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Underground > Comic Books >

Global Frequency #2

Regrettable Juvenilia

16:37 / 01.12.02

I seem to have become the Warren Ellis apologist here on Barbelith, which is bizarre and unlikely on many levels. But did anyone else think issue 2 was a substantial improvement on the first one?

Ellis seems to be doing a good job of hiding his weaknesses using the concept of this series: he's not so great at character, so we get a more of less continually revolving cast with a very high body count. Works for me. This was a piece of straight-up, pulpy sci-fi action, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it... a guilty pleasure? Or just a simple one?

It's possible the improvement was due to the art - preferred this to Fabry's painted stuff, though I thought I could tell when Liam Sharpe was inking and that was an improvement. Some of this reminded me of old Marvel UK stuff - anyone remember 'Warheads'? Eek, that was bad, let's stay on topic. Best bit: the look on evilcyborgdeathmachineQuinn's face after Miranda tries the diplomatic approach - he barely even has a face to make expressions with anymore, but it so clearly says "you're kidding, right?". And the very Ellis (but it made me smile so that's okay) line "I have a wire in my brain that simulates sexual pleasure when I kill people".

I wonder if every issue will end with someone smoking a cigarette...

17:47 / 01.12.02

While I do understand that this series is in many ways Ellis playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses, for me all the first two issues have really done was to rub the crap stuff about Ellis' writing in my face for a bit.

He's going for a straight up Aliens/Predator kinda story here, yeah?which is fair enough, but I think that a combination of the compressed writing style of this book and Ellis' lack of characterisation skills really stop this story from being as effective as it's supposed to be. There's not enough space for any tension, or drama, and I really had a hard time caring about what happened to any of the characters, as they were just so blank and non-descript that it wasn't true.

Shame that, coz I think this coulda been a fun wee sci-fi adventure with a human touch if it were done right...

18:03 / 01.12.02

I only read the first issue, and wasn't particularly impressed. Ellis is always preaching against superheroes, but this is basically a superhero level story without the cape. It was a rather unimpressive action piece, and didn't convince me to pick up #2.

Regrettable Juvenilia

08:54 / 02.12.02

Then, with all due respect, you shouldn't be posting in this thread. There's already a thread about the first issue.

09:59 / 02.12.02

I liked it. As a throwaway piece of semi-hard science fiction I thought it worked 'bout as well as you can expect. Fast paced; low to medium characterisation; nice examination of what a 'real' 6 million dollar man would be like and done, dusted and back in the bag before I finished my cup of tea (Harhoo = rock and roll monster).

I think Ellis has quite an erratic gift for pacing, although he seems to be quite a theorist so it may be done to experimentation. I think a 22 page romp plays to his strengths pretty well and it's staying on my monthly pull list.

I wish I could say something more interesting about it but, you know, it's Monday morning and everything.

uncle retrospective

23:46 / 28.12.02

I'm not going to start a new thread as no one round here seems that interested.
Well 3 is out (it's been a great haul this week.) and it's good solid stuff. Alien meme civilisations invading, more smart mouth Ellis and a love saves the day ending that didn't make me want to throw up.
Steve Dillon however is well past his sell by date.

01:36 / 29.12.02

Issue # 2 was a great stan-alone issue, and dealt a lot more with the emotional and pschological aspects of cyborgs and bionics than I have ever seen in 24 years of reading comics.

that said, I also enjoyed issue # 3, and I see the problem that Drummer pointed out; if every single issue will be a separate fire alarm and fire drill, then normal character and plot development may quickly fall into the toilet.

VR
The Shark

08:26 / 31.12.02

I liked the story, it was a good solid one shot, in keeping with Global Frequency's whole schtick. The art was very so so, was Warren Ellis channeling Garth Ennis at one point so Steve Dillion could draw naked people? Stuck me as a gratiutious Preacher moment, clashed with the Aleph we've seen in #1 and #2.

Mister Six, whom all the girls

12:19 / 31.12.02

I like it despite myself.

My brother and I trade comics once a month and he asked that I continue to pick this one up. The rotating artists attracted me, but I'm suprised to actually be enjoying Ellis' writing again. I was getting ready to post here that it was very funny that Ellis basically wrote a full comic based on Monty Python's funniest joke routine, but the conclusion really got me. Huh. He can write again, who knew?

I am, however, not drawn in by the 'crew of experts' that he has. His ideas are good, but using a crack team of people really interconnected throughout the globe makes my eyes roll. Very 20th century view of the 21st. But who cares, he writes good sci fi short stories.

..... did I just say that?

15:08 / 31.12.02

I've only seen the preview pages, up at Mile high, but...

...um...

...didn't Aleph used to be black?

03:30 / 03.01.03

that struck me as strange too, Jack. and Mister 6:

//His ideas are good, but using a crack team of people really interconnected throughout the globe makes my eyes roll. Very 20th century view of the 21st.//

this got me curious as to how would be a 21st vision of the 21st on these terms.

12:59 / 03.01.03

Right. Just got #3 yesterday.

Man, Steve Dillon has reached new depths of uselessness, hasn't he? Everything about this issue's art was terrible: all the characters—male or female, white black or Asian, normal human or possessed/infected alien hybrid—had the same sad, horsy mope.

And the layouts had no drama: there were a number of moments in the story that could've been real money shots—the first appearance of the bloody-eyed victims, the revelation of the transmitter they're building, the assault on the team as they work—but they all fell flat. It was slack, listless storytelling.

Which is a shame, because the script was burning, despite the soppy ending: it was tightly constructed and propulsive, with all the beats in place. I could easily imagine the book being a lot better than it actually was, if only somebody has actually bothered to draw the sharp, twanging suspense story that was trying to get out. Dillon really let Wozza down here.

That said, I'm not crazy about Miranda Zero herself being out in the field in every single episode, and seeing her on the "away team" in this issue and last is particularly bothersome. GF personnel are spread across the world precisely so that no one person needs to be ubiquitous.

Fun fact: this was supposed to be issue #2, but it was flip-flopped with "Big Wheel," which was supposed to be #3. Any guesses as to why DC would delay the release of a book with two lesbian kisses in?

Heh.

13:57 / 03.01.03

Mmmm. Can't say I was too excited by #3 in and as of itself as it follows a fairly similar pattern to #1 and #2 without really adding anything other than a surprisingly Star Trek style ending. Memetic attack also seemed a bit too 1999.

P'raps my main problem, however, is probably a rather unintelligent one on my part. 'Cos it was drawn by someone who I associate so strongly with a different writer and 'cos there were bits in there that seemed so reminiscent of Ennis' work (that shitly pointless nuddy bloke in the command room , big guns and a seige, strong sentimentality) it seemed to me that Ellis' voice was surprisingly easily knocked out of kilter, leaving it nothing other than glib references to sexuality.

I can sort of see that it would have been better off reversed with what ended up as #2, as this is a more straightforward story. Anyway; for the time being I'm still on the monthly ride.