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Underground > Comic Books >

7 Soldiers

  
  

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Mr Tricks
22:15 / 20.12.04
While we've probably seen the cover before, has anyone noticed the lovely interior artwork available in PDF format?

here's what DC has to say about it.
  • A devastating global threat is on its way — one never imagined nor prepared for. It consumes entire civilizations and leaves behind only ruins. It razed Camelot and bombed the Rama kingdoms back to dirt. It strip-mines and enslaves whole cultures. Its hunger is unstoppable; its origins, unspeakable. Now this devouring empire of cruelty-without-limits has set its sights on the treasures of the 21st century.

    Like a plague of locusts, the terrifying Sheeda are returning to harvest the Earth. All that stands between our world and these destroyers are the mysterious "Seven Soldiers" of legend. Seven men and women with extraordinary abilities and big problems must lay their lives on the line for the future of humankind. Seven reluctant champions must arise and somehow work together to save the world...without ever meeting one another. How? Where? Who? There's only one way to find out.

    In an ambitious new storytelling venture, writer Grant Morrison and a group of top artists combine their talents to redefine the super-hero concept for a new century. Entertainers, losers, victims, exiles, wannabes...the stars of SEVEN SOLDIERS are a long way from anyone's ideal of a traditional costumed hero. But they just may be our only chance of survival.

    Who lives? Who dies? Who washes the dishes? Who betrays humankind to its once and future Enemy? Get the answers to these questions and many more in seven hard-hitting, fresh and wildly imaginative miniseries featuring KLARION, MISTER MIRACLE, FRANKENSTEIN, ZATANNA, THE GUARDIAN, BULLETEER and SHINING KNIGHT.

    The SEVEN SOLDIERS saga comprises seven 4-issue miniseries and two bookend Specials — all which may be read independently but combine to tell a colossal 30-part tale of death, betrayal, failure, joy, loss, romance, triumph and redemption. As a new generation of super-heroes grapples with a harsher, weirder world, Morrison combines dazzling super-hero action and serial fiction with horror, mystery, epic fantasy and gothic pulp to carve out a new corner in the DCU.

    With a gigantic, interweaving cast of characters—many drawn from DC's incomparable history and reimagined by Morrison and his collaborators—Including vampire knights, crippled ex-super-heroes, subway pirates, puritan death machines, liquid nitrogen-blooded assassins, deathless Mafia dons, wounded gods, angry fiancées and talking winged horses, the universe of the Seven Soldiers is rich in wonder, drama and hardcore action.

    This groundbreaking mega-series begins with a 38-page complete adventure, SEVEN SOLDIERS #0, that introduces readers to their twilight world and establishes plotlines that will reverberate throughout the entire megaseries.

    In issue #0, illustrated by master storyteller J.H. Williams III (PROMETHEA), Shelly Gaynor is the grand-daughter of Golden Age hero the WHIP. She's revived the old family business and is turning her experiences as an urban crime-fighter into a best-selling book.

    But when Shelly answers an ad to join the aging crimebuster Vigilante and his new team of "Seven Soldiers" in the hunt for an ancient monster haunting the deserts of the southwest, her super-hero dream becomes a terror-trip into the heart of an undying nightmare.

    SEVEN SOLDIERS: A mystery spanning generations and millennia. A story unlike any other. Welcome to a whole new world in the DC Universe.

  
 
A
13:05 / 21.12.04
Holy shit! That's Exterminatrix from Marvel Boy, I swear.

Does this mean that some of the stuff that would have gone onto Marvel Boy 2 has gone into 7 Soldiers? Probably not...
 
 
Spaniel
13:08 / 21.12.04
This has all been covered elsewhere, and, no, it's not Exterminatrix. That said, Grant's been known to use analogues before, so...

Can't remember the character's name at the mo'. Something like "The Whip".
 
 
Spaniel
13:24 / 21.12.04
Yep, "The Whip" it is.

Linky
 
 
---
06:02 / 23.12.04
I hope it isn't Klarion that ends up being the betrayer. I'll be gutted, he looks cool.
 
 
lonely as a cloud...
08:46 / 07.01.05
I picked up a wee 7 Soldiers preview - sketches and some bla from George, plus covers - yesterday. All looking rather spiffing, 'specially Frankenstein in the Hussar tunic, and Zatanna ("Fishnets - more goth", as George noted) and the bunnies!

Linky goodness with pics.
 
