Black Summer

I enjoy graphic novels but I was never much into superheroe comics--with the exception of Kirkman's Invincible--until this whole super anti-hero genre started taking off...titles like The Watchmen, Irredeemable, The Boys, etc. Black Summer falls within this group and is great! The United States of America is exposed for the corrupt, morally bankrupt behemoth it is by John Horus, America's most dangerous superhero, who takes out the president and VP and holds the country accountable by demanding new elections. What's left of the govt. and the military responds by going after the remaining members of Horus' team of gun-enhanced supes, setting the stage for largescale slaughter and mayhem. Great stuff! The artwork is stunningly detailed and reminds me a lot of an Image title I used to read and miss dearly, Trencher.

The premise is brilliant. In 2006 a superhero kills the President of the United States citing the Iraq War and stolen elections. His teammates find themselves hunted by the army as the U.S. descends into chaos. Ellis does a good job of quickly introducing his original superheroes and setting up their premise. Juan Jose Ryp's art is kinetic and fun, he does great gunfights and explosions and Ellis makes sure he has plenty of chances to do both. The heroes have an interesting modern design based more on motorcross suits and military uniforms than superhero spandex. So Black Summer is quite a bit of fun. But the promise is never fulfilled. there's no real time spent on how people on the street are reacting, we don't even hear who is running the country with the President and VP dead (legally it would be Speaker of the House but it's never mentioned). We get a line or two about riots or fighting within the military but nothing definite. Despite the inflammatory premise Bush is never named or shown and not much detail about what drove the hero to kill him. So we end up with an exciting, well-drawn story of high tech heroes vs the US Army and each other but not much substance.

Another great super book from Ellis that also takes a look at the current landscape of our country. Tons of action which starts out from page 1 in a shocker. Pick it up for sure.

Black Summer is a political action drama, draped in superhero fiction; it's premise being the question of when you are the one holding the power, where is the line between good and bad, and what is the difference between what is "just" and what is "right"? The book can be a tad heavy handed in some of it's political themes, and some of the character dialogue can at times feel a bit clunky; it's by no means a brilliant book, but if you're a mature fan of graphic novels, and dark superhero stories, then it's definitely worth a read.

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Title: Black Summer Publisher: Avatar Writer: Warren Ellis Artists: Juan Jose Ryp (pencils, inks), Mark Sweeney, Greg Waller (colors) Collects: Black Summer #1-8 Price: $24.99 Warren Ellis is a comic book genius. Though he and I would probably be at odds on nearly any political topic we would choose to discuss, I really enjoy his comic book stories - even this one with its stronger political overtones. Warren Ellis has covered an awful lot of ground over his career, and (like me) he seems to enjoy moving from one sort of project to another. He chooses to do many different topics in his stories, and they are all entertaining. I have read a bit of just about everything he has done, and none of it did I find dull. His is a fruitful mind, and I also enjoy seeing what new project he is working on. I have to admit, prior to seeing this book on the shelf at my local library, I had no idea this title even existed. I do not frequent comic book shops very often, and when I do, it is often to play games rather than looking for a new book to read. When I do get an opportunity to browse the shelves, I spend most of that time looking at the new stuff from Marvel or Image. This project slipped entirely under the radar for me, and I can hardly believe that my local library purchased this book and had it available as I perused the shelves. I believe that this is the first book from Avatar publications that I have read. I know that they are a smaller, newer Indy publisher, but I didn't know they had put out anything THIS GOOD! This book is about six enhanced and weaponized American citizens who have spent a good portion of their lives working to make the world a better place - all without the approval of or assistance from the federal government. Though they are all sort of semi-retired, they are forced out of retirement when one of their own takes it upon himself to assassinate the President of the United States and effect a turn-over in congressional leadership. Though his motives behind this move seem altruistic, he is clearly crazy and needs to be stopped. The other five "Guns" (as they are called) set out to stop him before he creates civil war across the country and gets them all killed. The book is filled with shadowy conspiracy and bloody firefights and is a great read from start to finish. The book takes several turns that you don't see coming, and has a satisfying and surprising ending that I really liked. Like any Warren Ellis story, this one was a fun trip. Making the journey even more entertaining were the magnificently detailed illustration by Juan Jose Ryp. I was first introduced to the work of Ryp in the book Wolverine: The Best There Is: Contagion (Wolverine (Marvel) (Quality Paper)) . I was very impressed with him then, and just as impressed, now. His intense and meticulous pencils tend to remind me of the great Geof Darrow. I know some artists despise being compared to other artists and being told that they have similar styles as other artists, but I hope Ryp would take that as a compliment. This book has some really striking visuals that just can't be ignored. Even the black-and-white flashback sequences seem extremely detailed, and when a comic book artist can impress you without the help of a highly-talented colorist to back him up, you know he's something special. The book has a few double-wide splash pages, and those splash pages are probably the best splash pages I've seen in a comic in a good 4-5 years! If you have read any of Warren Ellis' work in the past, you will probably be just as excited as me to pick up this book. This book is one of the few TPBs of the past few months that I've just sat and read through in one sitting. I really enjoyed this book, and I'd love to see a live-action or animated movie adaptation of it. Maybe someday... Writing: 9/10 Artwork: 9/10 Cool Factor: 8/10 Value: 8/10 Overall: 8.5/10

love the writing ! incredible art ! not your average run of the mill trade. if you want something original and thought provoking read this. and yes it has tons of action !

Amazing service and book. quality of the book felt like it was hot of the press and the shipment came in so fast I was astonished. great job overall no complaints only smiles.

Siempre me ha gustado el dibujo punk a lo 2000AD de Juan José Ryp, y si escribe Warren Ellis, mucho mejor.

If super hero’s were real they’d be terrifying this is the story of John hourus and his team of advanced gun enhanced superhumans it’s about how far you go in the pursuit of justice I particularly enjoyed the fight between Tom noir and Vince a next generation enhanced government killer this is probably the best story warren ellis has done since planetary I highly recommend this

great artwork, but way too short for this complex story and a too sudden ending so just 4 of 5 stars

I bought it for my son he loves it.