Wanted

The first third of this trade paperback is shallow, pointless, and slow. When the plot and multiverse concepts kick in by the fourth issue, the series reaches its high point (and, wow, there's even a little character development!). But then the ending comes along and ruins it all with a generic, all-too-tidy twist.

It's rather enjoyable, but only when (1) the characters aren't behaving like high society snobs (Mister Rictus is the only true villain here; ironically, everybody else is as "evil" as spoiled preppies, (2) when the story abandons its angst and adopts genuine conflict, and (3) when the dialog doesn't come off as wanna-be gangsta (like a mid-nineties indie rip-off of Pulp Fiction).

I was disappointed, and the writing was a tad amateurish. But it was lowbrow, cheap-o fun.

I liked the art in this, not the best I've seen but still good. The story was good at the beginning and building to be something great but I have to say I was disappointed in the ending, an ending that again was only meant to shock. Most of this novel is filled with vulgar words, situations, and ideas (The Shock of the novel) but in the end the characters never deal with there actions. in the end i felt the writer couldn't close the deal on this story. It was OK at best

It's kind of amazing the type of reactions that Millar and Jones' "Wanted" evokes in people. Some people absolutely despise it. Other people absolutely adore it. I personally think it's wonderful, but I also understand why a bunch of people don't like it. Let me explain.

Upfront, let's say this: This is a book about villains. They're going to do villainous things. They aren't going to hold hands. They aren't going to be nice people. They aren't going to have a change of heart. They aren't going to see the error of their ways. Not because they couldn't, but because they don't care. Many of the criticisms people have leveled at this book take that one thing for granted. They want the protagonist to be a nice guy (he isn't), they want him to do good things (he doesn't), they want the story to have a happy ending (the jury's sort of out on that one). Make no mistake, this is not intended to be mainstream fiction. And to me, that's part of the appeal.

Wanted is the story of Wesley Gibbs, an office drone who's been walked on his entire life. He's been kicked by nearly everyone who could have a chance, and twice on Sundays. His girlfriend is sleeping around on him, his boss is abusive without cause, and Wesley takes it, because he can't envision any other way to live. Until someone comes along and tells him he's the son of the greatest killer who ever lived, and that he's just inherited his legacy. And while he fights it at first, he comes to embrace it, and that's where things start getting complicated.

I don't want to walk you through the book. I don't want to tell you that you should like it, because, frankly, I understand why a lot of people wouldn't like this book. It's violent, it's unsympathetic to, well, everyone, it's remorseless, it's brutal, it's needless cruel... but that's sort of the point. While I see a lot of people in other reviews comparing "Wanted" to "Fight Club" (fair) and "The Matrix" (not really applicable), in many ways, "Wanted" is an extension of some of the ideas presented in a much older book, "The Lord of the Flies." What DOES happen in a society without rules? What would you do if there wasn't a law you had to follow? What would you do if there wasn't anyone to tell you no, or stop you from doing whatever you put your mind to? The easy answer is to say that you'd just go on living your life, but with some improvements, but at the cost of what? The world is about systems. Give yourself a ton of money, money goes down in value, suddenly you have less money than you intended. Don't want to pay a speeding ticket? Now you're breaking laws, just because you can. Millar takes that concept and runs with it about as far as he can, then keeps running past where it was before.

If "Fight Club" wasn't your cup of tea, then steer clear from "Wanted." If you're looking for something with a positive message, steer clear of "Wanted." If you want a story where you agree with the actions of the protagonist, steer clear of "Wanted." It's not a book for kids. It's not a book for people who want a story that holds their hand the whole way. It is, to borrow a phrase, very bad men doing very bad things. Again, I return to my original point -- this is a story about villains.

With all that said, Jones' art is fantastic, the dialog is crisp and leaps off the page, the characters are memorable and the story is a wild roller coaster ride that asks the question "When there are no rules, and the only people who can tell you no are your fellow degenerates, what do you do?" It's uncomfortable, it's vile, it's twisted, it's darker-than-dark... and that's why I love it, and why most of you probably won't...

Artistically this is very well done; the art is some of the best I've ever seen in a comic medium. It also makes "Sin City" look like a clean comic/movie by comparison. I find it very unlikely the upcoming film adaptation will accurately reflect the grittier moments of this work; they just go too far for most film audiences to accept. I thought the ending was a bit lazy on the part of the authors. While it does fit with the story, I just don't like an ending the purposely goes out of its way to not make any substantial points. Then again expecting points from a story where characters have profanity for names might be a little too much. It was consistent with the rest of the comic, but it missed some great opportunities to make points and insights into life.

The begining of this book starts with an average guy and his boring life. Then when he goes to get his usual sandwich one day he meets a girl named fox and the action never stops. The tempo of this book is somewhere between a coked out dishwasher and a cheetah on speed. The story moves along beautifly, and the end has a great twist. I also love how alot of the characters have similarities to existing dc and marvel characters. Along the same lines the unique characters in this story are classic.