 
FinderWolf
12:39 / 07.01.05
Yeah, even though it was all stuff I'd seen before, seeing that 7 Soliders free giveaway preview thingie (just reprinting all the stuff from PREVIEWS and WIZARD at larger sizes) made me drool and get even more psyched for this.
 
 
lonely as a cloud...
12:44 / 07.01.05
I was pretty impressed with George's sketches, actually - anybody know if he ever drew a book himself?
 
 
CameronStewart
12:57 / 07.01.05
Grant drew his own comics (featuring an early version of King Mob/Gideon Stargrave) some 20-odd years ago in Near Myths magazine. He also drew pretty elaborate thumbnail roughs for Howard Porter for his JLA run, and drew the last page of Invisibles Vol.3 #2 (inked by me). You can see his layouts for Arkham Asylum in the new expanded hardcover edition.

I always forget how good his drawings are until I see some new ones, and then I'm pleasantly reminded.
 
 
Alex's Grandma
12:57 / 07.01.05
I just wonder how long it's going to be before someone in the DC universe finally realises that all these devastating global threats from beyond the dawn of time actually originate from a phone box in Gasgow.
 
 
_Boboss
09:02 / 19.01.05
i think the previews here & here are new.

i used to live with that ginger cat. i insisted, naturally, that he be called logan, otherwise we weren't going to have him at all.
 
 
diz
11:59 / 19.01.05
”It's a 'modular' approach, in the sense that every first issue is a complete origin story with a cliffhanger and ever subsequent issue delivers a stand-alone adventure. You can read any of the books as singles or as 4-part series.

is anyone else as impressed by this as i am? i mean, writing stories that work as 28 single issues, and also as 7 independent four-part arcs, and also as a massive 28-part cosmic epic... that's, like, hard.
 
 
A
12:38 / 19.01.05
Hmmmm. The art for Klarion seems to have a certain some-goth-kid's-final-high-school-art-project feel to it that I'm not entirely sure I care for. Zatanna looks pretty damn rad, though.
 
 
Eskay Doss
14:49 / 19.01.05
Anyone else notice that these minis are all bi-monthly?

And what's with all of the EVENT titles DC is putting out? (IC, Countdown, 7S, Crisis 2, etc.) Is it all related?

Anyway, the art on Adam Strange has been great fun and I can't wait for Mr. Miracle.
 
 
FinderWolf
16:42 / 19.01.05
The Klarion art doesn't look too bad - and I absolutely love that Zatanna art. Bring 'em on!
 
 
Triplets
18:05 / 19.01.05
Wrong, the Klarion artwork looks like shit. It has a weird pseudo oil on canvas vibe that'd be unusual enough to work if Irving had a basic grasp of anatomy or facial structure. I'll be passing go on the Klarion issues I reckon because I really do have a thing against buying things I think are shit (like Identity Crisis - to each his own, Finder) or a part of a larger series (anything like Batman: Total War which you care to name). And this comes under both. The Whip and Zatanna ishes look top so far which is good, because I really want to get behind the whole thing. Roll on Mozzer.
 
 
Billuccho!
18:15 / 19.01.05
I like the Klarion art, myself. It's got style.

And the bi-monthly thing just means that it'll take a suspicious seven months for the books to finish up. Hmm...
 
 
Triplets
18:16 / 19.01.05
is anyone else as impressed by this as i am? i mean, writing stories that work as 28 single issues, and also as 7 independent four-part arcs, and also as a massive 28-part cosmic epic... that's, like, hard.

I'll be impressed if he pulls it off. At the moment just saying he's done it/will do it is no better than the worst Ellis-esque internet blurb self-aggrandizing.

I'm the devourer of worlds, diz, honest. I'm saying it on the internet and EVERYTHING. Are you IM-PRESS-ED?

I think if anyone can pull this off it will be Morrison, but I'm skeptical of the hype surrounding this with the first/zeroth issue not even being out yet. But, I'm willing to be pleasantly suprised.

Remember: Morrison is the guy who managed to fuck up something as simple as Save and Cancel on a computer. This maxiseries is not in the bag by any means.
 
 
Jack Fear
18:28 / 19.01.05
Um... I may be whistling in the dark here, but I don't think the art on Klarion is supposed to be 100% realistic...

