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John Woo's Seven Brothers #1
John Woo's Seven Brothers, Volume 1: Sons of Heaven, Son of Hell
The first graphic novel from superstar action film director John Woo and written by Garth Ennis. Six hundred years ago long, before history's great explorers stole the credit for their feats, mighty Chinese treasure fleets set sail to reach every continent. These voyages of discovery left behind an evil legacy and a plot by a powerful Chinese sorcerer to dominate the world. The story begins in modern day Los Angeles where an ancient Chinese prophecy must be fulfilled. Seven men with nothing in common but their destinies must face the Son of Hell to save the world.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
John Woo
29 books2 followersJohn Woo Yu-Sen (Chinese: 吳宇森) is a Hong Kong film director, producer and screenwriter. He is considered a major influence on the action genre, known for his highly chaotic action sequences, stylized imagery, Mexican standoffs, frequent use of slow motion and allusions to neo-noir, wuxia and Western cinema.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
May 31, 2023
Super cool.
Lots of action, suspense, and brilliant illustrations.
10/10
Lots of action, suspense, and brilliant illustrations.
10/10
December 11, 2012
Ennis is once again on top of things with this one. The story itself is a little sexist, maybe-only the songs of Fong have super powers while the daughter is just an extremely dedicated believer with some mad fighting skills (and she can't save the world on her own, but needs the 7 brothers, the brothers, in turn though, also need each other and her to make it-still, she's not included in the title). HOWEVER, I do realize that this is based on the legend of the 7 brothers, so...some slack is due there, possibly.
And, I'm not so sure the hero of the world should or would be a pimp...not that we actually saw him do anything cruel in this volume, though (well, he did say means things-but, his girls beat him up, so...) But overall, a very entertaining and intelligent read with some nice art (if just a bit too polished) to boot.
And, I'm not so sure the hero of the world should or would be a pimp...not that we actually saw him do anything cruel in this volume, though (well, he did say means things-but, his girls beat him up, so...) But overall, a very entertaining and intelligent read with some nice art (if just a bit too polished) to boot.
March 11, 2012
A story of magic, genetic destiny, and the end of the world. Excellent. The plot, characters, and dialogue are all top-notch. And the art is fantastic, kind of like a blend of Francois Schuiten and Yoshitaka Amano (who incidentally does the covers.)
Want to Read
May 7, 2013Me gusta el director que da nombre a la obra (después veré qué tan metido estuvo en la idea), me gusta el guionista y por lo que veo el dibujo está bastante bien. Promete dejarse leer.
September 21, 2024
In 1423, the giant treasure fleets of the Chinese empire, set sail and discovered the entire southern hemisphere, apparently (like what conspiracy theorists and Chinese propaganda say), on an expedition of peace, wisdom, and discovery (not nasty genocide and colonialism like evil Europeans). However, on this journey is a sorcerer meant to protect the fleet from storms and disasters. However, he has a different, more diabolical plan. Using some magic stones, he will place these at the end centre of mystical dragon lines (ley lines essentially), and by harnessing their power takeover the world. His apprentice discovers this plan, and before the sorcerer can finish his spell, sacrifices himself on a battle to trap him underground. But knowing, the evil sorcerer could return, the apprentice’s plan was to have sex with a load of women so the treasure fleet sailed the world, leaving a bunch of kids across the globe, where their descendants will have special powers to defeat the sorcerer on his return (suppose that's one way of getting women to sleep with you). As a billionaire industrialist is excavating to find the sorcerer, a mysterious woman assembles the seven descendants of the apprentice, each who have a unique ability, to join forces before the evil sorcerer is freed and can control the unlimited power of the dragon lines to destroy the world.
I'm a big John Woo fan and I've read some really good comics by Garth Ennis, who more often than not turns in a good book, I was expecting something good with this.
What I got was messy. The barebones are there; ancient evil wizard is trapped but is about to be released by evil, greedy rich man and a rah tag bunch of weirdos and misfits that have powers have to join together and defeat him. The thing is this never happens. The team never get that scene where they get over their differences and form a team like the Avengers. There's hardly any team building or character development on any of them. The only thing close to character growth was with Ronald, and that’s not much, and as his character comes in as a pathetic pimp, attempting to violently control women and 'mutha f-ing' all the time, it’s hard to really to get behind him.
