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Underground > Comic Books >

7 Soldiers: Guardian

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miss wonderstarr

12:41 / 24.03.05

I was left feeling flat: I read it in ten minutes compared to maybe an hour for Shining Knight, and it seemed much less rich and dense than the other two "Seven Soldiers" so far. The art was good to great, with action scenes in the scraper looking clean like Steve Dillon -- but that just added to my sense that this could be Rogue Trooper mixed with a bit of mild Preacher.

I haven't read a Morrison comic this bland and blah since Aztek -- there was barely anything here, except the pirate kookiness that seemed an overflow from Seaguy, that even felt like Morrison's style.

15:08 / 24.03.05

Seems like a(nother) big love-letter to Jack Kirby.

I'm pretty much astounded that anyone could take an hour to read a 22 page comic; did you make tea in the middle, k-san?

Anyway. Trains. They're a bit like worms, eh?

Especially the subway.

15:27 / 24.03.05

I couldn't help but notice a genericness to the swords they all carried

Upon second reading I realize that "genericness" (aside from not quite being a word) was inaccurate. I should say some like uniformity... I did however notice the Ninjado being carried by one of the Pirates as well as a Katana by the guy next to him. The other sword looked more like a rapier. I still like the idea of them being the spoils of a battle with... I dunno, High Rise Ninjas?

And the Max Hedroom Ghost-of-Kirby Publisher was amuzing. I was particularly fond of that Golom. I found myself wondering who sculpted it. Upon reflection, there's a sort of MILESTONEtm feel to this book.

It's also interesting that so meany people are seeing different artistic styles throughout the book.

miss wonderstarr

17:25 / 24.03.05

I'm pretty much astounded that anyone could take an hour to read a 22 page comic; did you make tea in the middle, k-san?

I had consumed a "mushroom" beforehand and kept re-reading panels aloud, gasping "what the fuck!" at every Sheeda creature. I feel Grant would have wanted me to do this.

As well as Dillon, I thought I identified Bryan Talbot stylings in this issue.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

18:47 / 24.03.05

Have to echo Kovacs on the 'seems a bit bland' thing. Also, compared to the Shining Knight, there appears to be nothing to connect this to the overarching story, though I suppose one of those secret tunnels on the map could always lead to Castle Revolving and as it's outside of time our new Guardian may have the opportunity to stop his past self shooting that kid, which seems rather hardcore for the DCU.

Speaking of which, can I just clarify something for once and all. The whole 'Seven Soldiers' thing is supposed to be set in the DCU of Batman and Superman yes? What's the state of the Cadmus Project, are they still going? All dead? Because if there still going it strains even the dodgy credibility area that comics inhabit to just transplant the figure of the Guardian and the newsboys to another city if they are still going.

18:56 / 24.03.05

we haven't seen Cadmus active in the DCU for several years, so I would buy the idea that they're shut down and their bits sold off for the time being.

18:56 / 24.03.05

Am I wrong in seeing a Ben Grimm shout-out in the golem? I mean, there's a big 4 in his outfit. They should've made his eyes blue.

19:04 / 24.03.05

You're spot on, Cobra. It was a pretty blatant tip of the hat to the FF.

19:10 / 24.03.05

He also has Thor's hammer(s).

20:22 / 24.03.05

The Thor's hammers & the 4 reinforced the whole GHOST-OF-KIRBY feel of that publisher...

The Natural Way

20:38 / 24.03.05

God, I really loved this, actually. Much more than Shining Knight. Everything from the bloody "job interview", replete with a Golem straight outta Kavalier and Clay, to The Newsboy Army and the shadowy, hilarious owner of the Guardian. This just rocked for me - esp on the 2nd reading, with a spliff.

So much less frenzied... Reading a visual medium at the right pace.....

20:48 / 24.03.05

yes... the proper headspace IS essential.

Haus of Mystery

21:06 / 24.03.05

Fucking dinner, this was! Miles better than Shining Knight, and a concept that could run and run. Economy, pace and a protaganist to root for.

The Natural Way

21:24 / 24.03.05

I mean, I don't know what the "there's nothing to connect this to the SS-verse" stuff's about. So? Initially, there's prolly going to be very little about Zatanna, Mr Miracle, etc. to connect them, either. The Sheeda come upoun these poor people like a bolt from the blue - I don't have to be shaking their hands up close right from the outset. We know they're out there now and, when we know they're haunting the edges of environments as tonally different as Midnight Mesa, Camelot and the world of Dark Days put through a superDCblender, I just, well.... I just find the whole thing a damn sight bigger and scarier.

I also fail to understand how anyone can be failed to be moved to rock by "He'll see you.....IN HELL!" and panels as gorgeouspop as "They're Terrorists! Help me, Jim Jordan!". That last panel, too. Had me pissing myself. TBH, I think this contained far more novelty than Shining Knight. Much more demented. And I wanted to clap Jim, just owning the kitchen in his special, new uniform.

