In 1998 Marvel Comics tried yet another marketing gimmick, this one a new imprint dubbed 'Marvel Knights', designed to reboot selected major and minor characters. The imprint lasted in one form or another till 2013.
One of the properties that got the Marvel Knights treatment - as a seven-issue limited series (January - July 2010) was Deathlok. Deathlok, of course, has been the subject of a bunch of limited series ever since his first appearance in 'Astonishing Tales' No. 25 (cover date of August 1974). Most of those limited series were misses, rather than hits.
For this Marvel Knights series, the plot, written by Charlie Huston, rebooted the character in a near-future, dystopian USA where the Roxxon Corporation controls the population via the familiar 'Bread and Circuses' route.
In this case, it's the 'Saturday Night Battlezone' (SNB), where teams of corporate mercenaries battle to the death on a patch of land laced with TV cameras, to deliver the mayhem live to homes all across the USA.
Captain Luther Manning (the name of the 'original' Deathlok from 1974) returns in this installment of the Deathlok franchise; here, he's the commander of the Roxxon SNB squad. One of his squad members is the designated Golden Boy of SNB, Lieutenant Mike Travers.
As fate would have it, an episode of SNB goes unexpectedly downhill.........and both Manning and Travers are blown up.
Ever-focused on leveraging its assets, Roxxon decides to implant salvaged body parts from both dead soldiers into a cyborg: the prototype 'Alphamech' combat unit. Roxxon expects the Alphamech - christened Deathlok the Demolisher - to serve as a marketing vehicle for a line of toys and other merchandise. But the Alphamech, its AI comprised of the personalities of both Luther Manning and Mike Travers, has its own intentions..............one of them being to find 'home', and there, Manning's wife Janice and son Richard.
Of course, Roxxon has no intention of letting a valuable property like Deathlok just go waltzing off on its own. The resultant string of battles will turn much of New York City into a wasteland.......and determine whether Roxxon retains control of its corporate empire.........
I found this 2010 incarnation of Deathlok to be a disappointment. The artwork, by Lan Medina, is outstanding, and leagues ahead of the art that provided in the 1990s versions of the franchise. Medina's artwork is ably colored by June Chung, Brian Haberlin, and Morry Hollowell.
[The narrative has its share of surprisingly explicit violence and sarcastic humor; while the Marvel Knights imprint was intended for a 'mature' readership, the gore and guts of this 'Deathlok' incarnation are much in keeping with the philosophy of Marvel's MAX concept of the early 2000s. ]
Unfortunately, Charlie Huston badly overwrites his script. To accommodate his writerly aspirations, too many panels are overloaded with speech balloons and dialogue boxes (many attributed to 'off-camera' speakers). Things are so bad that one panel has FOUR speakers represented, each by a dialogue box with a different-colored outline.
By the time 'Deathlok the Demolisher: Marvel Knights' gets its to final chapter, Huston's plotting has lost too much coherency, and what could have been one of the better reboots of the franchise misses the mark.
The verdict ? This particular Deathlok incarnation falls short of the mark. If you are a dedicated fan of the Deathlok character, and / or you appreciate very nice art, then it may be worth picking up. Otherwise, I direct you to the 10-issue Deathlok series Marvel launched in December 2014 through September 2015: a decidedly more successful iteration of the franchise.
