Swan Songs #1 Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) W. Maxwell Prince (A) Martin Simmonds

Swan Songs is the new anthology series from W. Maxwell Prince.  The anthology format is clearly something he specialises in.  From Ice Cream Man to Haha, his work primarily exists in one shot form and often with different artists along for the ride.  With Swan Songs, the basic idea is that every issue is to do with an ending of sorts.  Whether it’s the end of a marriage, the end of the day, or in this case, the end of the world itself.

Now if this is the subject matter you’re going to be dealing with then there are few artists out there better equipped to bring this hellish landscape to life than The Department of Truth co-creator and series artist Martin Simmonds.  I’d said it before regarding The Ribbon Queen, and Swan Songs is also in the conversation for the best #1 this year.  Where Swan Songs maybe has the edge, is that this is a one shot.  And that is the strength of a series like this.  You can dip in and out, pick up issues if you like the sound of the story, or it’s with an artist you particularly like.  A perfect series for new readers or the non committal types!

With the theme of this issue being the end of the world itself, it may perhaps be rather surprising that we focus on a very small story within the apocalypse itself, that of Brian who is caring for his sick mother, as the ‘Atomic Clock’ counts down to zero.  The story is very sincere rather than a cynical end of the world story, as Brian is determined to get one last issue of his mother’s favourite gardening magazine before everything ends.

This allows the scale of the end of the world to be briefly glimpsed as Brian makes his way through the war torn streets as society collapses in the face of its demise.  We are constantly reminded throughout the book with a countdown on every other page, further highlighting the tension and hope that Brian will complete this last task for his mother.

His noble quest for the magazine introduces a broad range of eccentric and volatile characters, but his internal monologue emphasises his approach to doomsday based upon work with his therapist and frames all of the external threats with greater significance. A complete focus on caring for one person combined with an inability to confront the massive problems surrounding them both makes Brian a deeply sympathetic figure for readers standing amidst rising tides of literal climate change.

Simmonds is the perfect artist for this territory, given his experience with The Department of Truth. Large splash panels, including a very impressive first and final page, provide readers with a sense of enormity. Towers loom, fires rage, and entropy consumes all as layers of Simmonds’ various technical effects morph appearances within each page. There’s so much dread emanating from his city on the brink that makes Brian’s 24-page journey much easier to access.

Swan Songs #1 invites readers to explore finality in a medium that seemingly never ends, after all there’s always next weeks releases to pick up! Yet Prince’s career is a testament to “less is more” and what is achieved in this first issue affirms that few creators working today can write a single issue story better in 2023. Combined with the consistently stunning work and perfectly suited style of Simmonds, it makes for an outstanding debut that seriously addresses the anxiety of feeling like one is living in the end times.

Now about issue 2, and the end of a marriage…

The Ribbon Queen #1 Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) Garth Ennis (A) Jacen Burrows

Written by Ennis, Art by Burrows, Covers by Declan Shalvey, Horror Genre and published by AWA studios.  Sometimes you just read the previews book and it’s like a title is aimed squarely at you.  And this is up there with the best #1’s of the year for me.

What we have here is a title featuring police corruption, ancient powers that are bigger than all of us, and a great mystery story to boot.  We follow Detective Amy Sun, a clean cop in a corrupt precinct who is not afraid to expose those who think they are above the law.  It makes her about as popular within the Precinct as you might expect.  But as she investigates corrupt cops, she follows some breadcrumbs that lead her into the world of the supernatural, and ancient evil that has awoken to punish the guilty.

Ennis is no stranger to either the cop genre or the supernatural, so of course he is a master at marrying the two together and creating a suspenseful tale that keeps you turning the page.  He has created a great cast of characters here, some good, some bad, but all adding something different to the story.  And he knows how to pace and execute a good scare though page turns and suspenseful moments.

Jacen Burrows is a long time collaborator of Ennis so you know their styles are going to mesh together perfectly.  Burrows has a clean style, that results in great looking characters in the real world, but also reflecting that something evil lurks underneath.  His style is further elevated by Dan Brown on colours, who sets a different mood on almost every single page.  This is a creative team with a level of craftmanship that is to be admired, and they are firing on all cylinders here.

