I am soooooooooooooooo happy about this! I just want the Whedon run to end already so we can get to the Ellis stuff cos I love his ideas for the series.
― Mr. Perpetua, Friday, 27 July 2007 23:33 (sixteen years ago) link
Quick! someone hide Kitty!
― carson dial, Saturday, 28 July 2007 10:57 (sixteen years ago) link
Ellis is patchy... he has written a lot of stuff, and some of it is good, some of it is great, some of it is vastly overrated (e.g. The Authority) and some of it is dire.
I enjoyed Planetary, even if it ended badly. I don't know how he will do with the X-Men. mmm.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Saturday, 28 July 2007 14:48 (sixteen years ago) link
I think Ellis is patchy too, but I trust him on this mainly because his Thunderbolts stuff has been so good.
― Mr. Perpetua, Saturday, 28 July 2007 15:03 (sixteen years ago) link
And really, is there a character in the Marvel Universe better suited to him than Emma Frost?
Yes; Kitty Pryde. Besides Whedon, he's the only person who's done a tolerable version of her since 1995.
― HI DERE, Saturday, 28 July 2007 23:44 (sixteen years ago) link
I used to have a huge knee-jerk hate on Ellis which I will attempt to reconstruct for purposes of thread balance. My impression of him has generally been:
- cynical recycler of half-digested sci-fi ideas banking on comics fans not reading books (or science magazines) much - default mode of lame not-very-horrible body horror - annoying "i'm the superhero writer who hates superheroes" schtick - doubly annoying creation of mary sue characters to embody this schtick within his comics (eg Pete Wisdom, almost all Ellis-originated Authority characters) - even outside superhero genre, his ideas of what's cool and what's interesting seem hand-me-down and uninspired - can't pace a comic well, so most of his stories seem to end with a kind of nihilistic shrug - has the bad qualities of mainstream British writers (see some of above) but not the redemptive wit or love or schlocky energy
That said I've enjoyed some of his recent stuff - Planetary hit a stride after the first few issues, though got more boring towards the end; his Ultimate Universe stuff was absurdly decompressed but an enjoyable read; not read his Thunderbolts but by all accounts its OK; newuniversal isn't bad. So maybe he's got the terrible comics out of his system. Not especially looking forward to his X-Men, though.
― Groke, Monday, 30 July 2007 11:35 (sixteen years ago) link
If I were still a 13-year-old Red Dwarf fan, I would probably wuv Warren Ellis. But...
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 30 July 2007 14:18 (sixteen years ago) link
In order (stuff I've read): 1. Transmetropolitan 2. Planetary 3. Nextwave 4. Thunderbolts 5. Pryde + Wisdom 6. The Authority 7. New Universal
Can't judge the super recent stuff (Black Summer, Doktor Sleepless), mostly because I've only read like - an issue a piece.
― Mordechai Shinefield, Monday, 30 July 2007 18:53 (sixteen years ago) link
I don't exactly disagree with Groke and I dislike a fair chunk of what Ellis has done over the years, but I tend to enjoy his mainstream Marvel stuff, so I'm optimistic. Post-Morrison X-Men seems like a comic geared to his strengths.
― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 30 July 2007 19:44 (sixteen years ago) link
Is Warren Ellis the Kevin Smith of comics?
** Divisive chubby beardster ** Content with playing to his fan gallery rather than engaging new audiences ** Antiquated, early 90s notion of teenage macho cool, usually involving leather jackets.
Or is Kevin Smith the Kevin Smith of comics?
Also: Disco dad WE vs. Disco dad GM
― Chuck_Tatum, Monday, 30 July 2007 19:53 (sixteen years ago) link
GM can be disco daddish, but he still has endless ideas (not all well worked out) pouring forth from his bald bonce. Warren Ellis hasn't had many original ideas, and those he does have he uses and reuses into they're run well into the ground.
I'm one of those wh enjoyed Transmetropolitan when it first came out, but enjoyed it less as time went on. The fact that the whole dramatic ending to the thing hinged on the fact that Spider uncovered the President as - gasp! - a paedophile, when Ellis had gone to great lengths to show his future world as amoral, all-sexual-things-are-OK, nothing will shock the population, etc... it seemed pretty piss-weak, basically.
― James Morrison, Monday, 30 July 2007 23:40 (sixteen years ago) link
Warren has a book, apparently.
― Chuck_Tatum, Thursday, 2 August 2007 14:48 (sixteen years ago) link
Ellis had the first chapter online; I think I started laughing out loud when the detective was given a fancy mobile phone by the Chief of Staff...
― carson dial, Thursday, 2 August 2007 15:08 (sixteen years ago) link
From a Comicon interview w/ Pat Broderick (found via that rumor column that takes way too much credit for OCD-level Googling / message board trolling):
"my all time best series. Doom 2099. All most 3 years later and the world was just fine. Until that British ass hole writer came on board and decided he would change everything that we’d had laid in place. So he got me removed from the series after we had a heated run in. And to my satisfaction the series was cancelled after only five more issues."
