Blog

By Mark Millar, J.G. Jones

This review was prepared in a spoiler free environment.

Wanted is the kind of book that you really don't want your Grandparents to see. Sure, there have been comics more graphic and profane, but usually there's some kind of redemption/retribution - not here.

We follow 'hero' Wesley Gibson on his journey of self-empowerment and realisation through a fabulously sordid world where the Villains have finally triumphed over the Superheroes, and control the globe from behind the scenes. He is contacted by 'Fox', a super-sexy assassin, who reveals the truth about the world and that his father, super-villain 'The Killer', has just been murdered. Wesley is indoctrinated into the Fraternity of Super-Villains, trained by Fox and others in the Fraternity to embrace his baser instincts in order to harness his inherited gift for killing, and given free reign to fulfil his wildest fantasies, including rape and murder. He becomes the new 'Killer', and takes his place as the bodyguard of one of the five leaders of the Super-Villain Fraternity whilst trying to solve the mystery of his father's murder.

Wanted is not for the faint of heart. Blood, guts, racial violence, sexual deviance, some great swearing, and a couple of nude shots set the tone for a very dark story. Wesley follows a path similar to Mr Anderson's in The Matrix; that of the downtrodden loser who realises the world is not as it seems, discovering 'super-powers' along the way. Where they differ is how the 'hero' character overcomes his failings - if The Matrix is a study in Zen calm and self control, Wanted went to Borstal. Wesley takes control of his life by force, continually pushed by his new cohorts to commit heinous deeds - and is applauded for doing so. Very few of the characters have any overt redeeming features, yet somehow through association and familiarity, Wesley becomes our hero.

As far as post-modern deconstructions of the Superhero genre go, Wanted is on the same shelf as Watchmen and John Byrne's Next Men (albeit in the '12-18' section, rather than the 'Mature Readers' area). It takes apart the general conceit that there are always two sides; the heroes and the villains, then builds it back up, considering how events might happen should both groups be comprised of villains. "Honour amongst Thieves" is an idea never mentioned in the book, but one that surely is the basis for how Mark Millar's world works - whilst Wesley and Fox discover that they can trust each other, the main protagonist 'Mr Rictus' is prone to kill on a whim. Toying with concepts of amorality and social constructionism, Wanted would make for a great philosophical study into nihilism and anarchistic concepts, but that would be doing the book a disservice; read into the story all you like, but in the end it's a classic tale of a loser figuring out that he can, in fact, kick some ass and get away with it.

Graphically, the book is stunning. Where some artists might sacrifice realism for style in perspective and composition, J.G. Jones maintains a cinematic style of panelling, playing more with content and tone which is, at points, reminiscent of Mike Mignola's excellent use of pure black shadows. The two main characters Wesley and Fox are blatantly designed in the likenesses of Eminem and Halle Berry respectively which, although an impressive achievement (Gibson IS Eminem in every frame), can become a distraction - certainly the resemblance was no accident, but the similarities are so apparent that perhaps the actors themselves deserved to be in the credits at the beginning of the book...

Special mention should go to the 'extras' at the end of the book, giving an excellent insight into the evolution of a comic book, from concept to final print, going so far as to include 'deleted scenes' - panels of art that were changed to correct tone and pacing of the story, together with explanations of why these changes were needed.

One minor niggle is the new cover to tie in with last year's movie of the same name - directed by Timur Bekmambetov (NightWatch, DayWatch) and starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie & Morgan Freeman, the movie lifts some of the basic concepts from the book, but little else. Reading the book after seeing the film gives some insight into the apparent outrage from fans at quite how little of the book remains in the film, yet the lack of parity between the two also means that they can both be judged on their own merits - and the book rates pretty highly.

Four out of five stars.