Each has a specific superpower but if each of the ‘Brothers’ use their powers once that’s about it, and even then, it's nothing spectacular, and certainly didn’t make an impact on me reading it. The whole scene of the Brothers joining together and combining their powers to defeat the sorcerer never happens that it’s actually shocking that it doesn’t. Where there should have been more team building, conflict, looking at the Brother’s history and powers, there’s a lot of wasted time and space.
The art is fine, with a common style of indie books from the late nineties early 2000s. It matches with the type of story but has nothing that really stands out or any scene that makes an impact.
Being on my shelf for years, I was hoping for something more than what I got. OK, the idea of a bunch superheroes forming a team, overcoming their differences, and using their powers to save the world maybe a bit of a cliché, but it works. Here, you don’t get the stereotype, but you don’t get a different take or a subversion of it. You get nothing instead.
Taking away the novelty of a John Woo graphic novel, this hasn’t got much to recommend it. With a half decent idea, it fails to capitalise on it, leading to a muddled and dull book, unless you want to see an unlikable pimp turn into a dragon (which seems a but overkill compared to the powers of the other 6 brothers, like why use the others when you have a giant dragon on hand?). Maybe only a recommendation out of curiosity only rather than the quality of the story.
I'm a big John Woo fan and I've read some really good comics by Garth Ennis, who more often than not turns in a good book, I was expecting something good with this.
What I got was messy. The barebones are there; ancient evil wizard is trapped but is about to be released by evil, greedy rich man and a rah tag bunch of weirdos and misfits that have powers have to join together and defeat him. The thing is this never happens. The team never get that scene where they get over their differences and form a team like the Avengers. There's hardly any team building or character development on any of them. The only thing close to character growth was with Ronald, and that’s not much, and as his character comes in as a pathetic pimp, attempting to violently control women and 'mutha f-ing' all the time, it’s hard to really to get behind him.
Each has a specific superpower but if each of the ‘Brothers’ use their powers once that’s about it, and even then, it's nothing spectacular, and certainly didn’t make an impact on me reading it. The whole scene of the Brothers joining together and combining their powers to defeat the sorcerer never happens that it’s actually shocking that it doesn’t. Where there should have been more team building, conflict, looking at the Brother’s history and powers, there’s a lot of wasted time and space.
The art is fine, with a common style of indie books from the late nineties early 2000s. It matches with the type of story but has nothing that really stands out or any scene that makes an impact.
Being on my shelf for years, I was hoping for something more than what I got. OK, the idea of a bunch superheroes forming a team, overcoming their differences, and using their powers to save the world maybe a bit of a cliché, but it works. Here, you don’t get the stereotype, but you don’t get a different take or a subversion of it. You get nothing instead.
Taking away the novelty of a John Woo graphic novel, this hasn’t got much to recommend it. With a half decent idea, it fails to capitalise on it, leading to a muddled and dull book, unless you want to see an unlikable pimp turn into a dragon (which seems a but overkill compared to the powers of the other 6 brothers, like why use the others when you have a giant dragon on hand?). Maybe only a recommendation out of curiosity only rather than the quality of the story.
August 21, 2023
I picked this up a while ago at Half-Price Books for like, a couple bucks, because the art looked pretty good, the premise was interesting, and I figured if John Woo was involved, the action sequences would be well-choreographed if nothing else. And I wasn't disappointed.
7 Brothers has the unenviable task of introducing us to a sizable cast of characters, and putting them up against an ancient evil in a relatively short span of time. And while I didn't get a great feel for some of the brothers, there was at least enough to go by--even if some of them were fleshed out barely beyond their powers.
