A review by scheepvaart
Black Summer by Warren Ellis

3.0

The cover says it all--a cool looking superhero covered in richly-detailed gore in a man-handled Oval Office. There is some political commentary and neat superhero commentary, but it's told in a blockbuster format. That's a lazy criticism to write, because Warren Ellis recently sold the movie option to the book, and could make a lot of money, assuming the producers come to their senses and go for a PG-13 rating that wipes away most of the blood-spatter window dressing. This isn't an imaginitive comic, but it's a fun and interesting one. It's slightly dumber than most of Ellis' Justice League superteam riffs and glorifies guns excessively, but he gives some lip service to how best to protest or overthrow a government. That tone is a little worse for the wear with the latest regime change, though now it could be wish fulfillment for both fringes of American politics.