Finally, and I've said it above, shadowy, intangible heads of powerful organizations, who only communicate via screens in super vehicles, absolutely kick arse. I can practically hear Ed's voice. Somewhere between Evan from Knight Rider to Charlie.

Flboy, I demand you show up here and fucking love this.

22:26 / 24.03.05

The connections to the other books will become more clear as it goes on. I've already had to confer and trade drawings with Frazer (Klarion) Irving because of some cross-over elements.

Patience...

22:36 / 24.03.05

Just read this and loved it. Enjoyed it way more than Shining Knight (SK might read better in collected form).
Wait, that sounds bad. I did like SK but this had more of an impact.

Such a fun comic! Laughed out loud at a few scenes, not the least of which was Guardian leaping into action yelling "PRESS!" Excellent! Great art, too. Agree with the comment on the fish-eye view of the building. Lovely panel.

I got a bad feeling when I saw Jake in costume for the first time, smiling at his partner. I got he feeling he won't survive the 7S experience. Something about fresh-faced optimism and familial happiness = death in these things.

22:44 / 24.03.05

Cam, congrats on a job well done! Your stuff gets better with each new project. Dynamic, detailed, fluid, easily understood, and very fun. Now that Grant has mentioned he's come up with more stories for Allstar Superman beyond the Quitely 12, if they choose to continue it I think it would be great for DC to give you a shot on that book.

As for GUARDIAN, count me among those who loved it. Love the concept, Jake's origin, the subway pirates and the secret tunnels, the mysterious (editor-in-) chief, the crazy interview, the newsboy army (great Spider-man 2 nod, BTW, with the kid on the scooter with the pizza's), I loved everything about it. And that last page was awesome.

SS is off to a great start so far. What's next? Zatanna?

22:50 / 24.03.05

my local comics shop sold out before i could get there. dammit.

23:07 / 24.03.05

Poor Diz.

I look forward to the clay versions of Reed, Sue and Johnny. Elementals. Heh. Didn't I say how the answer to Dynomite Dan might be Guardian? Purpose or whatnot? Hehehe. Really, this vibrates with the evolution so many good ideas. Newspapers and myths and heroes and gods and the underworld. And that's actually HIDDEN underneath the rip-roaring adventure. I enjoyed this one MUCH more than SK too. Mustsay I was a bit set back from the explicit violence of the pirates. I too am becoming Achewood's Phillipe. Skin ripped off one's back and then being burned alive and skuttled after a subway? Yeesh. I assume it will only get better from here.

23:58 / 24.03.05

He also has Thor's hammer(s).

And Guardian has Iron Man's hat and Cap America's schtick.

Jake, Colossus of Clout

00:26 / 25.03.05

I liked this more than Shining Knight, as well. I instantly felt more of a connection with the Guardian than I did with Sir Justin, and I can't wait to see what happens to him in the next issue. Guardian is classic superhero fun in a modern, Morrisonian package that brings me back to the comics I loved as a kid, but also makes the adult me cackle with glee.

Disembodied heads, subway pirates, "PRESS!", that last panel... What's not to like?

00:39 / 25.03.05

Technically, he got the shield shtick (and a slightly different hat) from the ORIGINAL Guardian, who dates from the year after Cap, and was also a Simon/Kirby creation.

miss wonderstarr

08:52 / 25.03.05

I'm faintly baffled by the wave of joy this comic's surfing -- I guess it's a good thing overall and shows Morrison can adopt very different styles; also that those different approaches are going to click with different people. I'm not mocking or criticising anyone who did love it; you got way more good stuff from your time and money than I did, so you're fortunate.

I didn't feel anything in this book was remotely surprising or thrilling.* As soon as we see the advertisement for the Guardian position, we know all the "ah hell, I won't go for a job like that... well, OK, I'll go for it, but no way will I get it" is just pointless padding. As soon as the receptionists pull their guns, we know this is the Ultimate Job Interview. I just found it cheesy and corny, and while cheese and corn have their pleasures, they make a bland meal heaped up on their own.

I know I've said this for Vimanrama too, but it felt like an OK 2000AD adventure. There is no way I would keep reading this comic if it wasn't Seven Soldiers. So... I guess I'm the mug.

*except for wiping out the instruction on the Golem's head. That was unexpected and intelligent.

11:33 / 25.03.05

except for wiping out the instruction on the Golem's head. That was unexpected and intelligent.

Not especially unexpected i thought, just part of the standard golem myth... my yiddish and or hebrew are pretty non-existent but i seem to remember the emeth (truth) was the word that animated the golem and was usually placed on the creature's head - wiping out the E turned emeth into meth (death) and killed the golem...

On the art front I spotted a fair few influences in this issue - there was dillion again and some Quitely in there a Westonesque spash page and one head that looked distinctly McCrea-ish

12:06 / 25.03.05

The Dillon thing is spot on, though. Never noticed that before. Slightly less scratchy.

