Mark Millar's Supercrooks

[atom_punk]

OK, shoulder angel and devil are in full effect here.

Shoulder angel: This is the Mark Millar that wrote Superman: Red Son, Superman: Adventures, Superior, The Authority, and the Ultimates, be optimistic :)

Shoulder devil: This is the Mark Millar that wrote Nemesis, Kick-Ass, Wanted, and...the Ultimate Avengers, be cynical :(

For the moment, my shoulder angel is winning and I am tentatively interested in Mark Millar's series Supercrooks and wanted to ask if any on scans_daily have picked up the first issue (which I believe is out now) and would care to weigh in.

For anyone who hasn't heard about this book, the premise is that in the United States, superheroes are so ubiquitous and effective at combating crime that supercriminals have a hard time making a profit. So a group of these criminals decide to relocate to Europe where strict laws against ANY superhuman using their powers mean that no law-abiding superheroes are present to oppose them.

Preview pages below, courtesy of Comic Book Resources:



See, this is getting my optimism all worked up. We have an interesting premise (described often as Ocean's 11 meets superhero/villains), a story that is not set in the US (or nonexistent countries thereof), a world where superheroes are not only present but also competent and not complete jerks (thus far), and I also like the aesthetics of each supercharacter's unique costume and design. Plus that "electric powers" line made me laugh. The violence also seems pretty toned down for Millar's standards.

Also like the hero character Gladiator seen here. He is unlikely to appear again IMO but his character is pretty well-established in just a few panels. And he's clearly good at his job. He works with police to get a quick briefing, uses cameras to get a picture of who he's up against, he gets onto the subway train where the villains are, tells hostages to clear out as best as possible, takes the baddies down without killing them, and delivers them to the police.

And he's got a cool costume too! Like the patriotic suit mixed with the helmet and gauntlets of his namesake. (See Jim Lee, sometimes just smooth clean spandex is fine, no excessive cross-hatching or inexplicable seams required) One nitpick is that his holster/harness thing seems like it would be quite uncomfortable in the groin region, but I'm not familiar with holsters so maybe that's how they really are? :P

Thoughts friends? Anyone read this first issue yet? Any feedback or opinions?

First post under new rules so please let me know if there are any problems. Thanks

Oh and also, a teaser for the movie that is apparently being made about this comic. Say what you will about Mark Millar, he's certainly staying on the go with his properties.


 

Comments

[darkknightjrk]

I read it--not a bad set-up issue, even if it's almost a complete plot taking of Oceans 12. Two things do bother me.

1. Millar's apparently said a lot of discouraging things about Spain and how it's a truly horrific place that makes me think we're going to get a really watered-down, stereotypical "seedy corrupt town" instead of an actual, interesting locale.

2. They're so certain about there not being any superheroes in Europe that I can see the twist that they're actually working in secret and will fuck them over coming from a mile away.

Shoulder Devil is winning...

[freezer]

The previews and description says "Ocean's 11", Millar's track record says "Bomb Queen."

[salinea]

First post under new rules so please let me know if there are any problems. Thanks
Looks fine to me! Main topic is the scan; vid is there as support for the main topic. A-OK :)

[cainofdreaming]

Hm, is it just me or does anyone else get the pictures in small frames with scrollbars? Is that a firefox thing, or CBR thing?

Also, did I just see a man wearing Captain Marvel's original helmet stomping on a Noh-Varr lookalike?

[eyz]

So...this is what Millar's een up to lately?
Looks like a mix between Wanted, Nemesis and a hint of Ocean's 11.

[wizardru]

Yeah, I'm gonna take a pass, here. I realize Millar CAN write stuff I don't dislike, I just recognize that he almost never actually DOES. A big problem I have with Millar's scripting is that he desperately wants to make 'real' superheroes, but without any of the consequences or logic that needs to accompany that conceit.

Why are guys with superpowers robbing banks here, especially in a world with lots of heroes and technology. If this dude really does have electric powers, why isn't he making a decent living using those powers in lots of specialized situations where they could do things that would otherwise be ridiculously expensive? Hell, some companies would pay him a salary just to stand around for an emergency power back-up. 80% of all bank robbers are eventually caught, iirc. In a world with superheroes, I'd wager that's even higher....and few bank robberies net any really large wins. So he's trying to eat his cake and have it, too: using a tired old cliche and mixing with semi-reality.

The problem is that the more realistic you make superheroes, the more it highlights things that throw me, at least, out of the story.

[deleonjh]

"For anyone who hasn't heard about this book, the premise is that in the United States, superheroes are so ubiquitous and effective at combating crime that supercriminals have a hard time making a profit. So a group of these criminals decide to relocate to Europe where strict laws against ANY superhuman using their powers mean that no law-abiding superheroes are present to oppose them."

Ah, so it's that old "When guns are criminalized, only criminals will have guns" argument.

[glprime]

I'll echo the comments above on problems with Millar's split track record and the conceits of "realistic supers" settings, but also chime in with this: there aren't enough detailed supercriminal storylines in comics, with or without plot holes. Yeah it steals from "thief thriller" movies, and yeah, it drops the ball on a lot of logical points, but stories with villains as the protagonists always seem to have a charge of fun beyond the more oft repeated mainstream.

Also, anymore polished Leinil Yu art is okay by me.

I'll watch tepidly like others, waiting to see when Bad!Millar pops up, like Jekyll and Hyde.

[terrykun]

This could potentially be a really interesting take on civilian law enforcement dealing with supercrime. (:

[md84]

It's refreshing to see supervillains who are willing to admit they're outmatched by the heroes and leaving for greener superhero-free pastures.

No doubt they are going to find out just how Europe is able to maintain a ban on superpowers without being overrun by supervillains.

[ian_karkull]

That teaser is so ridiculously random and low-budget, it makes me doubt there actually is a movie in the works. I've seen home videos with better production values.

Also, I just can't wrap my head around the ridiculous premise. Why wouldn't there be Heroes and villains in Europe if powers where commonly available? Public attitude towards them would probably be a little different and varying from country to country, but hell, if I had powers, I'd fly out of my damn window and beat up some Neo-Nazis (or what have you) right this instant.
I'll probably still end up reading this, because I love villain-centric stories, which already proved to be my undoing in the case of Wanted, but still, so unbelievably silly.

[tsunamiwombat]

Inb4 people start dying, being racist, raped, murdered, melted with acid, typical millar stuff et all etc.

[halloweenjack]

Yeah, can't get past the dumb premise. GLA: Misassembled played it for laughs (Maelstrom builds his universe-destroying weapon in Milwaukee because, by the time the real Avengers show up, it'll all be over) and that's about as far as you should really go with the concept, IMO.

[darrylayo]

Issue was good. I got a good laugh from "apparently he's got electrical powers."

Mark Millar was good at the Ultimates and Ultimate X Men. He can do non evil things, so I'm willing to give some of his stuff a try