Jon Davis-Hunt

A well-written, strongly-illustrated, highly-compelling graphic novel. Clean Room takes a Scientology-esque institution and places it into productive action, revealing an alternative awareness of the world which both enlightens and terrifies those who know. Astrid Mueller is a horror writer turned self-help guru who has attracted a large umber of devoted followers, including nearly all of Hollywood, who attend weekly "readings" and espouse her wisdom. The organization is also cited in a show more number of suicides, calling into question Mueller's intentions and control, and whether or not her "help" is really positive. When a reporter's fiance falls under Mueller's spell, and kills himself suddenly, she makes it her mission to expose Mueller and take down the organization. Of course, there is far more to the story than she imagines, which she discovers after being allowed a rare glimpse into the "clean room" that is Astrid's true command center. The book is a creative take on alternative social communities and suggestive of a real horror that will leave readers on edge. The character development is strong and largely believable, making the fantastic all the more possible. Very well done. show less

When I read volume one, I decided to set the series aside for a few weeks. But apparently I meant a few years, because I wrote that review back in 2021.

I was a little lost in the plot and characters for a few pages after the time gap, but I quickly remembered that this is one of those silly thrillers about secret societies fighting each other secretly. In this case, it's a secret intelligence agency that controls space versus a secret intelligence agency that controls the ground, and both show more are opposed by secret alien invaders who have gathered a band of rogue secret agents.

Mostly, this is a nostalgia fest for regular readers of Wildstorm titles of the 1990s like Stormwatch, WildCATS and The Authority. The characters from those series have been reimagined and rebooted, and as a reader, a good portion of the experience is just thinking, "Ooh, I recognize that guy," or wondering, "How will they bring back whatshername?" I wasn't a big fan of those books, so I'm unfamiliar with a lot of the characters and their reappearance doesn't hit that hard.

It's nicely drawn, and I do have an intellectual appreciation of Warren Ellis' writing tricks and techniques here, even if I can't find it in myself to care much about the people or their missions, so I'll read the next two volumes just to finish out the series. show less

Ellis's updating of the Wildstorm universe distils it all down to two powerful competing factions held in check by treaty and mutually assured destruction, one smaller faction with a public corporate face and a hidden secret ops alien-conspiracy face, and some rogue players sensing the outline of the threat. IO and Skywatch shadow box while the Wild CAT throw spanners in various works, and Jenny Sparks meets The Doctor. Told with ruthless precision, it's a widescreen cutting-edge epic of show more hi-tech, low morals, aliens among us, super powers, genetic experiments on the loose and flying saucers versus hidden science cities. show less

Ellis reinvents the WildStorm universe as a Cold War stand-off between competing secret agencies of immense power, disrupted by a selfless act that sets off complex repercussions. It's really good, an example of how this sort of thing can be sharp and ruthless and timely.