Millarworld New Talent Annual 2017

Writers: Various
Artists: Various
Colorist: Abigail Bulmer
Published by: Image Comics

For the second year in a row, Mark Millar and Image Comics have come out with a talent showcase for up-and-coming writers and artists allowing the winners to play in the Millarworld toy box with his various creations. These stories are then published in this annual and all proceeds go to the Hero Initiative - a wonderful cause.

Unlike most of my reviews, I will simply give some quick thoughts on each story, since none go beyond 6 pages and most are very quick reads. I will also preface this review by saying that I only have a passing knowledge of most of Millar’s creations, Kick-Ass being the only one I know anything at all about. Now, onto the review!

In the first story of this compilation, writer Emma Sayle and artist Edgy Ziane get to play around with one of Millar’s most popular creations: Kick-Ass. As I said above, I have a passing familiarity with the character, but the story didn’t really grab me. I’m all for the anti-hero, doing things for himself, but when that is assaulting a 9-year old, that’s where I draw the line. To be quite honest, reading this does not make me want to read anymore Kick-Ass if this is his character.

The second story from Will McLaren, writer, and Luana Vecchio, art, is all about Empress. I will say, I was confused from the first page and even after a re-read, I still don’t know what this short was about, or what the point of it was. This was probably the only story in the whole annual where knowing the character and her story would have helped with my understanding. However, as a new reader, this failed to explain anything to me. Vecchio’s art however, was brilliant. I am always a fan of artists that aren’t as conventional, and the use of paints, a la Jill Thompson, in this comic, really stood out.

In our third story, Steve Lawrence and Marcelo Salazo tackle Nemesis. Nemesis is only a part of the story as it concentrates more on an unnamed woman at a protest who learns pretty quickly that the man she emulating, Nemesis, is not really a good guy after all. Lawrence and Salazo do a pretty good job together in taking advantage of the six pages given to them.

The fourth short is by Simon James and Alex Aguilar with Superior. For the first time in this annual, the winners of this contest give a new reader like myself a good sense of who the character they get to play around with is. The story is a sweet tale explaining how our hero can be a super while still battling with MS and how this affects not only himself, but the ones around him.

The story for Super Crooks by Martin Renart and Robert Carey was a nice introduction to the concept, but suffered from only being 5 pages long. It jumped around too much for such a short story and left me slightly confused as I read it.

Finally, we get a story about Huck and his selfless heroism by Stephanie Cooke and Jake Elphick. They tell the tale of a family who loses everything due to a hurricane and how Huck is there to save the day for them. It’s a simple story but gives a good sense of the character.

In all, this annual was a disappointment to me as a new reader. Most of the stories relied on past knowledge of the characters showcased and only really Superior and Huck - both Superman pastiches - explained who these characters were.