Esp. the panel with receptionists.

I think the trains/worm-god stuff is likely to connect with the old Celtic mythology soon enough.

12:11 / 25.03.05

Anyway, this chap agrees with Kovey and a lot of his ref. is spot on (I think the Guardian-mobile is a lot like the Top Ten Moore-motors,) esp. the computer game stuff, but I don't consider it a bad thing.

The revolving cauldron chamber in SK looked like it was off Perfect Dark or Alien Trilogy too. And it had artifax, like what you need to collect, so.

Our Lady Has Left the Building

12:36 / 25.03.05

I knew you'd say that Clark, erm, Cameron. Just wasn't sure when.

14:39 / 25.03.05

I liked Shining Knight a little more than this - this was lots of fun but seemed like so far it's more in the mold of standard super-hero stuff.

>> Laughed out loud at a few scenes, not the least of which was Guardian leaping into action yelling "PRESS!"

YES!!!! This was hilarious.

And I too felt a chill when I saw the big reveal of him in costume, all happy like his life's going to be wonderful from here on in...

15:40 / 25.03.05

I felt there was a little more to invest with Shining Knight. The introductions of characters & situations seemed more... NOVEL. But I have problem compairing the 2 series... aside form the 7 soldiers connection I just don't see how one would compair the 2.

Guardian #1 felt like a classic origin story (it was only missing one of those back-up features with a schematic of his mobile or something). Granted there's tons of fresh nuance. But some of it was telegraphed.. like the article; nessary but telegraphed. The interview, I didn't feel any real threat in that situation. And sorry to say it CAM but why would a law inforcement officer jump away from a person with a hand gun when just before that moment he's holding her wrist in his hand? Maybe it's a martial arts thing but anyone with training would logically got for a disarm... breaking the elbow would be the obvious choice from the position in the panel previous to that dive/roll.

Okay Okay... I'm nitpicking.

I'm sure this will improve greatly from issue to issue and certainly has the potental to go beyond 4 issues.

miss wonderstarr

16:21 / 25.03.05

Not especially unexpected i thought, just part of the standard golem myth... my yiddish and or hebrew are pretty non-existent but i seem to remember the emeth (truth) was the word that animated the golem and was usually placed on the creature's head - wiping out the E turned emeth into meth (death) and killed the golem...

I'm also (vaguely) familiar with that idea, but I meant it was pleasantly surprising to have an average-Joe cop draw on Yiddish myth rather than try to knock the creature's block off. I felt, as I've made way clear, that the rest of the book was pretty wham-bam straightforward in a way that doesn't personally turn me on, so this was the one moment that I felt was harder to see coming.

BrianFitzgerald

16:49 / 25.03.05

"Clay is the link between the inorganic and the organic. Did you know that?"

Don't have the issue at hand, so not sure that's verbatim, but this is the line that made my head start to buzz. The paper is a collective effort/creation of the denizens of New York. The publisher appears (at this point) to be a living NY skyscraper. I just love the fact that the community-mind seems to have recognized the need for and initiated the creation of its own new superhero. And I like the idea that this is not the first time such a thing has happened, that NY created a superteam of golems to fight crime when it was just ten years old.

Also, I don't know all that much about art, but I thought the pictures in this book were really good.

And I know that this story was conceived and written long before Hunter S. Thompson's last Mahalo, but the gonzo superhero journalist vibe struck me as a powerful resonance. Much like the Sentinal fistplane slamming into the Genoshan presidential tower in Grant's New Xmen, or the "Independence Day" appearance of the Hyperclan in JLA. Morrison's ability to pick up on (or luck in to?) these resonances/patterns is really neat.

18:33 / 25.03.05

Hey... as this is set in the DCU I wonder if that Golom is in any way connected to DC's other current GOLOM...

what's that comic MONOLITH?

yawn - thing's buddy

18:35 / 25.03.05

Hogarden:

I have already told you fictionsuits which order they are.

fishnet comic will be best.

then the bright knight.

next will come guardian joint equal with frank stein.

the others will be good too but that's the top three.

Yawn:

that was well violent!

also diggin the 'which one is better' patter. What you reckon Hogarden?

Hogarden:

Fishnetz will win.

The Natural Way

19:50 / 25.03.05

But, vacs, it doesn't matter to me that I knew what was going on at the interview. It's the telling that gets me. If that didn't work for you, cest la vie, but simply understanding how something will pan out as it happens isn't enough for me not to dig cool shit. All seems a bit closure fixated to me.

20:25 / 25.03.05

It was definitely a classic origin story type.

I like how the golem comes back all 'uhhh...' holding his head, looking like he's composing himself and groaning after a beating...guess someone drew the right letter back on his forehead.

That DC golem comic, the Monolith, just got cancelled. Doubtful we'll see more of the Monolith in the future, but you never know...

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