newuniversal

A few weeks ago I let readers here know about Warren Ellis and his crime comic Fell. This week I want to let readers in on another unique title from Warren Ellis and Marvel Comics called newuniversal.

Back in '84-'85 Marvel decided it was going to launch a new imprint they named the New Universe. These series of books were going to treat comics from a realistic standpoint of "what if random people on earth started gaining powers after a great cosmic event". Think the TV show Heroes but on a much larger scale.

With titles like DP7, Psi-Force, Nightmask, Justice, and Starbrand, these comics were ahead of their time, believe it or not. Over the two plus years they were published the heroes discovered their powers, formed groups, were drafted into the Army and fought a war. Eventually poor sales and a change in the guard at Marvel editorial did the books in. There would be some writers who would go back every few years and re-visit the New Universe characters but for the most part they were shut out of the regular Marvel Universe.

Now, thanks to the powers-that-be at Marvel, they've turned the entire line of characters over to Warren Ellis for newuniversal.

An updated take on comics twenty years old, newuniversal does the same thing the original line of books set out to do but with the science fiction and metaphysical twists only a writer like Ellis and bring. He even goes so far as to give an explanation of what happened and what went wrong to the original New Universe universe in issue #2. The art by former X-Men artist Salvador Larroca doesn't hurt to look at either. He does a superb job of illustrating the normal, scenes of every day life which fills a good two-thirds of the title. However, when the script calls for the fantastic, he can deliver that too.

Warren Ellis has gone on record as saying he doesn't like traditional superheroes and this book is anything but. For any of you out there that happen upon this, if you were glued to the edge of your seat all season while watching Heroes, please give this book a try. You won't regret it.