Let's talk about those powers for a bit, because they're quite varied, and they really do complement each other well. They range from running fast enough to create hurricane-force winds, to remote viewing, to shouts that can down helicopters, and more. But honestly, I think the coolest and most creative power was Rachel's (the woman who brings the rest of them together). She can basically rewrite the recent past by making people remember things that never happened. So, if someone's got her backed into a corner, as long as she can talk, she can flip the script on them--because she really crushed their kneecap and dislocated their shoulder before they could pin her down. Remember? It's really inventive, and the closest parallel I can think of is Allison's "I heard a rumor" ability from The Umbrella Academy. I like unorthodox superpowers, and Rachel's is great.
All in all, this is a fun romp. I was a bit put off by Ronald's introduction early on, and this stereotypical, jive-talking pimp is an example of how not all the characters are likable, but some ended up growing on me. And even the ones who didn't, played their role in the story, and kept things moving along. 7 Brothers really does feel like an action movie with a fair budget, put down on the page. It's kinetic, fast-paced, sometimes utterly ridiculous (, and not terribly deep, but it's really just a fun read, overall. I know I've used that word before, but "fun" really does sum this up best. Mindless fun, perhaps, but it's a good time.
7 Brothers has the unenviable task of introducing us to a sizable cast of characters, and putting them up against an ancient evil in a relatively short span of time. And while I didn't get a great feel for some of the brothers, there was at least enough to go by--even if some of them were fleshed out barely beyond their powers.
Let's talk about those powers for a bit, because they're quite varied, and they really do complement each other well. They range from running fast enough to create hurricane-force winds, to remote viewing, to shouts that can down helicopters, and more. But honestly, I think the coolest and most creative power was Rachel's (the woman who brings the rest of them together). She can basically rewrite the recent past by making people remember things that never happened. So, if someone's got her backed into a corner, as long as she can talk, she can flip the script on them--because she really crushed their kneecap and dislocated their shoulder before they could pin her down. Remember? It's really inventive, and the closest parallel I can think of is Allison's "I heard a rumor" ability from The Umbrella Academy. I like unorthodox superpowers, and Rachel's is great.
All in all, this is a fun romp. I was a bit put off by Ronald's introduction early on, and this stereotypical, jive-talking pimp is an example of how not all the characters are likable, but some ended up growing on me. And even the ones who didn't, played their role in the story, and kept things moving along. 7 Brothers really does feel like an action movie with a fair budget, put down on the page. It's kinetic, fast-paced, sometimes utterly ridiculous (, and not terribly deep, but it's really just a fun read, overall. I know I've used that word before, but "fun" really does sum this up best. Mindless fun, perhaps, but it's a good time.
April 15, 2024
Wow, that sure was crap. Garth didn't write this mess, surely... The artwork wasn't much to write home about, either. It's as dark and muddy as the story.
Rachel Kia brings together seven individuals with spectacular abilities. Then the info dump buries you under a ton of details. The seven are the descendents of a Chinese navigator named Fong. He was following dragon lines of great power and marking their points of concentration more than 500 years before. He died after imprisoning the Son of Hell who wanted the power for himself. Now the Son of Hell is expected to return.
Rachel Kia brings together seven individuals with spectacular abilities. Then the info dump buries you under a ton of details. The seven are the descendents of a Chinese navigator named Fong. He was following dragon lines of great power and marking their points of concentration more than 500 years before. He died after imprisoning the Son of Hell who wanted the power for himself. Now the Son of Hell is expected to return.
March 31, 2023
This book has it all. Created by John Woo. Written by Garth Ennis. But for some reason this book sat in my reading pile for a decade. I finally sat and read it. It was good...but it didn't really grip me and solidified why it sat on the shelf so long. Again...nothing terrible, just nothing that made me want to rave about it.
March 15, 2026
so -so , story is interesting
November 15, 2015
Rather cool tale from Ennis and Woo. Pretty standard fare in terms of the idea behind the story - ancient evil unleashed, about to destroy the world, only the chosen ones can stop it - but the writing and art make it all work.
May 16, 2009
wonderfully imaginative and beautifully illustrated graphic novel.
August 20, 2013
Awesome effort by the director of some of my favourite films growing up. Worth a read
April 26, 2014
Dragons!
November 1, 2019
Tomo especial Virgin Comics. Tiger Hill Entertainment.
December 13, 2011
Nicely painted pictures, bad story.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews