The Programme 1 de 2

The Programme #1-6

by Peter Milligan, C.P. Smith (dibujo)

RENACE LA LUCHA ENTRE CAPITALISMO Y COMUNISMO DE MANOS DEL ACLAMADO AUTOR PETER MILLIGAN (X-MEN) Y DEL ARTISTA C.P. SMITH (LOBEZNO).
Los nazis pretendían crear al übermensch y, a duras penas, lo consiguieron. Pero al ser derrotados en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, su tecnología cayó en manos de los americanos y de los soviéticos. Más de medio siglo más tarde, un superhombre soviético ha despertado y busca restaurar el régimen anterior. ¡La Guerra Fría no ha terminado!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2008

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

Peter Milligan is a British writer, best known for his work on X-Force / X-Statix, the X-Men, & the Vertigo series Human Target. He is also a scriptwriter.

He has been writing comics for some time and he has somewhat of a reputation for writing material that is highly outlandish, bizarre and/or absurd.

His highest profile projects to date include a run on X-Men, and his X-Force revamp that relaunched as X-Statix.

Many of Milligan's best works have been from DC Vertigo. These include: The Extremist (4 issues with artist Ted McKeever) The Minx (8 issues with artist Sean Phillips) Face (Prestige one-shot with artist Duncan Fegredo) The Eaters (Prestige one-shot with artist Dean Ormston) Vertigo Pop London (4 issues with artist Philip Bond) Enigma (8 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo) and Girl (3 issues with artist Duncan Fegredo).

Series:
* Human Target
* Greek Street
* X-Force / X-Statix

Reviews

[Ramón Nogueras Pérez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia bien traída sobre un grupo de superhéroes soviéticos que hibernan desde 1953 y cuando despiertan deciden cargarse EEUU. Los americanos tratan de reactivar su propio programa, pero les sale regular. A ver qué sale.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is another "real-world" superhero tale, it doesn't really spend too much time dwelling on that. It's a pretty sharp, concise, and cool limited series with sweet artwork by C.P. Smith.
I've always liked Peter Milligan, and will generally give him a chance, though I feel like his opus is, and will always be, his run on X-Force/X-Statix. I always forget how good that was. It may be one of my favorite in-continuity runs ever. But the fact is, he's definitely part of the UK B-team, right along with Jamie Delano, Mike Carey and Andy Diggle (your A-team being Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Grant Morrison, Warren Ellis, Garth Ennis), the big difference being that Milligan's work is only made that much better by incredible artist pairings with plenty of bold, creator-owned work (rather than just picking up on series where the above listed A-teamers leave off). This is no exception. And if you're looking for something short that has a pretty good bang to buck ratio, "The Programme" is a good place to be. 2 volumes, 12 issues, self-contained, cool story, looks great, 'nuff said.

[47Time · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best word to describe the artwork is 'dirty.' The story jumps brusquely from one scene to the next without properly introducing the characters that can barely be told apart at first. Thankfully, following the story becomes more manageable mid-way through. The cliffhanger will leave you wanting more, since the proper fighting is about to begin. On US soil - oops, spoiler!

The Cold War ended without a shot being fired. Though the US came out on top, a new threat has arisen - the Talibstan Terror, an unstoppable superhuman that is destroying things right and left. He is one of 4 superpowered individuals called Dolls that were developed and indoctrinated by the Soviet Union, then hidden away. The US response is a middle-aged man named Max Keane whose fetus was recovered from the Nazis after WW2. Scientists believe he has abilities, but they need to figure out a way to trigger them.

The CIA hold Max captive to test him, but he starts to develop his abilities and escapes. Hinks investigates the US superhero program and discovers that a second superpowered individual was also developed. His name is Senator Joe. He tracks down Max who reacts violently and flys away, his abilities now more under his control.

The Russians are just as worried about the Talibstan Terror as the US. They track down the only man who knows about the Dolls, but he has a plan of his own. The US president is pushed into responding with a nuclear attack, but the Dolls teleport away. They find themselves on US soil where the revolution they were programmed for can begin. Max decides to intervene.

[boofykins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark and shadowy art to match a dark and shadowy plot exploring the what if Russia and the USA created Übermenschen during the height of the Cold War, and they are now getting activated in the late-twenty-aughts. The art, which I love, paradoxically makes the plotline flow a little inconsistently because it isn't always completely obvious which character is which and I had to skip back a few panels to collect the thread. It really isn't much of an issue but there are several characters to keep track of. I'm looking forward to volume two.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent opening volume – without any clue as to what was in book two it seems Milligan pulled off a rare trick to find a decent ending after just twelve issues. But if you can get the full story of the resurrected Cold War figurehead superheroes then you'll find it quite interesting and entertaining – and still relevant to this day. I can't say the Vertigo dinginess of the artwork was to my liking, however.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shining a light on the Cold War's superheroes arm race, heroes as WMDs, etc. A time capsule of the early 2000s, where superheroes became entwined with the military industrial complex.

It's a nice examination with good art, but it's ultimately fairly forgettable.

[Joe Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Peter Milligan - writer
C.P. Smith - artist

During the cold war both the United States and Russia created super-human soldiers as part of the escalating arms race. When the cold war sputtered to an end these super-soldiers were mothballed and forgotten. Years later, during the American military incursion in "Talibstan", one of these soldiers awakens and the face of warfare is changed forever. Now the only thing preventing a super-powered global communist revolution is a superpowered contientious objector and a nuclear man who thinks he is Senator Joe McCarthy.

Great story from the always stellar Milligan. This book would be rated 1.5 stars higher if the artwork were better. Seriously, the drawings in this book look like photo negatives of kindergarden paintings.

3/5 stars.

[Fugo Feedback · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una interesante reinterpretación superheroica a medio camino entre la ucronía realista y una visión cínica del mundo, más por parte de los personajes que del autor. No es Watchmen pero planeta unos cuantos "What ifs" más que interesantes. En cuanto al dibujo, el hiperrealismo de Smith le da una onda muy macabra y original a la obra pero a veces perjudica en la narrativa. Habría estado bueno que usaran distinta paleta de colores para las escenas de flashbacks, ya que a veces pasado y presente se confunden con mucha facilidad. Espero leer el #2 pronto para tener una idea más cerrada de la obra.

[Daniel Etherington · Rating 2 out of 5]

Takes a long time to get going and even when it does it feels somehow incoherent, jumping about all over the place narratively, with the murky artwork barely aiding clarity. Sure, that artwork's general darkness arguably suits the themes, but I felt the colouring didn't fit the inking, which was already very heavy on the black. Shame really, as I grew up reading Pete Milligan, and this is my kind of book - about superhumans as WMDs, but in this case confused by their Cold War ideological programming.

[Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Human weapons of mass destruction, created during the Cold War, re-awaken to continue the US-Soviet conflict. But there is no Soviet Union and America has other worries such as an ongoing war in the Middle East. The usually reliable Milligan scripts an intelligent, contemporary espionage tale with a science fiction kick. C. P. Smith's art, although muddy in places, eerily chronicles this secret war.

[Rhys · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think i would have really enjoyed this book if it weren't for the art. It was appropriately grim and gritty, but so dark and unclear, that it was hard to differentiate characters or decipher what exactly was going on in a lot of panels. It's a shame, because clearly a lot of work went into the writing, but I couldn't get involved, when I had to spend half the time hunting for visual clues in earlier panels as to who just died/got blown up/had sex, etc.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Edición española. Tomo 1 de 2 publicado como #28 de la colección El Día Después.

[Emperorstephen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Top notch writing by Peter Milligan and appropriately dark and moody artwork.