Wanted

I seriously did not know what to expect with this work. I read the other reviews and came to the decision to buy it and review it myself since this book seems to garner such strong reactions.

I personally loved this book. Yes, there are no sympathetic characters in it, but that is done by design so I don't know how that could be a legitimate criticism. It's like blaming a horror movie for being too scary. The premise is simple--What kind of world would result from super-villains winning? Is there morality when society treats a privileged few as above the law?

There's a lot of depth to this work that casual reading just won't bring out. If you're in any way shocked by violence, this is NOT the comic for you. This is about as violent as it gets. And in some respects, reminds me of the movie Natural Born Killers. People protest the violence in that movie as well, even though the violence was absolutely necessary for the story being told. A more modern example would be No Country For Old Men. Same thing.

That doesn't mean I agree with everything this work implies, but it is well done regardless. The main antagonist, for example, becomes so incredibly evil after having a near-death experience where he realized there is no God. I find it a bit offensive that the sudden lack of belief implies instant evil, but the character was a fanatic so the point is dulled a bit.

The comedy in this work is so well done. Really good laughs at the absurdity of several DC and Marvel characters warped into this brutal world. The comedy is dark, but dead-on hilarious. Again, you'll probably need a dark sense of humor to appreciate it, and if you don't, you won't like this book. Without the humor relieving the ever present ruthless violence, it simply would not be an enjoyable read.

And of course the end was genius. I won't spoil it, but it truly was a clever idea and brilliantly executed in a way I've never seen before. Mark Millar, which I already appreciated as a good writer, has climbed up several notches in my eyes. He takes risks that pay off.

So recap:

- Don't like violence, don't buy it.
- Not for kids at all.
- Much deeper than the violence, gross-outs, and sex would suggest.
- Full of dark humor rooted in superhero lore.
- Brilliant ending.

What would happen if the bad guys won? What would happen when the last superhero dies and the super villains take over the Earth? It's an intriguing concept that Millar and Jones attempts to utilize in this unique story, however, despite their previous work, they fail miserably on this one. There is very little character development, logic and the comic attempts to be edgy for the sake of being edgy. There is no reason to connect to these characters. No reason to care for them. In the end, you feel nothing for the main character and nothing for the characters that die. The final result just feels juvenile and poorly thought out.
From my understanding, the movie shies away from much of the source material of the comic. These can only be considered as improvements.
(Edit: After seeing the movie, it's definitely an improvement over the source material. WATCH IT!)

The concept alone gains it 4 stars, but the excessive profanity turns a possibily legendary tale into a juvenile outing worthy of Kevin Smith.

Millar crafts an excellent story and creates well rounded characters out of even the most mundane villains whom he choses to parody. The problem is they all speak like a bunch of teenagers, who just learned to swear and feel that it elevates their "bada**" image to do so. There isn't even any shock value, it's just annoying.

It really is a shame, "Wanted" could have been on par with "Watchmen"(please forgive me), by working adult situations into comic book lore elevating it to real-world status. But again, it comes out like the 13-year-old step-brother of "Watchmen".

That being said, the plot points are engaging and the art is fantastic.

Anyway, Junior High fan boys will most likely hold it in high esteem, but for the rest of us we can remember Ultimates and Civil War as high points in Mark Millar's career.

In the universe of "Wanted", the supervillains all ganged up to pick off the superheroes one by one, and now the supervillains rule the world. Our hero (well...protagonist, anyway) doesn't know anything about this--he's a human dumping ground for everyone else's bad vibes. Then he discovers that his father was the greatest killer in the world, and he's inherited the skills...as well as his father's money and his father's hot girlfriend. He goes to work for the world's nicest criminal mastermind, and when faced up against people who can alter reality and defy physics, villains with staggering physical and psychic powers, he discovers that the greatest power of all is the casual, ruthless willingness to end the lives of others, without pain or pleasure or any human feeling. The message of this graphic novel has obvious appeal for any nerdy sociopath, but its wit, the beautiful execution (pardon the pun) of the art, and the depth that Millar and Jones gave to the world of "Wanted" should make it appeal to any comic reader with a dark side...and with the imminent release of the movie, it will likely appeal to any moviegoer with a dark side, too. (And, in the comic, anyway, the Down's Syndrome take on Bizarro is probably worth the price of admission for Superman fans.)

I won't join the legion of readers that have been expressing their moral disappointment towards this volume. The author is probably happy that he had generated such level of controversy and attention around his product. I did not get the ultimate message, I found the violence senseless and I did not enjoy the comic. This will also prevent me from watching the upcoming movie. However I am pretty sure that the movie producers have reworked the storyline and the carachters in order to please the general public.