Vol 1
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by J.H. Williams III, Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook and Mick Gray and Frazer Irving
2006
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Vol 2
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Simone Bianchi, Cameron Stewart, Ryan Sook and Mick Gray and Frazer Irving
2006
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Vol 3
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Pasqual Ferry, Ryan Sook, Frazer Irving, Yanick Paquette, Doug Mahnke, Billy Dallas Patton, Mick Gray, and Michael Bair
2006
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Vol 4
Written by Grant Morrison
Art by Doug Mahnke, Freddie Williams III, Yanick Paquette and Michael Bair and J.H. Williams III
2007
Available now from Islington Libraries
You can reserve this item for free here:
http://www.library.islington.gov.uk/TalisPrism/
Seven Soldiers of Victory is pure Grant Morrison. It's not a diversion like We3 or Vimanarama or even (arguably) All Star Superman - where his wildest excesses are tempted and quieted down. Nope. It's The Invisibles, Doom Patrol and Final Crisis - where everything is off the leash and his id, ego and superego are given the chance to do whatever the hell they like.
Comprised of two "bookend" issues - Seven Soldiers #0 (which is the start) and Seven Soldiers #1 (which - ho ho ho - is the end) with a middle section of seven mini-series of (4 parts each) which interrelate in the loosest possible ways - this is a series that makes a virtue of the flexible nature of it's form - enabling it to be read (if you so feel the urge) in a multiple orders (and everyone loves a good gimmick right?).
Since taking over the reins of the Islington Comic Forum I've become way more patience with the books I read and way more willing to give them a chance (which obviously has a lot to do with my near-obsessive need to categorize and list them all on this here blog).
Back in the day when it wasn't so important to read things in order to have read them and I gave a higher priority to reading things because - hey, they looked like they might be actually fun to read - I picked up the first volume of Seven Soldiers of Victory. The reason I picked it up was because it had Grant Morrison's name across the bottom in big letters - and I mostly I liked Grant Morrison (The Filth - very much yes. The Invisibles/Arkham Asylum - hmmm. kinda) even if there was a lot of stuff that seemed all way too weird and crazy for it's own good (Doom Patrol in particular - which I made the mistake of trying to read from it's midpoint). I didn't know anything about Seven Soldiers - but what the hell right? So I gave it a shot.
My one abiding impression of that first read was that the whole thing seemed kinda - silly. Two words in fact: silly and messy. As someone that loved the stream-lined laser-like focus of The Filth and hated the over-blown cluster-muck of the last volume of The Invisibles (I like stories goddamn it - and even after reading it for the third time all the way through - it still doesn't really feel like I have any idea of what exactly happened - but maybe that's the point - etc). I didn't really want to take the chance of getting involved with something that would not only ultimately prove disappointing but also: wouldn't make much sense (back then it seemed to me that Grant Morrison really liked doing zany things just for the sake of it - nowadays I'd say that I only think that's half true) and - yeah with the strange blue people and the tube pirates and something to do with giant alien spiders? - two thirds of the way in through the first book I figured that I would give the whole thing a miss. Plus: the fact that it was based around a bunch of goofy looking minor-league DC superheroes was another black mark against it. I mean: I only really liked a few Batman stories and that was about it - and had never really been taken in by the whole superhero universe thing which all seemed too day-glo and mindlessly complicated (because that's what happens when you keep telling the same stories with the same characters for years and years on end). And also: the bits that I did read kinda gave me a bit of a migraine anyhow: it all just seemed somehow rushed and kinda - cheap. So: with it seeming like it wasn't going to be worth the strain - and I figuring I was always going to be more an Alan Moore type of guy anyway I asked myself: was this really something that was going to be worth taking the time to get into and read all the way to the end?
I decided no.
Since that point I've read a lot more books become (ever so slightly) more open-minded and - most importantly - in the course of doing things for this blog - become submerged in the beguiling online world of comics analysis/criticism/whatever you wanna call it. And if there's one thing I learned quick from reading all the wise words, thoughts and full-formed, half-formed and un-formed opinions out there - it's this: the good folks of the internet/people who love comics lots - love Grant Morrison. And: seeing how the world wide web (especially compared to now at least) wasn't really an on-going viable concern when The Invisibles was coming out - people made up for it big-time when Seven Soldiers came out. Or to put it another way: there is a whole universe of insights and theories kicking around out there (see below) - one which I kept bumping my head against. But it was strange to know that what I took as a frivolous Grant Morrison superhero tale had managed to generate so much heat. And then: at the last meeting of the Islington Comic Forum - it came up in passing in conversation (if there's one author who people love...) and the way it was mentioned seemed positive - and damnit - what the hell right? - and if I'm doing this blog and getting everything down there - then I may as well give it another shot.
And so.
At first it seemed like my feelings from last time had been correct. The first issue (Seven Soldiers #0) has art by (one of my favourites) J.H. Williams III - but everything is all so chaotic and feels so rushed that it didn't really feel like I could settle in and actually enjoy reading it. There were too many question marks and "What's going on?" and "Who are these people?" for it be pleasurable. It was more like a dream of a comic than an actual comic itself - with hints and references to things taking place elsewhere... And then - again it felt the same - with the silly blue people (and the oh-so obvious twist), the silly magic girl and the silly Guardian guy with his B-list adventures... And I was tempted to give up again - but I thought that I would try my best and stick through it. And then. Well.
I'm not sure what the exact moment was when everything just seemed to click - but I think it was about midway through of the second book - when I started to realise the shape of the whole thing and felt the patterns and the jigsaw starting to fall into place that my heart started to enjoy itself and I just let the whole thing overwhelm me - the cliffhangers started to hurt ("oh no!") I started to really like the characters and the dialogue just popped in such a lovely way with such a deft kinda touch ("Whoever heard of a mad horse?") that it made me swoon all over.
And then: when the climax finally swings into place with Seven Soldiers #1 - yeah. It's chaotic and noisy and a million things all happened at once - and I know I didn't get all the fidgety little crossword answers: but it still managed to feel satisfying (yeah - I know: I'm as shocked as you are).
Given the chance to speak to my past self who wanted to know if it was going to be worth the effort to get into it I'd say this: Yes. Ok. This is a silly book. And yeah: it's a bunch of B-list/C-list superheroes. But - damn it - read it all through anyway and don't give up because - it won't disintegrate into multi-coloured noise like The Invisibles: rather everything will pay off (somehow or another) and it's all rather - against all odds - rewarding on some deep down level that I haven't quite made sense of yet. And I'm very sure that it's going to be real good fun to re-read. And - it's very nice to know what all those people on the internet have been gabbering about.
So - yeah - try it.
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Links: Jog The Blog Reviews, I am NOT The Beastmaster Reviews, Comic Book Resources Reviews: The M0vie Blog Review, Multiversity Comics Review, Andrew Hickey Articles, Comics Should Be Good: Unnecessary Guide To Seven Soldiers, 4th Letter Article: I Call My Brother “Son” ’cause He Shine Like One, Sean T Collins Review.
Further reading: Seaguy, Promethea, The Invisibles, Final Crisis, Doom Patrol, The Filth, Flex Mentallo.
Profiles: Grant Morrison, J. H. Williams III.
All comments welcome.
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