jekutree's review against another edition
4.0
This is a book that really blew my mind when I first read it. I was a senior in high school and was reading a ton of superhero comics, I lived and breathed them. Omega Men was (and still is) something different. Traditional base 9 panel grids like Watchmen? A serious story (basically) about American interference in the Middle East and how when one dictator falls another will just take their place? This was my first Tom King book and it was a revelation. Soon after, I read Vision and Mister Miracle started to come out, I was hooked. All of his maxi-series titles are extremely formative for me.
Rereading this, I wasn’t worried it wouldn’t hold up, for the most part it did. However, I think King has actually leveled up a significant amount since then and has really come into his own. Some of the dialogue in this book fell flat and I think the characters here are all pretty underdeveloped. The characters would definitely be the biggest flaw for me. A character like Primus is really interesting, but King does little to develop him. The plot though I think is solid. You get a pretty clear metaphor for the war in the Middle East and it’s done effectively. I think the moral grayness of it all really came out on this reread, The Omega Men do a lot of questionable shit throughout. I’ve always considered King and whoever he collaborates with though a formalist, and King’s mastery over scripting 9 panel grids is here. You get some pretty awesome page compositions throughout that made me smile.
The art team here also kicks ASS. Barnaby Bagenda on pencils and Romulo Fajardo Jr on colors body the visuals. Id like to commend Fajardo especially, the colors on this book are incredible. Bagenda actually doesn’t have his pencils inked, they go right to the coloring stage where Fajardo does a great job adding depth, lighting and shadows to both the pencils and the color palettes. In issue 10 when a guest colorist comes in it is immediately obvious something is off. The colors really bring this book together beautifully.
Overall, this is a book I hold dear to me. It’s not perfect like I once thought it was, but it’s still an admirable piece of assembly line monthly comics. One of the best out of marvel/dc in the 2010’s.
Strong 8 out of 10
Rereading this, I wasn’t worried it wouldn’t hold up, for the most part it did. However, I think King has actually leveled up a significant amount since then and has really come into his own. Some of the dialogue in this book fell flat and I think the characters here are all pretty underdeveloped. The characters would definitely be the biggest flaw for me. A character like Primus is really interesting, but King does little to develop him. The plot though I think is solid. You get a pretty clear metaphor for the war in the Middle East and it’s done effectively. I think the moral grayness of it all really came out on this reread, The Omega Men do a lot of questionable shit throughout. I’ve always considered King and whoever he collaborates with though a formalist, and King’s mastery over scripting 9 panel grids is here. You get some pretty awesome page compositions throughout that made me smile.
The art team here also kicks ASS. Barnaby Bagenda on pencils and Romulo Fajardo Jr on colors body the visuals. Id like to commend Fajardo especially, the colors on this book are incredible. Bagenda actually doesn’t have his pencils inked, they go right to the coloring stage where Fajardo does a great job adding depth, lighting and shadows to both the pencils and the color palettes. In issue 10 when a guest colorist comes in it is immediately obvious something is off. The colors really bring this book together beautifully.
Overall, this is a book I hold dear to me. It’s not perfect like I once thought it was, but it’s still an admirable piece of assembly line monthly comics. One of the best out of marvel/dc in the 2010’s.
Strong 8 out of 10
grimondgalgmod's review against another edition
1.0
War propaganda thinly disguised as a superhero story. The White Lantern (champion of life, ironically enough) partakes in mass slaughter along with a core group of other murderers in a conflict precipitated by the discovery of oil...er...stellarium. Eesh.
shri_ace13's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
raywh641's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
bardic_llama's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I genuinely only picked this comic up from the library because it had the word omega in it. I don’t know what volume or edition this is but I’m surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Will say even when reading this blind, I was still able to pick up on a lot of complexities woven throughout the plot. It’d probably would of make sense if I didn’t read this one first.
Spoiler
One pro of the story was definitely showcasing Kalista’s true intentions with Kyle and seeing Kyle pick up on it—seeing both sides of it. That and having it not be such a happy ever after for the omega men after the events of the war. But I don’t really understand Kyle’s response to the general he’s speaking to at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, War, Blood, and Colonisation
Moderate: Kidnapping
primmiiee's review against another edition
5.0
Apparently this is as good as people say it is, Tom King's writing is brilliant, the characters are very compelling and the art is very unique, love the coloring work. My only complaint is that the last 2 issues felt too rushed and the pace there is very weird. The 9 panel layout and the fact that in the end of each issue there is a relevant quote reminds me of Watchmen, which is nice i guess
old_tim's review against another edition
5.0
A couple quick things you should know up front:
This book is NOT dependent on knowledge of DC continuity/nu52 or anything of the sort. It's more or less a standalone with minimal ties to the greater universe.
It's more of a SF story than a superhero story. Yeah, there's a superhero in the story, but most of the time he's de-powered.
Tom King apparently worked with US intelligence in our many contemporary wars. This book, along with his Vision, & Sheriff of Babylon are all thematic explorations of that same experience.
This is a deeply dark and pessimistic book. It's also extremely well done. I finished it several days ago & find that it lingers in my head.
I'm normally a fan of upbeat, goofy cape books. But this is more a grim SFnal exploration of politics and rebellion. It's a thinly veiled allegory of the middle east.
Yeah, if you are interested in the medium, you need to read this book.
This book is NOT dependent on knowledge of DC continuity/nu52 or anything of the sort. It's more or less a standalone with minimal ties to the greater universe.
It's more of a SF story than a superhero story. Yeah, there's a superhero in the story, but most of the time he's de-powered.
Tom King apparently worked with US intelligence in our many contemporary wars. This book, along with his Vision, & Sheriff of Babylon are all thematic explorations of that same experience.
This is a deeply dark and pessimistic book. It's also extremely well done. I finished it several days ago & find that it lingers in my head.
I'm normally a fan of upbeat, goofy cape books. But this is more a grim SFnal exploration of politics and rebellion. It's a thinly veiled allegory of the middle east.
Yeah, if you are interested in the medium, you need to read this book.
stewreads's review against another edition
4.0
Reading King’s run on Batman was making me forget what I love about his work, so this was a very welcome reminder. I think he’s better in self-contained stories like this one than he is in an ongoing series, but hopefully he’ll prove me wrong eventually.
Also, why the hell does DC continue to make such horrific movies when they have great stories like this just waiting to be adapted? This could be their answer to Guardians of the Galaxy if they executed it properly, but we’ll probably be getting Aquaman 4 by the time they ever even think about that.
Also, why the hell does DC continue to make such horrific movies when they have great stories like this just waiting to be adapted? This could be their answer to Guardians of the Galaxy if they executed it properly, but we’ll probably be getting Aquaman 4 by the time they ever even think about that.