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20th Century Men #1-6
20th Century Men
At the end of the 20th Century, superheroes, geniuses, madmen and activists rush towards WWIII! A Soviet “iron” hero; a super-powered American President; an insane cyborg soldier; an Afghan woman hellbent on building a better life for her people―these strange yet familiar beings collide in a story that mixes history, politics, and comic book mythology into something totally new. Welcome to 20th CENTURY MEN, where the edges of our reality and fiction touch, overlap…and then explode. Collects 20th Century Men 1-6.
296 pages, Hardcover
First published April 11, 2023
29 people are currently reading
465 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
June 29, 2023
Dunno.
The artwork is fantastic, and the story tries to convey significant ideas about war, history (specifically those who shape it), and human nature. However, it's also excessively serious and dense, making it an exhausting read.
If you're looking for profound themes and ambitious storytelling that will be applauded by critics, then it's worth a shot. But if you usually enjoy comic books for their engaging characters and addictive plots, I'm uncertain if this is the best option available on the market.
The artwork is fantastic, and the story tries to convey significant ideas about war, history (specifically those who shape it), and human nature. However, it's also excessively serious and dense, making it an exhausting read.
If you're looking for profound themes and ambitious storytelling that will be applauded by critics, then it's worth a shot. But if you usually enjoy comic books for their engaging characters and addictive plots, I'm uncertain if this is the best option available on the market.
August 24, 2024
This book is to our generation what Watchmen was to its generation. Truly one of the most brilliant books of our time.
February 19, 2025
I went into this knowing nothing about it. It seems to be about super heroes in the war in Afghanistan in the 1980s and the horrors of war.
Okay, I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this. It's a powerful book but I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It feels like it's trying to do too many things at once. The super hero bits feel out of place at times. The old American super heroes aren't developed enough for me to care what they're up to apart from the president being a douche. Some things that might have been interesting, like a Russian colony on Mars or whatever it was going on in the paradise in Siberia, were glossed over. The book felt like some parts needed to be cut or another two or three issues added to clarify things and give the story some breathing room.
In the afterword, Deniz Camp says he doesn't know what the book is supposed to be so we're in agreement on that. It's part alternate history, part super hero deconstruction, part futility of war. I don't think it does the juggling act all that well, though.
I didn't hate it and I keep thinking about it. I might feel differently on a reread. It's a powerful book and not an easy read.
Okay, I have a lot of conflicting thoughts about this. It's a powerful book but I'm not sure if I liked it or not. It feels like it's trying to do too many things at once. The super hero bits feel out of place at times. The old American super heroes aren't developed enough for me to care what they're up to apart from the president being a douche. Some things that might have been interesting, like a Russian colony on Mars or whatever it was going on in the paradise in Siberia, were glossed over. The book felt like some parts needed to be cut or another two or three issues added to clarify things and give the story some breathing room.
In the afterword, Deniz Camp says he doesn't know what the book is supposed to be so we're in agreement on that. It's part alternate history, part super hero deconstruction, part futility of war. I don't think it does the juggling act all that well, though.
I didn't hate it and I keep thinking about it. I might feel differently on a reread. It's a powerful book and not an easy read.
November 19, 2025
Hay momentos en que pensaba que podría ponerle cinco estrellas. Ese capítulo/número de un combate brutal entre los héroes de la URSS y los EE.UU. con textos de apoyo extraídos de citas figuradas/reales; la conversión del Bólido de Tunguska en la zona cero de una utopía socialista venida del espacio exterior (y envenenada por el capitalismo)... Realmente me ha gustado cómo Camp y Morian reelaboran el tebeo de superhéroes a través de una ucronía del siglo XX observado desde la invasión de Afganistán; el campo ideal para desplegar la contienda política de ese momento de la historia del cuál deriva nuestro presente. Pero Camp se muestra un poco bisoño y además de no atar un guión más férreo, incorpora ocurrencias que no funcionan bien (las prescindibles cuatro páginas de viñeta a toda página con mazacote de texto; un final con homilía que denota un pánico atroz a que no se entienda un mensaje que estaba claro...). Pequeños detalles que me han sacado un poco de por, lo demás, un tebeo arrollador que se beneficia de un Morian que integra la fuerza de Igor Kordej, la gestualidad de Kyle Barker y el punto satírico de la escuela 2000AD. Muy recomendable.
