War of the Worlds: Second Wave

In the comments for yesterday's Fused! Tales review, publisher Ross Richie draws my attention to a new series coming out with art by Chee, the fellow who so impressed me in the Steve Niles section of the book. The new project is called War of the Worlds: Second Wave. Here's what writer Michael Alan Nelson said at CBR:

I mean, what if, when the aliens died, humanity didn't unite in victory over their common enemy? What if we all tried to take advantage of the chaos and tear each other apart? What if the red weed survived and started growing out of control? But most importantly, what if the aliens tried again? I kept asking these questions until Ross finally suggested I answer some of them in the form of a proposal. I did and he liked what he read. So here we are.

See, that sounds like a fine comic to me. Then there's this--



--and we're off and running.

Oh, plus, out of curiosity, I took a look at my old Zombie Tales review to see what I'd thought of Nelson's writing. It turns out I thought this:

"Severance" by Mike Nelson and Joe Abraham is a fun piece that really shows off what you can do with story density. We’re brought into the story halfway through an action scene, as things have gone wrong in the lab where a desperate scientist is researching a cure to the zombie disease so he can bring back his son. The tale jumps from plot point to plot point at a sprint, but because these are all familiar characters and scenarios it’s easy to follow – really, this kind of thing would blow me away if it took a longer format but maintained the density. It’s the sort of thing I hear Grant Morrison getting credit for all the time but this is much clearer, more direct storytelling. Again, there’s an undercurrent of smirking, cruel humor to the tale that doesn’t quite bubble to the surface but keeps things brisk and fun.

Which is a pretty good sign, wouldn't you say?


Gotta give another shoutout to MillarWorld elite Franck Mars for writing me a pimpin' review for Paul Chadwick's Concrete. He suggested I look into the title a couple weeks ago when I asked for indie recommendations, and I think what he wrote today really sealed the deal.


New comics day, for me. Elk's Run #4 is out this week, so I'm pretty goddamn excited!