Customer Reviews

Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. Volume 2 - I Kick Your Face (v. 2)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With NEXTWAVE: AGENTS OF H.A.T.E. VOL. 2 (I Kick Your Face), Warren Ellis persists in dispensing with multi-layered plotlines and the fleshing out of characters. This one, collecting the final issues #7-12 and much like in Volume 1, reads like an extended fight scene sound effect. If you like action that's often in your face and without the constant impediment of dreary word captions, then this'll float your boat. Stuart Immonen's artwork is remarkable, even if I had to turn the page upside down a bunch of times.

The premise: Monica Rambeau (fomerly Captain Marvel), Brit hottie Elsa Bloodstone (monster hunter), the mutant Tabitha Smith (formerly Boom Boom), Aaron Stack (the slightly insane Machine Man), and the Captain make up the Nextwave Squad, originally hired by H.A.T.E. (the Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort) as its primary anti-terrorist response team. Nextwave turns on its employer when evidence surfaces implicating H.A.T.E. and its parent company, the Beyond Corporation, of terrorist activities.

SPOILERS are here:

As per this series, we get the usual pattern of two-issue story arcs. The Nextwave Squad faces off against the Mindless Ones, magical creatures rented by the evil Beyond Corporation from interdimensional demon lord, the Dread Rorkannu, in exchange for girls and cash ("Yes! I have a hundred of the Earth dollars!"). With this series's bent sensibilities, it shouldn't be a surprise that this sorcery-laden storyline indulges in the Mindless Ones engaging in a West Side Story homage and that the climax is a bathroom fistfight.

Then, Nextwave is lured into an abandoned and fake city and ends up going toe to toe with a ridiculous batch of super nasties, as created by the Beyond Corporation, with the most formidable villain being Forbush Man. Forbush Man uses his power to trap each hero into his or her own existential misery, giving us a chance to savor Immonen's Mike Mignola salute in the Bloodstone sequence. Also, Captain America goes to the john.

The series culminates with Nextwave tracking down the giant aerial homebase of their arch nemesis, happily romping and stomping on yet more beasties and uglies (including my favorite, Wolverine chimps!), and at last coming face to face with the true power behind the Beyond Corporation. By the way, General Dirk Anger gets even more loony bins and even dies for a while (I did warn about Spoilers, right?).

Okay. End SPOILERS.

"Nextwave is a pirate superhero fight comic." Must be nice to have Warren Ellis's clout. Marvel Comics gives him full license to weave tales that are proudly short on subtlety and depth but long on nuttiness and scurrilous humor. He does indulge in one Character Moment (presenting some disquieting background on Elsa Bloodstone as a baby). But Ellis promises to not let it happen again. One thing he also does is rummage thru Marvel's dusty back shelves and bins, managing to drag near-forgot entities such as the Not Brand Echh title and its mascot Forbush Man, MODOK, and Moon Boy and Kid Dinosaur kicking and screaming onto these pages. So, no, this isn't your typical comic book. Readers will either find this title too cardboard cutout, overplayful, and unseemly - or an uproarious belch of fresh air. I'm of the latter breed.

Artist Stuart Immonen should be equally lauded (or blamed) for his light and exquisite touch. He dependably comes thru with a visual feast of nonstop mayhem and gleeful violence. In issue 11, Immonen rampages thru 6 double-paged spreads which simply reek of all-out, no apologies ACTION. This is very nifty. Perfectly complementing Immonen's style are the inker Wade von Grawbadger and colorists Dave McCaig and Paul Mounts. So they too should be applauded (or blamed).

Meanwhile, there's some debate about Nextwave's place in Marvel's mainstream continuity. But, having been infected with this comic's jaunty subversiveness, I choose to not delve into it too much. Besides, I'm sure Forbush Man's existential powers can fix it.

My favorite one-liner: "X-Men come back more than Jesus."

My favorite recurring rejoinder: "My robot brain needs beer!"

Lastly: the Captain rocks. Elsa Bloodstone is bloody fine. Machine Man is mental. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. will return...someday. Just keep paying Ellis. And Immonen.

This book is hilarious. Over the top action. Lots of explosions. Ridiculous fight scenes. Lampooning of classic Marvel characters. I haven't laughed so hard in years.

Warren Ellis's work on Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. is, by far, the best work I've read in comics in years. Why people didn't buy the comic is beyond me. The comedy was genius. Marvel's management is a bunch of boneheads for canning Nextwave. If you have read the other reviews, you know what it's about, so I won't bore your with another recap. If you like comedy, explosions, parody, slapstick, explosions, random acts of violence, heartfelt origin stories, and explosions, then you'll love Nextwave. If you like anything, you'll love Nextwave.

Remember when comics were a mindless escape from the real world and didn't try attempt to examine real world events... with superheroes?

No?

Well, Warren Ellis does.

Sometimes you need a poignant moment between two well-rounded characters who have succumbed to society's ills.
Sometimes it's just nice to see someone kicked in the face.

With Nextwave, Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen made me smile. Which is good because Warren Ellis's work usually makes me nauseous... in a good way.

This is not one of those comics that is awe inspiring like Watchmen or Ellis' Transmetropolitan, but this comic is fun. Characters that are beyond psychiatric help, crazy bad guys and of course, Dirk Anger who is Nick Fury if Nick Fury had mother issues. Enjoy.

And it has everything you love about Marvel Comics, and everything you hate (but that's being made fun of).
Best of all, those stupid Pet Avengers comics made Nextwave CANON!

Eatcherheartout, Bendis.

This isn't a typical story Warren Ellis would create, but its a good end for the series. The book doesn't want you to take the storyline and character "development" too seriously, which is why some people hate this comic parody on Marvel. Don't worry too much about it and you'll be able to enjoy the action and humor in it.

This is easily the funniest Marvel book you will read this year!! Or any other year! Unless you count midevil times, that whole black plague thing really sucked the humor out of stuff.

This book is great and lives up to its promise of explosions and kicking people in the face.

Warren Ellis is overall a spectacular critic of human nature and society. However, the depth of his other works is lacking in this book.