The Confessor
11-17-2008, 10:40 AM
While we're waiting for the fifth and concluding part of this mini-series to come out, I thought I'd ask what people's thoughts on it were?
For those who maybe aren't reading it, True Believers follows a team of Superheroes who are self-proclaimed "Warriors Of The Information Age". They operate a covert website that "outs" prominent figures in connection with crimes or misdemeanours that they've committed. Their whole modus operandi seems to involve digging into the background goings-on of the Marvel Universe and revealing the truth about what they find.
The team consists of four heroes...
Payback (Mavis Trent) - A data analyst at S.H.I.E.L.D. who uses her position to keep the True Believers safe from the powers that be. Payback has been bonded with an alien symbioite called a "Variant" that unlike the Symbiotes from the Spider-Man books is sustained when its host is in a state of bliss. The Symbiote allows Payback to transform into a silver skinned energy form and she seems to have Microwave energy based powers.
Headtrip (Tayln Roark) - A relationship expert with heightened empathic abilities. She is the former Girlfriend of Payback's father and was the first recruit to the True believers.
Red Zone (Theo Bomba) - A fringe Conspiracist with heightened mental abilities due to an accidental fusing of a strange alien alloy to his skull. It's also been hinted that he may have the power to weaponise Wi-Fi frequencies.
Battalus (Ozzie Tanaka) - A former S.H.I.E.L.D. Research & Development Scientist. He uses Advanced Battle Armour that he developed for use in Urban Combat before he was fired from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Overall, I quite like this book and this team. The concept of a superhero team of eTerrorists and subversives is probably long overdue considering how much the Internet has revolutionised the way we receive our news over the past decade or so.
The character's are all pretty strong although, due to the fact that this is only a mini-series, I do think that we've not really learnt enough about any of the characters with the exception of Payback, who is without doubt the central character of the series.
My favourite issue so far was issue #2, when the team dealt with a conspiracy to frame Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, for driving under the influence of alcohol. There was some good interaction with the wider Marvel Universe in this issue and, of all the issues that have so far been published, this felt the most satisfying.
On the downside, I do feel as if writer Cary Bates hasn't quite nailed it and delivered the awesome, knock-out punch that this series could've been. The writing and in particular the characterisation is really strong but personally, I feel a certain level of detachment from the characters...almost as if I should care about them more by now, but somehow don't.
Another slight problem for me is that Paul Gulacy's artwork sometimes looks rushed and a touch amateurish. A lot of the time it's fine but it's never consistently good for a whole issue. Having said that though, I do really like Rain Beredo's colouring in this series...especially the way he renders Payback's silvery Symbiote costume.
I really do think that this group of characters has a lot of unrealised potential and I hope that we get another mini-series about them in the not too distant future. I would hate to see such a good idea for a Superhero Team just forgotten about by Marvel.
So, anybody else reading this series? Thoughts?
For those who maybe aren't reading it, True Believers follows a team of Superheroes who are self-proclaimed "Warriors Of The Information Age". They operate a covert website that "outs" prominent figures in connection with crimes or misdemeanours that they've committed. Their whole modus operandi seems to involve digging into the background goings-on of the Marvel Universe and revealing the truth about what they find.
The team consists of four heroes...
Payback (Mavis Trent) - A data analyst at S.H.I.E.L.D. who uses her position to keep the True Believers safe from the powers that be. Payback has been bonded with an alien symbioite called a "Variant" that unlike the Symbiotes from the Spider-Man books is sustained when its host is in a state of bliss. The Symbiote allows Payback to transform into a silver skinned energy form and she seems to have Microwave energy based powers.
Headtrip (Tayln Roark) - A relationship expert with heightened empathic abilities. She is the former Girlfriend of Payback's father and was the first recruit to the True believers.
Red Zone (Theo Bomba) - A fringe Conspiracist with heightened mental abilities due to an accidental fusing of a strange alien alloy to his skull. It's also been hinted that he may have the power to weaponise Wi-Fi frequencies.
Battalus (Ozzie Tanaka) - A former S.H.I.E.L.D. Research & Development Scientist. He uses Advanced Battle Armour that he developed for use in Urban Combat before he was fired from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Overall, I quite like this book and this team. The concept of a superhero team of eTerrorists and subversives is probably long overdue considering how much the Internet has revolutionised the way we receive our news over the past decade or so.
The character's are all pretty strong although, due to the fact that this is only a mini-series, I do think that we've not really learnt enough about any of the characters with the exception of Payback, who is without doubt the central character of the series.
My favourite issue so far was issue #2, when the team dealt with a conspiracy to frame Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four, for driving under the influence of alcohol. There was some good interaction with the wider Marvel Universe in this issue and, of all the issues that have so far been published, this felt the most satisfying.
On the downside, I do feel as if writer Cary Bates hasn't quite nailed it and delivered the awesome, knock-out punch that this series could've been. The writing and in particular the characterisation is really strong but personally, I feel a certain level of detachment from the characters...almost as if I should care about them more by now, but somehow don't.
Another slight problem for me is that Paul Gulacy's artwork sometimes looks rushed and a touch amateurish. A lot of the time it's fine but it's never consistently good for a whole issue. Having said that though, I do really like Rain Beredo's colouring in this series...especially the way he renders Payback's silvery Symbiote costume.
I really do think that this group of characters has a lot of unrealised potential and I hope that we get another mini-series about them in the not too distant future. I would hate to see such a good idea for a Superhero Team just forgotten about by Marvel.
So, anybody else reading this series? Thoughts?