiltrator and electronics expert. Cougar is like a stereotypical silent but deadly sniper and Pooch is a family man who is in charge of transportation for the Losers. Their sixth member is Aisha, a female muhajideen who is working as a double agent against the CIA, for the Losers. Many of the Losers don't trust her, and Jensen's attempt to seduce Aisha is one of the funniest scenes in the comic.

I think that if this was strictly an action comic with the plot described, it would be an entertaining read, but the characters elevate it to a higher level, and make this an extremely worthwhile collection.
"The Losers : Ante Up" collects the first six issues of this monthly comic from Vertigo. That means that it gives you the first issue of Losers, a one shot introducing what this comic is all about, and the five part Goliath story line in which the Losers go up against Par-Sec, the tough as nails security firm of Goliath oil in order to secure their freedom.

"Ante Up" is a great buy, it's 9.95 for six issues which means that there's a pretty substantial discount considering that each issue has a cover price of $2.95.

I've owned this book for several months now, but just recently read it. When I first purchased it I made it through about 4 pages and laid it down because the art is so absolutely horrid.

I'm glad I eventually went back to it though, because as everyone else has been shouting...it reall does play out better than any heist film Hollywood could pump out.

Interesting characters, cool plot and over-the-top action makes this a stand-out title.

Just get ready to self-interpret a lot of the art though because of the absolutely nonexistent skill of visual storytelling.

If the later volumes (which I've yet to read) snagged a better artist...this could easily be the best title on the market.

3.5 stars