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Another Deathlok reboot; another partial success
In 1998 Marvel Comics tried yet another marketing gimmick, this one a new imprint dubbed 'Marvel Knights', designed to reboot selected major and minor characters. The imprint lasted in one form or another till 2013.One of the properties that got the Marvel Knights treatment - as a seven-issue limited series (January - July 2010) was Deathlok. Deathlok, of course, has been the subject of a bunch of limited series ever since his first appearance in 'Astonishing Tales' No. 25 (cover date of August 1974). Most of those limited series were misses, rather than hits.For this Marvel Knights series, the plot, written by Charlie Huston, rebooted the character in a near-future, dystopian USA where the Roxxon Corporation controls the population via the familiar 'Bread and Circuses' route.In this case, it's the 'Saturday Night Battlezone' (SNB), where teams of corporate mercenaries battle to the death on a patch of land laced with TV cameras, to deliver the mayhem live to homes all across the USA.Captain Luther Manning (the name of the 'original' Deathlok from 1974) returns in this installment of the Deathlok franchise; here, he's the commander of the Roxxon SNB squad. One of his squad members is the designated Golden Boy of SNB, Lieutenant Mike Travers.As fate would have it, an episode of SNB goes unexpectedly downhill.........and both Manning and Travers are blown up.Ever-focused on leveraging its assets, Roxxon decides to implant salvaged body parts from both dead soldiers into a cyborg: the prototype 'Alphamech' combat unit. Roxxon expects the Alphamech - christened Deathlok the Demolisher - to serve as a marketing vehicle for a line of toys and other merchandise. But the Alphamech, its AI comprised of the personalities of both Luther Manning and Mike Travers, has its own intentions..............one of them being to find 'home', and there, Manning's wife Janice and son Richard.Of course, Roxxon has no intention of letting a valuable property like Deathlok just go waltzing off on its own. The resultant string of battles will turn much of New York City into a wasteland.......and determine whether Roxxon retains control of its corporate empire.........I found this 2010 incarnation of Deathlok to be a disappointment. The artwork, by Lan Medina, is outstanding, and leagues ahead of the art that provided in the 1990s versions of the franchise. Medina's artwork is ably colored by June Chung, Brian Haberlin, and Morry Hollowell.[The narrative has its share of surprisingly explicit violence and sarcastic humor; while the Marvel Knights imprint was intended for a 'mature' readership, the gore and guts of this 'Deathlok' incarnation are much in keeping with the philosophy of Marvel's MAX concept of the early 2000s. ]Unfortunately, Charlie Huston badly overwrites his script. To accommodate his writerly aspirations, too many panels are overloaded with speech balloons and dialogue boxes (many attributed to 'off-camera' speakers). Things are so bad that one panel has FOUR speakers represented, each by a dialogue box with a different-colored outline.By the time 'Deathlok the Demolisher: Marvel Knights' gets its to final chapter, Huston's plotting has lost too much coherency, and what could have been one of the better reboots of the franchise misses the mark.The verdict ? This particular Deathlok incarnation falls short of the mark. If you are a dedicated fan of the Deathlok character, and / or you appreciate very nice art, then it may be worth picking up. Otherwise, I direct you to the 10-issue Deathlok series Marvel launched in December 2014 through September 2015: a decidedly more successful iteration of the franchise.
Top review from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2019
One of the properties that got the Marvel Knights treatment - as a seven-issue limited series (January - July 2010) was Deathlok. Deathlok, of course, has been the subject of a bunch of limited series ever since his first appearance in 'Astonishing Tales' No. 25 (cover date of August 1974). Most of those limited series were misses, rather than hits.
For this Marvel Knights series, the plot, written by Charlie Huston, rebooted the character in a near-future, dystopian USA where the Roxxon Corporation controls the population via the familiar 'Bread and Circuses' route.
In this case, it's the 'Saturday Night Battlezone' (SNB), where teams of corporate mercenaries battle to the death on a patch of land laced with TV cameras, to deliver the mayhem live to homes all across the USA.
Captain Luther Manning (the name of the 'original' Deathlok from 1974) returns in this installment of the Deathlok franchise; here, he's the commander of the Roxxon SNB squad. One of his squad members is the designated Golden Boy of SNB, Lieutenant Mike Travers.
As fate would have it, an episode of SNB goes unexpectedly downhill.........and both Manning and Travers are blown up.
Ever-focused on leveraging its assets, Roxxon decides to implant salvaged body parts from both dead soldiers into a cyborg: the prototype 'Alphamech' combat unit. Roxxon expects the Alphamech - christened Deathlok the Demolisher - to serve as a marketing vehicle for a line of toys and other merchandise. But the Alphamech, its AI comprised of the personalities of both Luther Manning and Mike Travers, has its own intentions..............one of them being to find 'home', and there, Manning's wife Janice and son Richard.
Of course, Roxxon has no intention of letting a valuable property like Deathlok just go waltzing off on its own. The resultant string of battles will turn much of New York City into a wasteland.......and determine whether Roxxon retains control of its corporate empire.........
I found this 2010 incarnation of Deathlok to be a disappointment. The artwork, by Lan Medina, is outstanding, and leagues ahead of the art that provided in the 1990s versions of the franchise. Medina's artwork is ably colored by June Chung, Brian Haberlin, and Morry Hollowell.
