Am I reading a comic or watching a movie?

Wow. I read through a few issues of newuniversal this morning and it’s pretty good stuff, I’m impressed. I was a fan of the New Universe from the 80’s though I never felt that a lot of it pulled together as well, maybe the story was spread across too many books and too many different writing teams. Warren Ellis has outdone himself with the rebirth of the series. In an interview Ellis says that he didn’t really pay attention to the 80s series when it came out, and it shows, but in a good way. He’s put together a story that makes a lot more sense out of the White Event and forms a more cohesive tale across four characters: Star Brand, Justice, Nightmask and Cypher (Spitfire and the Troubleshooters). Additionally this is much more the world we know as the government seems ready for the existence of superhumans and has a rather ominous “black folder” agenda to be followed when they appear.

The only thing that’s getting to me is the art, something that also bugs me with some of the Ultimates titles. Just like Ultimate Nick Fury is patterned after Samuel L. Jackson, many of the characters in newuniversal are drawn to other Hollywood likenesses. It’s a little disturbing because I’ve gotten used to comics being their own unique world so seeing Johnny Depp, Nicole Kidman and Bruce Willis, to name a few, staring back at me from the page is kinda weird. Still, it’s a small price to pay for what’s turning into a very deep story.

Oh look, there I go again…