Nextwave: Agents of H.A.T.E. #11

Released: December 27, 2006

Publisher: Marvel

Writer: Warren Ellis

Pencils: Stuart Immonen

Inks: Wade Von Grawbadger

Colors: Dave McCaig

Letterer: VC’s Joe Caramagna

Cover: Stuart Immonen

 

What an odd book, but that’s really the point isn’t it? Give Warren Ellis a small corner of the Marvel Universe to play in and be as crazy as he likes. And if you find his type of superhero-spoof antics interesting then this is the book for you. It certainly is unique and willing to take some experimental chances on story-telling and style.

 

As if to accentuate its brazen attitude and ‘cool’ status the cover features a mock ‘Civil War’ tie-in banner (done sneeringly in plaid). The truth is that, since they couldn’t have gotten away with the tie-in mimicry without editorial approval, the editors knew it might generate increased sales simply by getting attention on the shelf. Nothing wrong with that really, and anyone truly fooled deserves what they get.

 

The story inside appears to be a setup for a climatic confrontation with the Beyond Corporation, as the group of misfit heroes raids the Corp’s flying headquarters. Thrown into the mix is the resurrection and apparent re-suicide of Dirk Anger, who’s the head of H.A.T.E. (which is a thinly veiled mockery of Nick Fury and S.H.I.E.L.D.), so all the pieces are coming together to shake the series up and hopefully lose the staling shtick of ‘find random Beyond Corp. weapon, fight it, and then leave’.

 

The series has two problems: One, Nextwave as a group is defined by being opposed to the above villains and it is very unclear if even a silly comic like this one can organically keep them together without the Beyond Corporation. Two, Ellis has specifically joked in the comic that he is attempting to have as little continuity and plot as possible. Joking aside, he’s got very little here and while I can see this book being appealing to a specific crowd of people who enjoy the humor—it hardly has anything else going for it. Immonen’s art style is pretty but hardly his most compelling work.

 

All that’s true and yet it’s still kicking, still interestingly experimental. This issue has a series of six double page splashes in a row! That’s the most I can remember reading in this format and the style and content are recognizably influenced by the side-scrolling video games of yore. It’s gorgeous really: the insanity on each page, the clear, crisp, consistent art of Immonen on display at its best. This is the kind of thing that really makes me feel like I didn’t waste my money on this plot-lite series (even if the comic specifically says otherwise).

 

To top it off, we get actual plot advancement and an actual dramatic cliffhanger this issue. What next? More characterization? This is the best issue since the Captain’s origin story, and the series certainly has lagged at times but this is a good step towards longevity.

 

Rating - 6