PREVIEW: The Omega Men #1

[jules]

I find myself highly amused by the use of the nine panel grid, since at first glance what this issue reminds me of most is the first year or so of the post-Five Year Gap Legion of Super-Heroes.

Both series drop you into the middle of a situation, with the promise of a rich backstory of previous events that can be explored at leisure. Both promise potentially large casts, but focus on just a few characters to start with, as a way into that world. And both tell a story full of understatement, with the promise of greater depths and riches to be discovered if you scratch the surface.

It makes you work a little harder at reading it than most titles do, but I've always liked to have a few stories that make me think. I suspect this one will reward later re-reads once we have more knowledge of its world.

The big reveal at the end made me happy. It also set up a situation which I think could be an interesting way of exploring the character dynamics over the next few issues.

[Rakzo]

This was one hell of a presentation work, King is a great storyteller and the art was a nice fit.

Still, in terms of content, this was quite lacking and I'm afraid it didn't offer enough to make new readers invested.

[troynos]

This is the only one of the post Convergence books I'm interested in. Grayson was the only pre-Convergence book I was reading.

[Ales]

The 'Omega Men' (free) 8 page preview. There were a bunch of them last month to showcase the new books. You can still check em out with a Google search of comixology app.

Looking forward to trying this out today.

Found it. Thanks!

[vartox]

Wow, that was really good. Gonna have to re-read that later.

I really hope this lasts past twelve issues.

[Stone Cold]

This is the only one of the post Convergence books I'm interested in. Grayson was the only pre-Convergence book I was reading.

If Grayson was the only book you were reading then you might wanna try Midnighter it's similar in tone yet true to the character if midnighter.

[joybeans]

But not heavy handed, which is commendable. There was a lot of restraint here.

The issue was good. Very, very good. Haunting, in it's use of repetition in new contexts giving different meaning to words, first dissonant, then ironic, and finally genuine, rising and falling with the actual emotion of the issue. No doubt action vs rhetoric will be a continuing theme of the book.

Structurally there is a lot to parse; it's all on a 9 panel grid system, which seems to be coming back in vogue after years of lying fallow, and is symmetrical; almost an issue reflected back on itself.

The character and plot stuff was all well done and, again, very restrained; a strong sense of Primus, Viceroy and Tigorr, a general sense of Broot, Doc and Scrapps, and a nice big reveal at the end that should leave some fans happy while keeping us all in the dark, if you'll excuse the pun.

We might have gotten a little more science fiction content, as much of the world(s) is still just hinted at, but we got something very, very powerful.

Yeah, there's very little straight exposition. Instead, there's a lot of information to be inferred from the characters' speech patterns and the art. You get the sense that Primus, while the de facto leader, is also a coward and an inept field commander. Tigorr is aggressive and ruthless, but also highly competent and pragmatic. Scrapps seems to be fairly level-headed, and something of a mediator between Primus and Tigorr. Broot is a killer, but not out of maliciousness, as he's polite and gentle.

And it seems that they're using Rayner as a weapon. Also, does anyone else suspect that Kyle managed to get a hidden message off to Carol in the Sneak Peek? He says, "Leave the light on for me", which seems like an extraneous line of dialogue, while also looking determined.

Which all means that this is going to get trashed in reviews from IGN, Newsarama, and CBR for being too subtle, and not having enough handholding narration

[joybeans]

Great interview with King here: http://www.craveonline.com/comics/in...king-omega-men

Tom King: The legacy of Kyle Rayner is not over.

That moment, that death wasn’t a one-off thing to get us some cheap thrills; instead, it will stand as the central launching point of the book. The Citadel has a contact with the Green Lanterns: maintain peace in your system, and the Lanterns will stay out. When the Omega Men publicly killed Kyle they broke this contract, and suddenly this great empire, which has done some horrible things, is in danger of having the cops come in and see the bodies buried in the basement. The Citadel will do anything and everything to catch the men who killed Kyle, because if they don’t their empire could crumble. The only people in the series more desperate than the Citadel are the Omega Men themselves.

Staging the murder of Rayner just to lure in the prying eyes of the Lantern Corps? What a way to fuck with the Citadel.

[AlexanderLuthor]

I find myself highly amused by the use of the nine panel grid, since at first glance what this issue reminds me of most is the first year or so of the post-Five Year Gap Legion of Super-Heroes.

Both series drop you into the middle of a situation, with the promise of a rich backstory of previous events that can be explored at leisure. Both promise potentially large casts, but focus on just a few characters to start with, as a way into that world. And both tell a story full of understatement, with the promise of greater depths and riches to be discovered if you scratch the surface.

It makes you work a little harder at reading it than most titles do, but I've always liked to have a few stories that make me think. I suspect this one will reward later re-reads once we have more knowledge of its world.

