Reviewed by Chris Ellis / Writer for Independent Propaganda
This is the first O Men book of the series and an odd conundrum of a book.
One look at the cover will tell you this is an independent book of the highest calibre but one read of it will give you the impression creator Martin Eden has written for someone like Marvel or DC for years.
The story tells of a re-union of superheroes that met at ‘the institute’, a government funded training facility for superheroes founded by Doctor O.
It turns out they were brought together, not for a reunion, but because a mass murdering super villian has freed a group of other super villians in order to, well take over the world I guess, since the what’s and why’s are not explained.
So from here on, Doctor O wants these recently reunited heroes, to go in and hurt them lots. Yep, this one gets zero points for originality. Persevere though, as however close this may be to a certain group of heroic mutants, the writing and sometimes even the artwork can be both deep and involving.
From the one look at the cover, many would have low expectations of the the art, which is a shame given the asking price and how much is a lot better inside. The hand-lettering inside is but unreadable. The writing itself wouldn’t seem out of place in the millions of other superhero books out there and the total lack of any original ideas doesn’t work in it’s favor. Certainly there is a lot of social commentary and modern settings which is nice, but certainly nothing new.
Overall this is an entertaining read, but brings nothing new to the table and given a lot older comics like it can be bought for the equivalent of a few shirt buttons and a piece of string. The concept of THE O MEN doesn’t work in it’s creators favor. This is a shame as he is a good writer and artist, and having met him a nice chap too. Though, given the big response and even bigger following the book has in the independent community, anything said here won’t hurt it’s reputation much.
You can check out more on the book at the official THE O MEN web site.
Overall 6/10
About The Reviewer: Based in the UK, Chris is one of the few comic book artist/rockstars in the comics community. When not trying to shill his own craptacular comics and whining about life’s miseries into a mic with his band, he eats babies and worships Satan. Probably. He lives with his guitar Thrash and their 2, presumably weird- looking children. You can check out his comics web site, Fiction Graphic Productions, or his band’s web site, Value of Sin.
Technorati Tags: O Men, Martin Eden, Chris Ellis
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