Nextwave continues to stand out as the best title Marvel Comics produces every month, and the reason: it's the least "Marvel" title Marvel Comics produces every month. Don't get me wrong... I enjoy several other Marvel titles, but this is the sort of thing the publisher would have produced during one of its more recent experimental and creative peak, not the by-the-numbers philosophy that seems to dominate today. It seems as though Warren Ellis has been given carte blanche to mock Marvel has much he wants to in one of its own books, and I applaud him -- and the publisher -- for opting to do so.
Dirk Anger is the director of Highest Anti-Terrorism Effort, or H.A.T.E. It makes him one of the most powerful men in the world, grants him access to the most horrific and devastating technology and puts him well above any kind of recognized international law. And it makes his stomach all gurgle-y and vomit-y, especially when he's forced to deal with Nextwave, a group of metahumans once in H.A.T.E.'s employ that went rogue upon learning of the corruption Anger has allowed to fester. But Dirk Anger is having a good day because he's finally got the drop on Photon's band of foul-mouthed super-heroes.
And because he's got a cargohold full of man-eating koalas.
The visuals highlights of this issue come in the form of the various designs Stuart Immonen has devised to bring Ellis's mad weapons to life. The piranha-esque cutesy bears are a vision of horror that tickles one's brain, while the pterodactyl-like soldiers put me in mind of Moebius's imaginative sci-fi/fantasy designs. One can't underestimate Dave McCaig's contribution to the art. This book is all about impossible super-powers and weapons that shoot dazzling lights, and McCaig brings that manic magic to life with stunning, vibrant, glowing colors.
Though there have been passing references and wink-wink-nudge-nudge acknowledgements of establishment Marvel continuity in previous issues, this is the first one in which Ellis really tackles it directly. He mocks the Celestials, Captain America and Cable (my favorite phallic shortcoming reference in the issue) in brief and clearly tongue-in-cheek nods to the Marvel Universe. I think what I enjoyed the most about the Cable reference was how on point it was. While Cap and the Celestials behave completely out of character in their flashbacks, Ellis simply acknowledges the symbolism in Cable's original design and concept as an weathered old soldier with implausibly large firearms.
It must be an absolute delight for Ellis to transform Nick Fury from the ultimate vision of manliness and all things cool and dangerous into an insecure fetishist with a deathwish and delusions of grandeur. The fact that his headquarters is actually a phallic stand-in four times over is hilarious in and of itself, but it's just so much damn fun seeing how ineffectual he is. Nevertheless, the foregone conclusion of victory for the heroes doesn't distract from the action and requisite sense of peril for the protagonists. 9/10
