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abookabookabook's review
I like some of the ideas behind the story and it's themes, but the art just isn't pulling me in and I'm not going to be continuing on with this book.
winterlelie's review
4.0
Outsiders fighting a corrupt system while being imperfect humans? Hell to the yes.
m_is_for_awesome's review
3.0
An interesting idea, perhaps not executed as well as it could have been - mostly because it felt rushed. Perhaps pressures from the company dictated the pace of the story but some natural development would have made it better instead of forced.
Still an enjoyable comic - while the execution failed them the characters are memorable.
Still an enjoyable comic - while the execution failed them the characters are memorable.
lberestecki's review
4.0
Simone is great because she can write things that are dark / focus on tough subjects, but she knows the right moments to add humor.
nerdinthelibrary's review
3.5
Buzzword Readathon #7
This comic was a pleasant surprise after seeing so many 1 and 2-star reviews. It reminds me a bit of The Authority (one of my favourite teams) but with younger characters and the waaayyyy more explicit politics.
I'll admit, the plot and characters took a couple issues for me to get used to as you're just thrown into a situation and have to pick up everything along the way, but by the time the volume was finished I found myself really invested in what was happening. This is a comic that weaves its politics into its plot and characters in a way I found pretty seamless.
The titular team are so diverse and wonderful, and I just loved them all. Virtue is a sapphic black woman who can "ride" emotions; Tremor is an asexual Indian woman with the ability to create vibrations, and therefore things like earthquakes; Katharsis is a Laotian immigrant with artificial wings; Mouse is a former street kid with the ability to talk to and control rats; Burden has unclear, MCU!Scarlet Witch-esque powers that made him think he was possessed by the devil; and Vengeance Moth is a wheelchair user who can become a giant green moth-thing.
Something that reminded me a lot of The Authority while reading this is the complex moral code all the main characters have. While they're not villains, or even anti-heroes really, they also ultimately aren't afraid of having a bit of collateral damage if it means saving the day.
If you're looking for a fun, well-written and well-drawn comic with lots of political overtones then this is definitely one you should check out.
This comic was a pleasant surprise after seeing so many 1 and 2-star reviews. It reminds me a bit of The Authority (one of my favourite teams) but with younger characters and the waaayyyy more explicit politics.
I'll admit, the plot and characters took a couple issues for me to get used to as you're just thrown into a situation and have to pick up everything along the way, but by the time the volume was finished I found myself really invested in what was happening. This is a comic that weaves its politics into its plot and characters in a way I found pretty seamless.
The titular team are so diverse and wonderful, and I just loved them all. Virtue is a sapphic black woman who can "ride" emotions; Tremor is an asexual Indian woman with the ability to create vibrations, and therefore things like earthquakes; Katharsis is a Laotian immigrant with artificial wings; Mouse is a former street kid with the ability to talk to and control rats; Burden has unclear, MCU!Scarlet Witch-esque powers that made him think he was possessed by the devil; and Vengeance Moth is a wheelchair user who can become a giant green moth-thing.
Something that reminded me a lot of The Authority while reading this is the complex moral code all the main characters have. While they're not villains, or even anti-heroes really, they also ultimately aren't afraid of having a bit of collateral damage if it means saving the day.
If you're looking for a fun, well-written and well-drawn comic with lots of political overtones then this is definitely one you should check out.
paladinboy's review
4.0
Well written, interesting new heroes but I find the storyline a little too close to home and realistic. Better than Watchman for social commentary, but given the unrest in the work with Trump running, I couldn't enjoy it for social commentary.
cetian's review
2.0
When I saw that Gail Simone wrote about revolutionary heroes, I was excited. I had loved Simone's Clean Room and this seemed to be something new. It was a disapointment.
All the issues have names that seem inspired by marxist theory, like this volume's name "Class Warfare" and revolution is something that pops up in the plot as imminent. But, at least in the first volume, it all seems like a zeitgeist-correct context for an ordinary story about humans with superpowers. Mind you, I am completely biased here: I think superheroes, 90% of the time, are super-boooooring.
The characters are not one-sided, and that's good. Some of the complexities of fighting revenge urges vs really trying to make a change come up. The art is vivid and good. But it still has a feel of revenge-wish fulfillment that I dislike. I don't like stuff like punisher, judge dread (to the extent that I don't read it). It seems sad to, instead of producing change, "simply" revel in fantasies of revenge against the oppressors.
In this context, my least favorite expression is "stick it to the man". My favorite comes from a truly revolutionary band: "rage against the machine". It's my politics: I dislike what remindes me of conspiracy theories (what man?, is it someone behind the scenes, a puppet master?) and empathize with critics of society and economical systems. Let us become more human, less machine like. And, please, try to change ourselves first.