The big reveal at the end made me happy. It also set up a situation which I think could be an interesting way of exploring the character dynamics over the next few issues.

Absolutely loved every bit of this. King is skyrocketing up my favorite writer's list. And love the 9 panel grid -whether 5YL or old Jim Shooter Valiant

[OWL45]

Absolutely loved every bit of this. King is skyrocketing up my favorite writer's list. And love the 9 panel grid -whether 5YL or old Jim Shooter Valiant

I agree I loved the book too. This is far from run of the mill. I actually had to read it twice. It seemed like it didn't have a lot but yet their was so much. It's hard to explain. I guess kind of like the Grayson Futures End Issue with subtle touches and depth. I really want to see how reviewers do with this book. It's not something you should just flip thru to be honest and that's what a lot of them do.

[InformationGeek]

Read it and it's perfectly fine. It's alright comic, but I don't find myself particularly invested in it. The characters are just not memorable or remarkable and the story was alright, but it went by in a flash and didn't really strike me in anyway.

I get the comic is trying to make me work a bit more and I do see the benefits of rereading this (already done so), but dang... I just don't see how I'm suppose to care about anyone in the comic or care about their situation. If I do not care about these people or their plight, then it's harder for me to want to do the extra work. I'll stick with it and acknowledge it as an unique experience, but dang, it's like the opposite of Hickman's writing (which you would think would be good).

I agree I loved the book too. This is far from run of the mill. I actually had to read it twice. It seemed like it didn't have a lot but yet their was so much. It's hard to explain. I guess kind of like the Grayson Futures End Issue with subtle touches and depth. I really want to see how reviewers do with this book. It's not something you should just flip thru to be honest and that's what a lot of them do.

Reviewer right here. Honestly, I thought Grayson: Futures End was much better by the way. It does benefit from a second rereading I'll certainly say (up a whole point for my score), but I feel I still didn't get enough to latch onto here. That's kind of why I'm not so hot on it.

[AlexanderLuthor]

Read it and it's perfectly fine. It's alright comic, but I don't find myself particularly invested in it. The characters are just not memorable or remarkable and the story was alright, but it went by in a flash and didn't really strike me in anyway.

I get the comic is trying to make me work a bit more and I do see the benefits of rereading this (already done so), but dang... I just don't see how I'm suppose to care about anyone in the comic or care about their situation. If I do not care about these people or their plight, then it's harder for me to want to do the extra work. I'll stick with it and acknowledge it as an unique experience, but dang, it's like the opposite of Hickman's writing (which you would think would be good).



Reviewer right here. Honestly, I thought Grayson: Futures End was much better by the way. It does benefit from a second rereading I'll certainly say (up a whole point for my score), but I feel I still didn't get enough to latch onto here. That's kind of why I'm not so hot on it.

Understood, and to each his/her own, but I do think it is an almost impossible task to get you completely invested in obscure characters in 22 pages. If you feel that way after the first arc then I get where you are coming from

[InformationGeek]

Understood, and to each his/her own, but I do think it is an almost impossible task to get you completely invested in obscure characters in 22 pages. If you feel that way after the first arc then I get where you are coming from

Very much true. However, having read and reviewed a lot of comics and manga now, I believe you can care or at least show some interest in some characters by the end of the first issue/chapter. Maybe not everyone obviously, but at least one or two. Here? I honestly I didn't. Not a single person and it had nothing to do with them being obscure or me not knowing much about them. I just got nothing from them.

Again however, I'll stick with the comic and see where it goes. Sometimes comics can turn around for me (did not remotely like They're Not Like Us, but it turned around for me by the fourth issue) and I do see why people like this, which is why I'll follow it.

[OWL45]

Very much true. However, having read and reviewed a lot of comics and manga now, I believe you can care or at least show some interest in some characters by the end of the first issue/chapter. Maybe not everyone obviously, but at least one or two. Here? I honestly I didn't. Not a single person and it had nothing to do with them being obscure or me not knowing much about them. I just got nothing from them.


Again however, I'll stick with the comic and see where it goes. Sometimes comics can turn around for me (did not remotely like They're Not Like Us, but it turned around for me by the fourth issue) and I do see why people like this, which is why I'll follow it.

I honestly appreciate hearing others opininions. What I really respect is how you stated your opinion without trying to trash the book.

[FanboyStranger]

I think what I enjoyed most about this comic was that it felt like a 2000AD series rather than your conventional superhero title. It didn't waste time explaining everything, but threw you directly into the action. That's a bit of a double-edged sword, though-- you have to have faith that your craft alone is going to bring readers back for the second installment, and OM doesn't have the benefit of being in an anthology where there's multiple features in various stages of development. Still, the art, the tone, the pace reminded me of strips like Nemesis the Warlock and Shakara, and that's a good thing for readers looking for something different than the usual superhero faire. It's a promising start for me.