Why did you like the 7 Soldiers of Victory?

[Count Vertigo]

I just finished rereading them and I swore I enjoyed them the first time I read the set but now... I find it to be annoying, cluttered and utterly nonsensical. The only thing I liked was seeing I, Spyder. Now that's a badass psychobilly.

So my question to those who like Grant Morrison's project (which I feel was overrated)... Why did you like it?

[Shellhead]

I just finished rereading them and I swore I enjoyed them the first time I read the set but now... I find it to be annoying, cluttered and utterly nonsensical. The only thing I liked was seeing I, Spyder. Now that's a badass psychobilly.

So my question to those who like Grant Morrison's project (which I feel was overrated)... Why did you like it?

The whole project was bursting at the seams with interesting ideas and themes. Also, I liked the many ways that the different stories fit together. The only parts that I didn't enjoy were the Mister Miracle issues (depressing, confusing and not very connected to the rest of the series) and the conclusion (confusing).

[Cayman]

Massive creativity and beautiful art.

[Fatguy]

The whole project was bursting at the seams with interesting ideas and themes. Also, I liked the many ways that the different stories fit together. The only parts that I didn't enjoy were the Mister Miracle issues (depressing, confusing and not very connected to the rest of the series) and the conclusion (confusing).

I agree, I loved it all except the Mr. Miracle stuff. I found it to be extremely confusing. It was still ok though, if thats the low point in the series, I can live with it.

[shaxper]

Though I was floored by Seven Soldiers the first time around, it doesn't have much re-readability for me. The first time around, I was mostly attracted to the interconnectivity of everything. There were so many minor details that appeared to hold tremendous significance. For at least the first half of Seven Soldiers, Morisson rewarded me for watching these careful details, re-reading key passages, and asking myself a lot of questions. By the end, a lot of this fell apart, though. The climax of the series felt semi arbitrary and thrown together. A lot of these earlier motifs went ignored and/or unexplained.

Additionally, I found the initial cast of characters more attractive than the final three. Frankenstein and the Bulleteer had some appeal, but Grant didn't make me love them the way he made me care for Sir Justin, Zatanna, and Klarion. While I didn't love the Guardian, his story held many of the clues and back history that kept me fascinated. Of the second group, I disliked Mister Miracle the most. I found the character unlikable, his situation utterly incomprehensible, and the general plotline almost tangental to the rest of the series. And Darkseid as a ghetto mob boss -- what the hell?

[stealthwise]

Main reason?

It was goddamn FUN.

[Jack Zodiac]

It was the complete opposite of every other superhero book coming out at the time.

[Ryan Day]

Even though some of the interconnectedness started to fray towards the end, the book is still full of great moments. Guardian #4, when Jake finally accepts his role as a hero; A mobster riding a flying horse while firing machine guns; Zatanna's battle with Zor; the superhero convention in Bulleteer; just about everything that happened in Frankenstein #3.

And the art - Seven Soldiers has some of the best art I've seen in a superhero comic in ages. If it did nothing other than introduce me to Frazer Irving and Simone Bianchi, it would be pretty cool, but it also took Cameron Stewart and Doug Mahnke to a new level, and showed off again why JH Williams is the best artist in comics.

[Pól Rua]

And Darkseid as a ghetto mob boss -- what the hell?

Um. He's a god.
They usually manifest in a variety of forms. Darkseid's true form is as much a ghetto crime boss as it is a stone caveman in a kilt.

[CYOTI]

The book had sheer epic scale. You went from prehistoric camelot (one of morrison's most brillant ideas ever) to after the end when humanity is pretty much like the morlocks. And you went below to the deepest underground of New York City where witchmen lived right up to Mars itself and you had the heroes going inside a black hole to what was the collective unconscious. It was just Morrison on drugs and the rest of us along with him on the ride.

[jade_nova]

The book had sheer epic scale. You went from prehistoric camelot (one of morrison's most brillant ideas ever) to after the end when humanity is pretty much like the morlocks. And you went below to the deepest underground of New York City where witchmen lived right up to Mars itself and you had the heroes going inside a black hole to what was the collective unconscious. It was just Morrison on drugs and the rest of us along with him on the ride.

Well said.

[Pól Rua]

The sheer density of ideas, enough to build an entire line of comics on, makes this constantly re-readable. Plus, so many insanely cool moments, and such a variety of tones, genres and characters.
My only regret is that Pacqual Ferry didn't get to complete the Mister Miracle issues. The only blight on an almost perfect project.

[shaxper]

Um. He's a god.
They usually manifest in a variety of forms. Darkseid's true form is as much a ghetto crime boss as it is a stone caveman in a kilt.

I was going for less of a "how is this logical/possible?" and more of a "how did Grant think this was a good idea?" ;)

[Laughing Mask]

it was grant morrisons greatist project yet.

i loved all the new characters he added to the DCU.

and he did a good job at reinventing those characters.

and he did a good job connecting the storys.

[Jack Zodiac]

I was going for less of a "how is this logical/possible?" and more of a "how did Grant think this was a good idea?" ;)

Because it beat the !@#$ out of every other lame, overdone take on the character either wanting to control or destroy all of life as a cosmic devil. And it fit into the imaginary retake on all of the New Gods mythos for his Mr. Miracle mini-series perfectly.

I have to echo what my munkee Pól said, too. Grant Morrison wasn't just writing a mini-series with Seven Soldiers, he was writing a superhero microcosm in a stagnant comic book universe.

[Pól Rua]

Because it beat the !@#$ out of every other lame, overdone take on the character either wanting to control or destroy all of life as a cosmic devil. And it fit into the imaginary retake on all of the New Gods mythos for his Mr. Miracle mini-series perfectly.

Also because Darkseid is the Demiurge. He's the evil opposite of god.
And as an evil opposite of god, a creature who can invade every aspect of your life, break down every good feeling and memory you have and destroy you subtly from the inside out seems much more appropriate than another cackling alien dictator trying to take over the universe.
And he wasn't a gang boss. He was a god.
He just happened to be playing a gang boss in a comic series.

[Paul McEnery]

Because the Gods appear to Shilo based on the thought-forms he presents them with. And apparently he's watched way too many rap videos. :D

Except, that is, Metron.

Hmm.

[CYOTI]

Because the Gods appear to Shilo based on the thought-forms he presents them with.
More like they derive their forms from his childhood and his dreams instead.

[ultramandingo]

.....plus it shows what morrison can do with a bunch of b , c and d listers. who needs the jl of a listers

[Pól Rua]

Because the Gods appear to Shilo based on the thought-forms he presents them with. And apparently he's watched way too many rap videos. :D

Except, that is, Metron.

Hmm.

Metron is Legba.