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 15:50 (fifteen years ago) link
ahh, not being v. familiar w/ DOOM 2099, i'd been wondering which particular british ass hole writer he was talking abt, ty
(elephant in room = what a horrible artist PD is/was)
― Ward Fowler, Wednesday, 24 September 2008 15:57 (fifteen years ago) link
I kind of liked him at the time, but agree with you now. A lot depended on who was inking.
― Radiant Flowering Crab (Rock Hardy), Wednesday, 24 September 2008 16:03 (fifteen years ago) link
Let me be the one to say it: TRANSMETROPOLITAN has a moment or two, but is fundamentally bollocks.
― rogermexico., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 17:05 (fifteen years ago) link
You might want to reread the thread there, rog.
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 17:07 (fifteen years ago) link
I still think that my favorite Ellis thing is his Stormwatch run, followed closely by his Excalibur run (which is why, slow start aside, I have high hopes for his AXM run).
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Wednesday, 24 September 2008 17:35 (fifteen years ago) link
WE's Excalibur run was part of that Counter-X business, right? Or was he on the book leading up to it?
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 18:08 (fifteen years ago) link
Pretty sure his Excalibur run was well before the Counter-X stuff; in fact, I think it was the Excalibur run that led Marvel to let him do Counter-X.
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Wednesday, 24 September 2008 19:43 (fifteen years ago) link
Hey my name is mud and I just discovered THE INTERNET:
In 1994, Warren Ellis assumed writing duties (issue #83) and, using his dark sense of humor, helped the book gain its own voice once again. Revisions made in his time on the book included reverting "Britannic" back to Captain Britain once more and adding Pete Wisdom, an often-obnoxious British spy, often considered Ellis’ alter ego, who could manifest solar energy, often in the form of 'hot knives' from his fingers. In a bold move, Ellis made Wisdom (an archetypical chain-smoking sarcastic obnoxious Englishman that Ellis writes into almost all his books) the romantic interest of the once young and innocent Shadowcat. At the insistence of Marvel editors, Ellis also added Wolfsbane (Rahne Sinclair), a Scottish werewolf-like young woman from the X-Men spin-off New Mutants and Colossus (Peter Rasputin), a Russian X-Man who could turn his flesh into “organic steel.”
Dan, if you're a fan of Pete Wisdom, you shd definitely check out the Wisdom MAX mini that came out a few years ago.
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 19:51 (fifteen years ago) link
I might have that...? I dunno, if it didn't come out during one of my self-imposed comic book moratorium periods, I have it.
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Wednesday, 24 September 2008 19:54 (fifteen years ago) link
It had 4 Skrulls posing as the Beatles, and Wisdom making time w/ a with-wings fairy.
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 20:35 (fifteen years ago) link
Which is to say you'd probably remember it if you did read it.
― David R., Wednesday, 24 September 2008 20:36 (fifteen years ago) link
haha okay I do not have that
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Wednesday, 24 September 2008 20:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Planetary - I think some of the single issues are the best. The big storyline dealing with the Fourth Man is interesting, but I think some of the single issues are really amazing. As amazing as John Cassaday's artwork might be, I kind of wish that Ellis could have done a few more arcs in between with maybe some guest artists to fill in more back story dealing with Elijah Snow, but hey you get what you get and what you get is pretty strong.
Desolation Jones - I think this is my favorite series that Ellis has done. The main character is so damaged. Sad thing is that half way through the second arc which has this killer tie to Philip K. Dick, the series has gone dead letter office. Supposedly it might still get finished and I hope it does, as it was really cool.
Fell - What is cool about Richard Fell as a central character is that even though the situation is totally bleak, the character is a bit more optimistic than your usual Ellis protagonist. This book is also pretty funny at times.
Global Frequency - This is a cool mini-series. Every issue is a stand alone and I think should be given to all newer comic writers, as he packs alot of plot into every issue. I'd love for there to be a bunch more of this book. It also seems like a crossover between this and Planetary would make sense and be awesome if done.
Ocean - This is a scifi action movie mini series with really nice artwork. There are a couple of really amazing scenes in this book.
Red - This the best of all of the short mini-series that Ellis did for Wildstorm in a couple of year period. The story is simple enough, it is pretty much a bad ass evil retired ex-CIA agent gets reactivated and the sXXt hits the fan.
Mek - This one has some interesting ideas, but I did not really like the artwork. Some of the themes of this book are being explored again in Doktor Sleepless.
Strange Kiss- I didn't really care for this one. It was kind of ugly, but not interesting. I haven't really followed up on any of the other Gravel series.
Doktor Sleepless - This book covers similar ideas from Transmetropolitan and other series. It is a slow dense read for a comic, but things are starting to tie together in interesting ways. It is not an 'action' book, but kind of like some of Grant Morrison's comics, it makes you think and I have found myself re-reading them.
Ministry of Space - This is a good enough series, not really long enough to have a real dense storyline. The artwork is really killer and the guy can draw some amazing looking space craft. I'd love to read a longer scifi series like this one by Warren Ellis.
Orbiter - This one is a decent read and has some interesting ideas on the concept of 'first contact'.