It's very different from Frazer Irving's usual style, too: there's a lot more manga influence here, not just in the rendition of the chracaters but in the panel breakdowns. It's a gambit, yeah, but one that works quite well, I think: it really gets across the otherworldly weirdness that's going down.

And for all that it's heavily stylized, it is beautifully composed. Look at that last page—the looming black figures, the terrible sky, Klarion's cat-who-got-the-cream expression, all in icy blues and blacks except for the weird animals (familiars? His Dark Materials-style daemons?) in shocks of lurid color, the blinding rain, so heavy that you can't make out the landscape, can't tell if it's day or night...

It's expressionistic (and frankly, the anatomy's not that distorted—it's a damn sight more realistic than any recent issue of SUPERGIRL), yeah, but the storytelling is crystal-clear. Frazer's the real deal.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:49 / 19.01.05
>> I'll be passing go on the Klarion issues I reckon because I really do have a thing against buying things I think are shit (like Identity Crisis - to each his own, Finder)

AauuughhH! I didn't like IC, I was momentarily deluded into temporarily liking the first issue! and then I really disliked everything after that! Read the thread!! (But I do think the new Capt. Boomerang is interestig, Geoff Johns is doing some nice work with him over in FLASH) Look beyond my naive silly "It's good!" thread abstract, which I recanted many times afterwards, and see me for the three-dimensional, good comics loving human being I am!! :P
 
 
Alex's Grandma
19:52 / 19.01.05
I couldn't get the Klarion link to work unfortunately, because I'm an idiot, no doubt, but based on the synopsis, if George gets away with this strand of S Soldiers in particular I'll be hugely impressed, and may have to start spending all that time outside his house again.

So I'm conflicted really.
 
 
Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!
19:53 / 19.01.05
I think it looks like how everybody thinks some-goth-kid's-final-high-school-art-project should look. This is good.

Or at least: I want to be friends with the kid who draws like that. Really.
 
 
FinderWolf
19:54 / 19.01.05
>> Remember: Morrison is the guy who managed to fuck up something as simple as Save and Cancel on a computer. This maxiseries is not in the bag by any means.

Huh? When did this happen?

And even so, what human being hasn't accidentally lost something on a computer...?
 
 
Suedey! SHOT FOR MEAT!
19:55 / 19.01.05
When I was at his house, he wrote this whole series, and then he hit cancel instead of save. Oh, we did LOL.
 
 
grant
20:40 / 19.01.05
OK, rather than stink up the DC Universe Surgery thread, I'm going to ask this here.

Zatanna, I know pretty well. Mister Miracle, I'm fairly familiar with (at least the Scott Free one).

Frankenstein and the Bulleteer, I've heard of. (Could never figure out the Bulleteer's jodhpurs, but war makes a man do strange things. I've also read about Newsboy Legion, if it makes a difference.)

But Klarion? The Guardian? Shining Knight?

Who the heck were these characters?

I think I might need a thread's worth of background on Camelot in the DCU.
 
 
Bed Head
20:46 / 19.01.05
Finder, I think Triplets is talking about the time you all fried your brains over what the word ‘save’ in We3, like, really meant. Over-barbelithing something to death.

I think this could be brilliant fun. Not just groovy comics every 2 weeks, all year long, but hopefully a bloody big complex storyline to talk about and pick over on a message board. Thank Christ. We’re all saved.

And, Frazer Irving rocks. Rocks. All hail David Lloyd’s unholy gothspawn.
 
 
Mr Tricks
21:15 / 19.01.05
not that this may matter if GM's "reimagining" these charactors, but . . .

    SHINING KNIGHT
    First Appearance: Adventure Comics #66 (September 1941)

    Sir Justin of Camelot was given a flying horse and enchanted sword by the sorcerer Merlin as a reward for his valour in serving King Arthur. Centuries later he reappeared in America's time of need when threatened by the Axis menace. His valour and morality were an example to all, and caused Firebrand to fall in love with him. He joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and has survived relatively youthful to this day. Recently he fought the menace of the Dragon King, who (it seems) had killed Firebrand, enlisting old friend Pat Dugan, to help him.

    GUARDIAN I & III [Jim Harper]
    First Appearance: Star-Spangled Comics #7 (April 1942)

    A hero of the Golden Age, the Guardian was cloned in recent years by the Cadmus Project to act as their security officer. An honest, moral man, he often regrets that he cannot get out into the 'real world' as often as he would like. Not having super-powers as such, he is nevertheless a strong man and an experienced fighter and tactician. Well, I say man, but recently, the Guardian was killed, although a child clone survived. This clone is rapidly growing up, but has not yet reached adulthood - he finds himself in the care of Superboy, one of those he was previously assigned to watch over.

