The Seven Soldiers of Victory: Volume 1

Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers are absolutely nothing like the old version. Well, apart from the bit with Vigilante in it early on. New versions of Klarion the Witch Boy, and the Shining Knight, and quite a lot of the supernatural alien type of influence.

Grant Morrison began this series intending to, I believe, emulate the critically popular but poorly recieved 'Fourth World' by Jack Kirby. In it, the titular 'Seven Soldiers' each have their own four issue title that all tie in together in a final 'book end' chapter. However, each story is enjoyable in its own right. Reading them together, you can pick up on the subtle interactions - what story happens when in comparison, how part x of one story ties in to part y of another. However, it isn't the interactions, or even the superheroics, that make Morrison's 'Seven Soldiers of Victory' a stunning success - it's the human element. It's the inspiration of Jake Jordan as he learns to become the Manhattan Guardian. It's the building hope of Alix Harrower as she slowly rebuilds her life from tragedy. It's Klarion's charming exploration of his religion and the boundaries of his society. Every character tells a different kind of story, and while they may not be everyone's cup of tea, each story is charming and inspirational in it's own way...and they all build up to an even greater whole.

Every artist represented in this volume (there are six) blew me away - each for a different reason. The artwork in the introductory chapter, by J. H. Williams III, seemed, to me, the most significantly accomplished of the lot. Keep in mind that I do not regularly read contemporary superhero stories, so I had no preconceptions about any of these artists. There's something distinctly Silver Age about Williams' storytelling techniques (and I mean "calm and collected and cool and almost formal Infantino and Oskner DC Silver Age," not "crazy genius Kirby and Ditko Marvel Silver Age," by the way), though the outer layer, the Photoshopped slickness, is (and probably has to be) thoroughly contemporary. In Williams' case, the slickness refuses to obscure an outstanding and versatile line, among other things. There's the scratchy Wrightson-like opening in a swamp. There's the wide, western landscape that reminded me, more than anything, of an old Mickey Mouse adventure digest comic I had when I was a kid - except, you know, more realistic, and creepier. Maybe it was just the cartoony prickly pears everywhere. Or something. Williams' storytelling and character-building skills are as strong as any I've seen in comics. These characters - ultimately dispensible - come alive from the first moment they appear. Surely Williams is considered one of the top stylists of contemporary mainstream comics, maybe even the top stylist. I was particularly impressed with the final battle sequence, in which a great deal of information about a large number of characters performing very complex manuevers was presented so calmly and well (and with such perfect graphic design) that I didn't even notice that, hey, wow, that must have been a difficult sequence to pull off, until I'd read it three or four times. (the above is excerpted from my longer review at graphicnovelreview.com)

The transition from single issues to a collected trade was always going to be tough for Grant Morrison's Seven Soldiers of Victory project. The series as a whole is intended to be seven miniseries, each about a particular character, and two bookend issues. Every mini can be read independently but if you read them all you get the whole overarching story. This story is about people who have powers but aren't ready or even willing to be superheroes. By the end of their respective miniseries, these characters will be ready to be true superheroes, with all the craziness that implies. Morrison has said in interviews that his goal was to create not realism within comics, but emotional realism within the most far out situations. The titular seven are: The Shining Knight Zatanna The Manhattan Guardian Klarion the Witchboy The Bulleteer Mister Miracle and Frankenstein Not the most well known characters, but where is the fun of trotting out the Supermans and Batmans of the world for yet another re-imagining? Because the characters are virtual unknowns Morrison can get away with making drastic changes to them, making them relevant to today's audience. The great accomplishment of Seven Soldiers is not that the titular characters are so well done, but that the supporting cast is so fantastic as well. There were several characters aside from the Seven that were so interesting that I wished they would get their own miniseries. What Seven Soldiers does, like Warren Ellis' comic, Planetary, is to give you a sense of wonder. It's been a while since comics did that. Comics have been stuck in the "grim and gritty realism" for far too long. These are heroes you can get behind.

I picked these up in original issue form. If you like Morrison's work, then you likely will appreciate this series. The structure and characters are interesting to say the least. While not groundbreaking or as deep Morrison's best works, the storyline is entertaining, and the writing is tight. It is an enjoyable ride that helps to reinvent and revitalize what I consider to be the rather stagnant DC Universe, and that's not such an easy task. I have no idea why the other reviewers here are blind to the kind of talent and intelligence this kind of effort requires.