Down- This is another gangster movie written as a comic. It is an OK read.
Reload - This one has some really nice artwork by Paul Gulacy, but I think the story doesn't quite hold together. I'm going to re-read it again at some point, as I have the issues.
Hellblazer - I liked both of the story arcs he did on Hellblazer. The Haunted one I thought was particularly good.
The Authority - This didn't blow me away as I think it did some others. It has nice artwork some interesting points and is worth reading, I just didn't think it was the best of all of the Warren Ellis that I have read.
Ultimate Galactus Trilogy - First two parts I thought were pretty killer, especially the first part in Russia, but the ending wasn't quite as cool as the start. It is still decent.
― earlnash, Thursday, 25 September 2008 22:17 (fifteen years ago) link
Ellis on Stormwatch >>>>>>>>> Ellis on Authority (and I loved The Authority)
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Thursday, 25 September 2008 22:22 (fifteen years ago) link
seeing as wellis wz my first step back ino reading comics as an impressionable teen (as opposed to an impressionable nine year old) & also the WARREN ELLIS FORUM was one of the first places i spent time BEING ON THE INTERNET (lol 90s) i was quite confused with reading all the work for hire stuff he dismissed so fervently--like stormwatch, which is pretty great in spots--and not wanting to admit to myself it was, largely, better than his 'own' work
ultimate fantastic four = pretty good + a shame they got rid of him on it, i think
― thomp, Sunday, 28 September 2008 06:25 (fifteen years ago) link
From the latest Bad Signal mailout (no, I don't know why I still subscribe to it either):
Also spent three hours writing a single page of FELL scripton Saturday night, which indicates that issue may havegotten more complicated than it needed to be, ha ha. Heard from John Cassaday over the weekend -- sounds likehe's about halfway through issue 27 of PLANETARY.
JESUS.
― Telephone thing, Monday, 29 September 2008 16:25 (fifteen years ago) link
LOVE TAKES TIME
― David R., Monday, 29 September 2008 16:28 (fifteen years ago) link
-----------I enjoyed Planetary, even if it ended badly.
I love this line!
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 14:27 (fifteen years ago) link
His "own" work mostly sucks, from what I've read (a few Avatar things and a couple of Transmet trades, easily enough to put me off any more forevs). Stormwatch, Planetary, Nextwave, all great. He's about the same as Millar, really, far as I can see. So desp to be Grant or Alan he forgets how good he is at writing great "standard" stuff. Prob a horrible thing to say, but that's the impression I've gotten off both their creatory crap. I plan on buying some more Stormwatch tomorrow, actually.
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 14:31 (fifteen years ago) link
Has anyone else here read Atmospherics? The "twist", the horrible bragging introduction, I didn't buy another comic of his for more than a year after. Thankfully I only paid about $2 for it.
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 30 September 2008 14:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Millar's creator work basically has convinced me he is a wholly repellent human being.
― i am the small cat (HI DERE), Tuesday, 30 September 2008 14:53 (fifteen years ago) link
Am I not alone? Reread but still missed it. A comfort nonetheless.
― rogermexico., Tuesday, 30 September 2008 22:47 (fifteen years ago) link
ooh?
and issue 27 of Planetary. mmm.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Sunday, 5 October 2008 19:39 (fifteen years ago) link
Well it still isn't out, is it? Last I heard was upthread, also that it's 96 pages or so. As it stands it certainly has a shitty ending, tho.
― Niles Caulder, Monday, 6 October 2008 03:00 (fifteen years ago) link
Aetheric Mechanics - I liked this one quite a bit. I thought it was a fun twist on Sherlock Holmes and some other ideas and I thought the conlcusion worked well. This worked better than some of his other short stories, as it was pretty much 'annual' length at 48 pages.
Anna Mercury - This wasn't bad, it was kind of an modern pulp action movie. The story is pretty much an origin arc setup, but it is pretty good. There are some cool art-deco look to the New Ataraxia world that Anna is trying to save.
Doktor Sleepless has really come together for me. Ellis is taking a different angle in the second arc and I'm really finding it interesting.
― earlnash, Sunday, 25 January 2009 02:46 (fifteen years ago) link
You know, on Planetary ending badly - what was so suckass was the way they built up the Four as these incredibly scary bad guys, but then when he met the two remaining ones he was able to defeat them by pulling a fast one on them. Hrrrm.
― The Real Dirty Vicar, Sunday, 25 January 2009 14:55 (fifteen years ago) link
Works for me, a fast one >> big fighty any time.
― Andrew Farrell, Monday, 26 January 2009 10:28 (fifteen years ago) link
Hah, but maybe the Planetary post-end issue will add something... but I doubt it.
― mh, Tuesday, 17 February 2009 01:36 (fifteen years ago) link
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/05/25/castlevania-trailer-netflix/
― Chocolate-covered gummy bears? Not ruling those lil' guys out. (ulysses), Monday, 29 May 2017 02:50 (six years ago) link
^ classic.
― Wes Brodicus, Sunday, 29 October 2017 10:39 (six years ago) link