    GUARDIAN II [Mal Duncan]

    KLARION
    First Appearance: Demon Vol. 1 #7 (March 1973)
  
 
Mario
22:58 / 19.01.05
I believe that, in terms of previous appearances, only Zatanna, Klarion, and Shilo Norman (Mister Miracle II) are not complete revamps, and Shilo has been slightly revamped since his last appearance in LAST LAUGH.

Frankenstein, Guardian, Bulleteer, and Shining Knight are all new, although they each refer to a previous character.
 
 
CameronStewart
00:27 / 20.01.05
Yeah, our Guardian is an entirely different character than the original Jack Kirby creation. Grant's taken the basic concepts and spun them into something new rather than tie it in to previous continuity. So we have an ex-cop in a blue jumpsuit and gold helmet, and the Newsboy Legion, but they're not the same characters, and indeed there's never any reference to the originals at all. Which is odd, because the Seven Soldiers series is firmly placed in the DCU, and the original Kirby Guardian was woven pretty tightly into the Superman titles. Fanboys are gonna go nuts trying to determine what's "canon" and what isn't.

It's all Hypertime...
 
 
Alex's Grandma
02:46 / 20.01.05
Cameron,

I can imagine The Newsboy Legion working quite well as a re-designed F Fellini, Paparazzi type of group - Hypothetically, if I'm wrong, I'm prepared to accept the virtual punch in the head...
 
 
diz
04:13 / 20.01.05
But I do think the new Capt. Boomerang is interestig, Geoff Johns is doing some nice work with him over in FLASH

and he's written a great Robin-centric issue of Teen Titans spinning out of IC, too. also, he's turning the Parallax story into something good in GL: Rebirth.

i am beginning to think Geoff Johns is one of the best people i've ever seen at turning shit storylines into gold.
 
 
FinderWolf
14:23 / 20.01.05
off-topic, Johns' Teen Titans has been wonderful fun, well-executed stuff, very consistent. Makes me think that Crisis 2 under Johns' pen could be really terrific, the anti-Identity Crisis.

>> I think this could be brilliant fun. Not just groovy comics every 2 weeks, all year long, but hopefully a bloody big complex storyline to talk about and pick over on a message board. Thank Christ. We’re all saved.

Amen.

Things have been a mite quiet around here without lots of Morrison stuff to pick apart, that's for sure.

Is the Klarion artist actually mentored by David Lloyd, or just his stylistic descendant?
 
 
grant
17:09 / 20.01.05
He joined the Seven Soldiers of Victory, and has survived relatively youthful to this day.

OK, so wait. There was another Seven Soldiers group in the Golden Age?

How does Camelot tie with the DCU?
 
 
Jack Fear
17:31 / 20.01.05
The original Seven Soldiers of Victory debuted in 1941—basically the guys who didn't make the cut for the Justice Society. What's weird is that there were actually either five or eight (possibly nine) members, depending on how you count the sidekicks.

The Shining Knight was the only solo act, unless you count his horse. The Star-Spangled Kid and Stripesy counted for two, and I suppose you can make the case for that, since they were pretty much a partnership of equals.

But if you're going to count Speedy along with Green Arrow, why not count the Crimson Avenger's sidekick Wing? He's an active participant in most of the Golden Age SSoV stories I've read. And then there's the matter of Vigilante's sometime sidekick Stuff...

Also, as comics maven Jon Morris helpfully points out, the Soldiers kinda stood out because they were, well, soldiers: none of them had super-powers, but all were skilled in the arts of combat, each with his own specialty—a conceopt lost in Giorgio Morricone's revamp.

Which, y'know, isn't a crime or anything. But it's an angle I'd never considered regarduing the original roster.
 
 
Jack Fear
17:46 / 20.01.05
There was also a second SSoV lineup, created by Mark Waid, for the "Silver Age" miniseries that came out in 2000. That line-up consisted of Batgirl, Metamorpho, Blackhawk, Mento, Adam Strange, Deadman, and an all-new Shining Knight.

Which still doesn't explain who those seven are on the cover above—the Whip et al... Has Girgio created a third SSoV line-up, only to dispose of them before the story properly starts...?
 
  

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