All the issues have names that seem inspired by marxist theory, like this volume's name "Class Warfare" and revolution is something that pops up in the plot as imminent. But, at least in the first volume, it all seems like a zeitgeist-correct context for an ordinary story about humans with superpowers. Mind you, I am completely biased here: I think superheroes, 90% of the time, are super-boooooring.
The characters are not one-sided, and that's good. Some of the complexities of fighting revenge urges vs really trying to make a change come up. The art is vivid and good. But it still has a feel of revenge-wish fulfillment that I dislike. I don't like stuff like punisher, judge dread (to the extent that I don't read it). It seems sad to, instead of producing change, "simply" revel in fantasies of revenge against the oppressors.
In this context, my least favorite expression is "stick it to the man". My favorite comes from a truly revolutionary band: "rage against the machine". It's my politics: I dislike what remindes me of conspiracy theories (what man?, is it someone behind the scenes, a puppet master?) and empathize with critics of society and economical systems. Let us become more human, less machine like. And, please, try to change ourselves first.
captwinghead's review
3.0
3.5 stars.
I get the feeling this was Gail Simone's baby. This was clearly a set up to a universe she planned to do so much more with but DC Rebirth came along and (most likely?) ended any chances of that. I see that there is a second volume and that's the extent of it. It makes me sad because I can see so much work went into this and it fell just short of being amazing for me.
The cast was so diverse. And I don't mean "1 black guy" diverse. There are 3 women of color, a disabled character and a hint that one of them, Virtue, may be bisexual. The characters each appear to have separate goals, distinct personalities and the premise is interesting enough. Some aspects of this did nothing for me. Perhaps, lighter, less gritty art could have pushed it from okay to great for me.
So, the premise is that the 'Tweens have a serial killer on the loose called "The Cornea Killer". They target homeless people and gouge their eyes out. The Movement dub themselves the guardians of this area and they're trying to hunt this killer down. The Movement protects the homeless population and takes in runaway children in their home called the Sweatshop. Simone gives an interest backstory to each of the characters to explain why they joined the group and even their homebase has an interesting background.
It's the storyline with the cops that was so uninteresting. It's clear that this book is making a statement by having a group of people least likely to feel protected by law enforcement. Especially corrupt law enforcement. There's also a billionaire character who's utterly disgusted by homeless people and completely apathetic towards their plight. I get what Simone's trying to do here but it just didn't go far enough for me. The storyline with the cops turns introspective and I don't know why. We just got introduced to these characters; I don't need to see them questioning each other and their morals right now. Save that for the future.
Also, there is an exorcism scene in this book that I think inspired Clean Room. There are definitely some elements of that scene that remind me of the exorcisms in Clean Room. So, bless this series for giving Gail Simone that inspiration.
If you're a Gail Simone fan, like I am, this is worth giving a shot. It's a soft recommend from me.
I get the feeling this was Gail Simone's baby. This was clearly a set up to a universe she planned to do so much more with but DC Rebirth came along and (most likely?) ended any chances of that. I see that there is a second volume and that's the extent of it. It makes me sad because I can see so much work went into this and it fell just short of being amazing for me.
The cast was so diverse. And I don't mean "1 black guy" diverse. There are 3 women of color, a disabled character and a hint that one of them, Virtue, may be bisexual. The characters each appear to have separate goals, distinct personalities and the premise is interesting enough. Some aspects of this did nothing for me. Perhaps, lighter, less gritty art could have pushed it from okay to great for me.
So, the premise is that the 'Tweens have a serial killer on the loose called "The Cornea Killer". They target homeless people and gouge their eyes out. The Movement dub themselves the guardians of this area and they're trying to hunt this killer down. The Movement protects the homeless population and takes in runaway children in their home called the Sweatshop. Simone gives an interest backstory to each of the characters to explain why they joined the group and even their homebase has an interesting background.
It's the storyline with the cops that was so uninteresting. It's clear that this book is making a statement by having a group of people least likely to feel protected by law enforcement. Especially corrupt law enforcement. There's also a billionaire character who's utterly disgusted by homeless people and completely apathetic towards their plight. I get what Simone's trying to do here but it just didn't go far enough for me. The storyline with the cops turns introspective and I don't know why. We just got introduced to these characters; I don't need to see them questioning each other and their morals right now. Save that for the future.
Also, there is an exorcism scene in this book that I think inspired Clean Room. There are definitely some elements of that scene that remind me of the exorcisms in Clean Room. So, bless this series for giving Gail Simone that inspiration.
If you're a Gail Simone fan, like I am, this is worth giving a shot. It's a soft recommend from me.