Broken Frontier

Has this ever happened to you? You are living your mundane life and all of a sudden, from out of nowhere, something special enters it and turns your entire existence upside down. You smile whenever you see this magical entity, and you truly enjoy your time together.

But then fate intervenes and comes between the two of you. Your passion for this object of your affection hasn’t dimmed, but that doesn’t matter. It will no longer be part of your life, and there’s nothing you can do about it.

No, my wife hasn’t left me. Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.  has, or will after tomorrow’s final issue arrives. And if you think that the above paragraphs were a bit excessive, then you probably haven’t been reading the series. And if you haven’t, well, shame on you.

Nextwave was one of the most imaginative series to come from a major publisher in the last 5 years. In a rare case of symmetry between a writer and an artist, Warren Ellis and Stuart Immonen combined to create a tour de force, a series that will be memorable for years to come.

The series was essentially a parody book. Ellis and Immonen were given a bunch of lesser known Marvel characters and told to do what they wanted with them. They decided to poke holes in the conventions of the comic medium, everything from the fact that giant ancient dragons would wear purple underwear to a team of five not-so-powerful heroes could take down legions of bad guys in a matter of seconds.

The stories were wacky and esoteric. The art was filled with humorous sight gags while still providing excellent storytelling. And while it did shoot arrows on some of the most absurd aspects in the super-hero genre, the creators treated their subjects with respect and affection.  It was wild and goofy, chock full of laugh at loud moments.

The series was originally solicited to be a 12-issue series before they gave it the go ahead for an ongoing series (but Ellis has been quoted as that the series was always pitched as an ongoing, his involvement was only supposed to be for 12 issues and then someone else was to take over.). So, what happened? What is the reason why this series had to end so soon?

Two words: Stuart Immonen.

Okay, technically it isn’t really his fault. The fault lies more with the financial realities of producing comic books these days. Immonen has an exclusive contract with Marvel. There is more money invested in these types of agreements for the company. So Marvel had to find a higher profile project for the artist (namely, taking over for Mark Bagley on Ultimate Spider-Man) to gain a bigger return on their investment.

If Nextwave had sold better, then this might not have been an issue. While the sales were not abysmal (it consistently ranked in the lower half of the Diamond Top 100, only dipping out when the cancellation was announced), they were not enough to warrant an expensive creator such as Immonen on it.

The sales on the trade paperback collection were supposedly quite good, and, as is the case when things like this happens, Marvel was willing to continue the series without Immonen.  But Ellis was reluctant to continue the ongoing without his creative partner, so the series ends at 12 issues.

Don’t make Ellis out to be the villain, though. Sure, his writing is a major reason why I enjoyed the series so much. But Immonen contributed an irreplaceable sense of style to the book. Without him, it definitely would not be the same. 

There has been talk that the creators could reunite in the future for a miniseries featuring the characters, but no such series has been announced at this point. This leads me to believe that this idea is still up in the air. I guess it depends on how the second trade does, sales-wise.

So, if you have never picked up a copy of Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. in your life, it doesn’t really make sense to pick up the one coming out tomorrow. But by all means, pick up any and all trade collections you can find. Fans of the series should do this as well, if only to give them to friends who are not indoctrinated.

This will bring new readers in, and, if sales are good, will make it more appealing for Marvel to reunite Ellis and Immonen for more stories. Nextwave was a great series, both funny and original. We deserve to see it again. Don’t dream it’s over, work to insure it returns.

Also out this week:

• Batman #663

Grant Morrison is back! And he’s brought the Joker back with him! In Morrison’s first issue on the title, Batman #655, the Clown Prince of Crime was shot in the face by a Batman impersonator. That’s a hard thing to get over, don’t think he didn’t try. Now he’s back to get his revenge on the real Batman. He doesn’t care that Bruce Wayne was not the culprit; he’s going to make him pay anyway. But the true victims of the Joker’s revenge will be the citizens of Gotham City.

The Ostrander/Mandrake fill-in arc, Grotesk, was a good Batman story, but it’s nice to see Morrison back on the title. It seems like he was only starting to get warmed up before his tiny vacation. I can’t wait to see where he takes the character from here. 

Grant Morrison (W) John Van Fleet (A), DC Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Gødland #16

Those of you who might need to replace Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E.’s finely honed parody of superhero comics need to look no further than to this title. This book has also been sending up the costumed crowd, albeit the ones with a cosmic bent like Jack Kirby’s New Gods and Eternals, since 2005.

From Joe Casey’s tongue-in-cheek writing to Tom Scioli’s Kirby-esque artwork, this series has been a trippy homage to the comics of the 1970’s, a time when comics were pretty trippy themselves. To encourage you Nextwave ex-patriots, or anyone willing to give the book a try, Image is offering this issue for only 60¢, a price that comics once were—over 20 years ago.

Joe Casey (W), Tom Scioli (A), Image Comics, 60¢. Ongoing Series.

• Thunderbolts Presents Zemo: Born Better #1

As we covered a few weeks ago, the team of Fabian Nicieza and Tom Grummett made way for the more fan friendly team of Warren Ellis and Mike Deodato in an effort to get new readers on Thunderbolts. But what about the old readers, the ones who loved Nicieza’s conspiracy-laden plots and Grummett’s great if somewhat old school artwork?

Well, they will be pleased with this miniseries, which features former Thunderbolt leader Baron Helmut Zemo, one of the characters displaced in the shake up. Thunderbolts changed Zemo from a run-of-the-mill bad guy into a complex and intriguing character. This title should give more insight into his many facets, pleasing many fans in the process.

Fabian Nicieza (W), Tom Grummett (A), Marvel Comics, $2.99. Four-Issue Miniseries.

• Y: The Last Man #54

This is the last stand-alone issue before the final arc of the series begins. It features the Fish & Bicycle Theatre Troupe, an all-female group of actors that was introduced earlier in the series. The group has hit the big time—Hollywood—and we will get to see how different Tinseltown would be if the ladies ran the show.

It might seem silly to say this considering the series will be ending in six issues, but this issue might be a good jumping on point for new readers. If these latecomers like what they see, they could stick around for the last storyline while catching up on what they missed through the trade paperback collections. 

Brian K. Vaughan (W), Goran Sudzuka (A), DC/Vertigo Comics, $2.99. Ongoing Series.

• Devi/Sadhu/Snakewoman Issue 1 & 2: Special Extended Collected Edition

Virgin Comics burst on the scene last year with a lot of press, a lot of talented writers and artists and books created by some of the biggest names in the worlds of film, music and comics. But with the abundance of buzz Virgin’s launch caused, there might have been a few of you out there that were slow to jump on the bandwagon. If this is you, Virgin is happy to help you out.

The company is releasing the first two issues of each of the first three titles—Devi, Snakewoman, and Sadhu—in three 64 page volumes, one for each title. In addition to the original issues, each collection features concept sketches, original script pages and new, never-before-seen scenes from the story. A great way to catch up on what you may have missed.  

Various (W), Various (A), Virgin Comics, $6.99. One-Shot.   

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William Gatevackes is a professional writer living in Mamaroneck, NY with his wife Jennifer. He would make use of this public forum to wish his wife a Happy Valentine’s Day tomorrow in the hopes it will excuse him from the usual flowers and candy. He writes periodic comic reviews for PopMatters and writes title descriptions for Human Computing’s Comicbase collection management software.