Graphic Recommendations - Wanted
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Writer: Mark Millar
Artist: JG Jones
Publisher: Top Cow Productions
Hello, and welcome to the first installment of Graphic Recommendations!
In this column, graphic novels and trade paperbacks take the forefront. Graphic Novels and collected editions are rapidly becoming the primary way that most people get into, or return to the world of comics. With the success of classic graphic novels like Maus and Bone, the literary world has taken notice as well, with graphic novels and trade paperbacks being readily available in most books stores and libraries. My aim with this column is to sort the wheat from the chaff, and let you know what you should be reading, as well as touch on some classics that are essential to any graphic novel library.
Since it is one of the next comic properties to get the big-screen treatment, I thought Mark Millar and JG Jones’ Wanted would be an excellent place to start.
Originally published over six issues by Top Cow Productions, Wanted tells the tale of hypochondriac loser Wesley Gibson, a miserable man living a miserable life. Wesley soon discovers that he is in fact the son of the notorious super-villain, The Killer. The Killer is a member of an underground fraternity of supervillains that has secretly been controlling the world since killing off all the superheroes in the mid-1980’s. After The Killer’s untimely death, Wesley is recruited to take his father’s place in The Fraternity by the sexy Fox. Over the course of the novel, Wesley learns the skills to take his father’s mantle, as well as solve the mystery of his murder.
Wanted is a fantastic book. Millar creates a world that is so gritty it makes his work on The Ultimates look like a Saturday morning cartoon. By choosing to publish this story with and smaller company like Top Cow, Millar is given the freedom to paint a violent and dark picture of a world that is run by the bad guys. Working perfectly in tandem with this tone is artist JG Jones. His realistic style is somewhat reminiscent of Millar’s Ultimates partner, Bryan Hitch, and works perfectly to tell this story. His character designs are clearly cribbed from real life, with an Eminem-like Wesley, and a Fox that bears more than a little resemblance to Halle Berry. All this does is make the world of Wanted that much more believable. As you are reading, you will find your mind thinking “…I wonder if this could happen in real life?” And that is the sign of a great storyteller in both writer and artist.
One of the great things about today’s Graphic Novels, is that publishers are treating them like DVDs. Most newer books, and often reprintings of classic stories, include “extras” that range from script excerpts, to pin ups, to original art or missing scenes and anything else that they can fit in. It’s interesting to see comics treated this way, especially in connection with a writer like Millar, who’s comics are very cinematic in nature.
Wanted’s very detailed extras include pin-ups and character files drawn by the likes, of Marc Silvestri, Jae Lee, Joe Quesada, and Frank Quitely just to name a few. Also included is a complete cover gallery, original character designs, and several script-to-pencils comparisons that note several “replacement” panels.
With the big-screen adaptation starring Angelina Jolie being advertised during this year’s Superbowl, you can expect Wanted to be a blockbuster movie. But I think that to really enjoy an amazing and well-crafted story like this, you need to see where it came from.
Wanted is available online, and at most comic or book stores.
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