by Peter Milligan & C.P. Smith
collects The Programme # 7-12
the premise: It's America's superhumans versus the newly awakened Soviet superhumans - but the American ones are conflicted over issues of race and violence.
the lowdown: Milligan & Smith's tale of cold war politics brought into the present day reaches its conclusion in this volume. This book wasn't cancelled; it was a limited series, so this is a real conclusion. In my review of volume one, I compared this series to Rising Stars or Supreme Power. Now with the whole series in the rearview mirror, I'd say it's a bit more nihilistic than either of those books. But as always, Milligan has lots of excellent ideas on the page. So much subtext here - Senator Joe, totally a product of 50's politics, paralyzed by confusion over racism. Meanwhile, his 60's counterpart finds his weakness to be... you guessed it... sex. (Maybe you guessed drugs, but sex would've been your second choice.) Meanwhile the Soviet characters are this seemingly invincible other - much as we viewed the Soviet Union right up until its fall. Milligan deftly uses these characters to mirror their respective nations.
Smith's artwork was, as I mentioned the first time around, an acquired taste. But I've gotta say, I've acquired it. I thought it was stellar this time around, such a nice mix of abstraction and photorealism. There are 3-4 scenes in this volume that are just outstanding.
the verdict: Not the most optimistic take on the superhero genre you'll ever read, but this is a well thought-out and compelling one. I liked this a lot and would like to see Wildstorm do more stuff like this.
3 comments:
Have you read Wolverine #41? It was a done-in-one issue with art by C.P. Smith and I really, really enjoyed it. I believe it's been collected along with some other short stories in the Wolverine: Blood & Sorrow trade.
I haven't read anything other than that issue that's featured Smith's art, so I may check out The Programme to see how it compares.
Wolverine Noir is being done by Smith, iirc. It's not being reviewed too favorably, though, so reader beware.
I was intrigued by Wolverine #41 but didn't want to buy a whole trade just to get it. (I guess I could buy the single issue - maybe I will eventually). The Noir book does interest me, but I've seen the so-so reviews - taking a wait and see approach with that one.
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