[The narrative has its share of surprisingly explicit violence and sarcastic humor; while the Marvel Knights imprint was intended for a 'mature' readership, the gore and guts of this 'Deathlok' incarnation are much in keeping with the philosophy of Marvel's MAX concept of the early 2000s. ]
Unfortunately, Charlie Huston badly overwrites his script. To accommodate his writerly aspirations, too many panels are overloaded with speech balloons and dialogue boxes (many attributed to 'off-camera' speakers). Things are so bad that one panel has FOUR speakers represented, each by a dialogue box with a different-colored outline.
By the time 'Deathlok the Demolisher: Marvel Knights' gets its to final chapter, Huston's plotting has lost too much coherency, and what could have been one of the better reboots of the franchise misses the mark.
The verdict ? This particular Deathlok incarnation falls short of the mark. If you are a dedicated fan of the Deathlok character, and / or you appreciate very nice art, then it may be worth picking up. Otherwise, I direct you to the 10-issue Deathlok series Marvel launched in December 2014 through September 2015: a decidedly more successful iteration of the franchise.
Another Deathlok reboot; another partial success
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2019
In 1998 Marvel Comics tried yet another marketing gimmick, this one a new imprint dubbed 'Marvel Knights', designed to reboot selected major and minor characters. The imprint lasted in one form or another till 2013.Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2019
One of the properties that got the Marvel Knights treatment - as a seven-issue limited series (January - July 2010) was Deathlok. Deathlok, of course, has been the subject of a bunch of limited series ever since his first appearance in 'Astonishing Tales' No. 25 (cover date of August 1974). Most of those limited series were misses, rather than hits.
For this Marvel Knights series, the plot, written by Charlie Huston, rebooted the character in a near-future, dystopian USA where the Roxxon Corporation controls the population via the familiar 'Bread and Circuses' route.
In this case, it's the 'Saturday Night Battlezone' (SNB), where teams of corporate mercenaries battle to the death on a patch of land laced with TV cameras, to deliver the mayhem live to homes all across the USA.
Captain Luther Manning (the name of the 'original' Deathlok from 1974) returns in this installment of the Deathlok franchise; here, he's the commander of the Roxxon SNB squad. One of his squad members is the designated Golden Boy of SNB, Lieutenant Mike Travers.
As fate would have it, an episode of SNB goes unexpectedly downhill.........and both Manning and Travers are blown up.
Ever-focused on leveraging its assets, Roxxon decides to implant salvaged body parts from both dead soldiers into a cyborg: the prototype 'Alphamech' combat unit. Roxxon expects the Alphamech - christened Deathlok the Demolisher - to serve as a marketing vehicle for a line of toys and other merchandise. But the Alphamech, its AI comprised of the personalities of both Luther Manning and Mike Travers, has its own intentions..............one of them being to find 'home', and there, Manning's wife Janice and son Richard.
Of course, Roxxon has no intention of letting a valuable property like Deathlok just go waltzing off on its own. The resultant string of battles will turn much of New York City into a wasteland.......and determine whether Roxxon retains control of its corporate empire.........
I found this 2010 incarnation of Deathlok to be a disappointment. The artwork, by Lan Medina, is outstanding, and leagues ahead of the art that provided in the 1990s versions of the franchise. Medina's artwork is ably colored by June Chung, Brian Haberlin, and Morry Hollowell.
[The narrative has its share of surprisingly explicit violence and sarcastic humor; while the Marvel Knights imprint was intended for a 'mature' readership, the gore and guts of this 'Deathlok' incarnation are much in keeping with the philosophy of Marvel's MAX concept of the early 2000s. ]
Unfortunately, Charlie Huston badly overwrites his script. To accommodate his writerly aspirations, too many panels are overloaded with speech balloons and dialogue boxes (many attributed to 'off-camera' speakers). Things are so bad that one panel has FOUR speakers represented, each by a dialogue box with a different-colored outline.
By the time 'Deathlok the Demolisher: Marvel Knights' gets its to final chapter, Huston's plotting has lost too much coherency, and what could have been one of the better reboots of the franchise misses the mark.
The verdict ? This particular Deathlok incarnation falls short of the mark. If you are a dedicated fan of the Deathlok character, and / or you appreciate very nice art, then it may be worth picking up. Otherwise, I direct you to the 10-issue Deathlok series Marvel launched in December 2014 through September 2015: a decidedly more successful iteration of the franchise.
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