Manuel Garcia (1)

One of the major oversights in my library is that it doesn't have more Paul Cornell. I mean, I've loved every Doctor Who book, episode, and audio drama this man has written, from Love and War to Circular Time, from Human Nature, to, well, "Human Nature". So when I heard Cornell was doing a Marvel comic, I was there, despite having no idea who on Earth Pete Wisdom was. I ended up enjoying the book immensely-- Wisdom is a mutant who leads MI-13, a team of superpowered folks who defend Great show more Britain from weird happenings. And I mean weird happenings-- an assault helicopter in Fairyland, a village that is waking up, the Welsh mafia, and as for what this story does with Jack the Ripper... As usual, Cornell's story is as much about history and Britain as it is about the characters, and it tackles all of them excellently. Full of sex, swearing, and violence, this is what Torchwood should have been if it had wanted to be "adult". I look forward to reading Cornell's run on Excalibur. Oh, and: John Lennon the Skrull. John Lennon the Skrull. (originally written January 2008) show less

I admit it; I had very low expectations for this book. I got it mainly because I am a completest and already had all the other House of M tie-ins. So, it came as quite a shock that this story was actually damn good! I didn't expect much because to me, these are all C or B-level villains at best. Other than Sandman who appeared in the third Spider-man film, I doubt anyone who isn't seriously into comics has heard of any of these characters. Fortunately, the writers used that to their show more advantage with a clever storyline that showed just how bad it is for sapiens that even minor villains end up fighting for humanity.

The impetus for the story comes when The Hood decides to organize all these villains into a more effective team, à la the Mafia, to protect each other and make better, more profitable heists. And if they also stick it to the House of M, so much the better. None of them are mutants, though most do have some kind of power. This strategy evolves into something greater when Hood decides to use a Sapien Rights League as a cover for the hits, and Sapiens start revering them as heroes fighting against the establishment. But, Magneto is nothing if not ruthless and when he decides to crush this rebellion, these villains intend to go out in an exciting blaze of glory.

This book was a delightful surprise. These characters work perfectly for the plot, as history has shown that many freedom fighters arise from obscurity. The core group are developed enough even in this short book to help the reader connect, and the action is non-stop. Overall, this is an excellent supplement to the HoM event. Highly recommended. show less

A beautifully conceived idea with some flashes of true brilliance, as well as nods to hard core Marvel fans. The Thor castle, for one. There was a big element of Indiana Jones here, which in some ways is no bad thing. The Dieselpunk feel to this mixed well with the 1930's cliff hanger type of mythos. Fans of The Rocketeer will also love this. The art in places is a little weak, & the script very pulp like, but isn't that what this era was all about? Better art, more emphasis on character show more rather than style, & you'd have got 5 stars. show less

Well, utterly generic superhero fantasy that deals with the "pantheons" of the Marvel Universe is at least a cut above utterly generic superhero crime fiction about, like, the Punisher chasing a mugger. And there are cute moments, like Ares teaching his kid how to fight. And it's fun to watch Hercules play second fiddle and know it for once. I read this at Chapters waiting for the bathroom. It served.