The government is up to its crazy antics again, attempting to make super soldiers using nanotechnology. With only John Ravane to hunt down some of the soldiers who’ve gone rogue, the clock is ticking before these sleeper agents begin to tear the U.S apart. Should we be worried? Major Spoilers finds out!
INSURGENT #1
Writer: F.J. Desanto & Todd Farmer
Artist: Federico Dallocchio
Letterer: Travis Lanham
Colorist: Federico Dallocchio
Editor: Ben Abernathy
Publisher: DC Entertainment
Cover Price: $2.99
Previously in Insurgents: Nothing. New miniseries!
THAT WHACKY GOVERNMENT AND IT’S WHACKY GET RICH QUICK SCHEMES!
The government, as always, has screwed everything up. After being outed for using nanotechnology to create super soldiers, they have spent years trying to mend their image. Now, as sleeper cells start popping up all over the country, the president turns to one man, John Ravane, to put down the emerging menace. Of course, Ravane doesn’t want to come willingly and has to be dragged out of retirement. That’s the price to pay when you’re the best at what you do.
Who is John Ravane? Good question. Since they only have a miniseries in which to tell their story, it’s understandable that Desanto and Farmer would want to cram as much information as they could into this first issue. Unfortunately, that means a lot gets left out. The writers give very limited information on John Ravane, only letting the reader know that he used to hunt nano-enhanced soldiers and that he’s the best at what he does, which is, presumably, hunting nano-enhanced soldiers. That’s about it. After that, his character is poorly developed and, even with the introduction of an adopted daughter, there’s not a whole lot to relate to with this character. Perhaps they’ll develop him more, or any of the others for that matter, later on but, for now, there’s not a whole lot for the reader to relate to.
The plot itself has been done before in some fashion or another, most notably with DC’s current miniseries title Human Bomb. It’s the same basic format. Government or corporation does evil government or corporation projects, said projects get out of hand and then it all comes down to one person to stop aforementioned evil projects before the public gets hurt. It’s not a new idea and, because it’s not a new idea, if someone wants to use it they need to bring something new and innovative to the table in order to stand out. So far, this series hasn’t done anything that hasn’t been done before. If anything, it’s doing it much poorly than similar series that have come before it.
MANNEQUIN FIGHTS!
With the exception of his work on Suicide Squad, I’m not a huge fan of Federico Dallocchio and this issue is no exception. His stills and portraits aren’t terrible to look at, having fairly decent composition. That would be fine for something that isn’t particularly action-heavy. However, this is an action-heavy book. The art is stagnant and stiff, with each action sequence feeling more like mannequins fighting than people exchanging blows.
There’s also a nagging feeling that the art isn’t done yet. It still feels like a sketch that was quickly colored in and called done. Dallochio has the potential to do good work if he pushes himself, but he didn’t do that here. Perhaps he had a deadline to meet and just did what he could, but this book feels unfinished and lifeless.
BOTTOM LINE: SKIP IT
I have to applaud DC for supporting creator owned comics. It’s a big risk to take on a bunch of newbies and I really hope they continue to give others the same chance. That said, this particular series isn’t off to a great start. The characters are underdeveloped and the art looks unfinished at best. In a publishing company where one is going up against the Justice League, Superman and more Batman titles than one can shake a stick at, a lone miniseries really needs to be something special. This one isn’t it.
DID YOU READ THIS ISSUE? RATE IT!
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