What’s really interesting as well is that Ennis is writing something deeper than it first appears.  There are ideas of revenge and retribution throughout the book, but how far is too far?  If something supernatural occurs and punishes the guilty, do even they deserve the level of violence they receive?

There is one cop in the book who became obsessed with a survivor from a murder scene.  He would follow her everywhere, and try to force himself upon her, or get her to thank him all the time for saving her (even though he didn’t really).  Suffice to say he does not get on with Detective Sun, and is clearly unhinged.  But does he deserve what happens to him in the book?  Is his punishment too extreme?  Are we complicit in wishing harm on this character, only to then be repulsed by what happens to him?  There’s some interesting ethical questions being raised here.

It’s always a great feat for any book to hook you instantly, and for the world they create to feel lived in and a bit grimy and dirty, but that is what Ennis and Burrows have created here.  The writing is strong, the world building is great and the comics looks amazing.  This is one that will stay with you for some time, and once again, AWA have presented us with another great title.

Ultimate Invasion #1 Review

Posted on by Alan Taylor

(W) Jonathan Hickman (A) Bryan Hitch

The Ultimate Universe is something I missed first time around.  The idea that you could update all of the origins of classic Marvel by having their origins take place in the modern day as opposed to the 1960’s was revolutionary at the time, and it provided a level of freshness that Marvel arguably needed at the time.

The idea has always intrigued me, so as soon as I saw the Ultimate Spider-Man was going to start hitting the omnibus format, I knew I had my way in.  So far there have been two volumes covering almost 80 issues, and I devoured both of them upon their release.  Then I moved onto The Ultimates Omnibus, and wow do Marvel Studios owe Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch some royalties, because they basically set the template upon which the whole MCU has been built.  I have picked up the first Ultimate X-Men Omnibus but have yet to indulge.

Which brings us to Ultimate Invasion.  Apparently originally the brainchild of Donny Cates (he even gets a special thanks in the credits of the book), it is ultimately (see what I did there?) brought to us from the team of Jonathan Hickman, and original Ultimates artist, Bryan Hitch.  And boy does it deliver.

If there’s one thing Hickman specialises in, it is big ideas and broad concepts.  He delivered 2015’s Secret Wars which effectively killed off the Ultimate Universe, so maybe it’s serendipity that he revives it.  Having revolutionised the X-Men with the Krakoa era, he has now set his sights on the whole Marvel Universe.

Earth 1610 is back, and The Maker, AKA a psychotic version of Reed Richards from the Ultimate Universe, is waging war.  A great bulk of the book is spent showing how he has been kept secluded, under arrest and hidden from the world, and how he breaks free from those chains.  And he does it in a smart, twisted and gruesome way.  His perfect plan is slightly upset by someone he hired not being present and a replacement sent in his place.  This small alteration is enough for those in charge to realise that it is no longer Reed Richards in their custody.

Hickman has always been great at juggling a large cast of characters but making each voice unique, and he is on top form here.  There are times where I believe Hackman’s ideas can almost be too big and can get away from him slightly (ironically enough he’s in the Marvel Universe to me, what Scott Snyder in the DC Uinverse is to Keith!), but he echoes the original Ultimates Universe tone of Mark Millar brilliantly here, aiming instead for a large scale blockbuster with plenty of twists.  He also writes a truly terrifying foe in The Maker, and we are right to worry for the heroes here given what they are up against.

There are more than enough breadcrumbs laid out for us in issue 1, without going into too much specificity regarding The Maker’s plan, but letting us know that the Marvel Universe should be on the highest of alerts.

Bryan Hitch’s art is fantastic here.  It’s great having him back in the Ultimate Universe, as you feel right at home with the visual style of the first issue.  There are bombastic set pieces, large scale pages, and plenty of great, subtle details in the faces of the characters.  I must admit I wasn’t the biggest fan of Hitch’s work recently on Venom, with Cafu coming in and steadying the ship, but this book is simply gorgeous and a major selling point in the admittedly larger cover price.

But the price may have been a little steeper than most modern comics, but I thought it was fantastic value for money given the quality on show.  And I can’t wait for the next issues to come out, before a proper rebirth takes place for the Ultimate Universe!