September 5, 2024
It’s yet another alternate world where superheroes existed at critical junctures of world history. Watchmen-esque re-imagining of the Soviet-Afghan War in the sense that it re-contextualizes a horrible real world conflict to create a new story. In this world, a more bloodthirsty World War II superhero is President of the United States in the 1980s.
Comic-wise it’s a good-looking book, the visuals are a holistic treat there’s no stable shape to the narrative, seemingly no default format or grid. The mood changes with the scene; every era in the story has its own palette, every character their style.
3/5
Fall apart a little in the home stretch. Possible expectable considering it was in many respects a very deliberately paced narrative, not without moments of action but unfolding at a set momentum. When the pieces of the plot start grinding up against each other toward the end it only makes sense that the resolution seems reductive.
Comic-wise it’s a good-looking book, the visuals are a holistic treat there’s no stable shape to the narrative, seemingly no default format or grid. The mood changes with the scene; every era in the story has its own palette, every character their style.
3/5
Fall apart a little in the home stretch. Possible expectable considering it was in many respects a very deliberately paced narrative, not without moments of action but unfolding at a set momentum. When the pieces of the plot start grinding up against each other toward the end it only makes sense that the resolution seems reductive.
June 1, 2023
A use of comic book tropes to ponder what it truly means to have a better world that's as essential as Winter Men, Luther Arkwright/Heart of Empire, even Watchmen. Unmissable.
May 20, 2023
[1.9]
Sparked an interest early on because of the sci-fi elements, interesting storytelling in a war setting and promises of a well thought through story. The main players are russian and american military, and afghan civilians caught in the middle. American readers can be warned that it is pretty anti-american and anti-west.
Pretty early on it became obvious to me that my hopes of a thought through story and interesting characters would be crushed. Ramblings from the characters turned out to be just ramblings, and it seemed that it couldn't decide how to tell the story or what to focus on. It was overall very pretentious and suggestive.
The art varies between OK and ugly technique-wise, but offers some interesting ideas and scenery.
Sparked an interest early on because of the sci-fi elements, interesting storytelling in a war setting and promises of a well thought through story. The main players are russian and american military, and afghan civilians caught in the middle. American readers can be warned that it is pretty anti-american and anti-west.
Pretty early on it became obvious to me that my hopes of a thought through story and interesting characters would be crushed. Ramblings from the characters turned out to be just ramblings, and it seemed that it couldn't decide how to tell the story or what to focus on. It was overall very pretentious and suggestive.
The art varies between OK and ugly technique-wise, but offers some interesting ideas and scenery.
June 21, 2025
People LOVE this book and I can totally appreciate its merits. There’s been apt comparison to Watchmen for its intensely political storytelling and labyrinthine narrative. It’s complex, meaty, and probably benefits from multiple reads.
For me, the results just felt a touch off. The artwork, though evocative and variable throughout the book, makes it difficult to follow exactly what is supposed to be going on. The narration, which slips and slides between characters is occasionally hard to follow too.
Still, there are moments of utter brilliance. There’s an issue centred around a battle whose thought bubbles are replaced by differing quotes from works written after the fact. It makes a maelstrom of violence and point of view that is really awe inspiring.
I definitely think this one is worth a read and makes me excited to follow Deniz Camp’s rising star in the comic world.
For me, the results just felt a touch off. The artwork, though evocative and variable throughout the book, makes it difficult to follow exactly what is supposed to be going on. The narration, which slips and slides between characters is occasionally hard to follow too.
Still, there are moments of utter brilliance. There’s an issue centred around a battle whose thought bubbles are replaced by differing quotes from works written after the fact. It makes a maelstrom of violence and point of view that is really awe inspiring.
I definitely think this one is worth a read and makes me excited to follow Deniz Camp’s rising star in the comic world.
September 12, 2025
I see that I am not the only reviewer who found this sprawling story to be full of promise in ideas, but muddled and often just plain confusing in presentation. Just when I thought the story was coming together for me, it would fall into random jigsaw puzzle pieces again.
January 3, 2025
There’s an issue left before the next Saga hardcover is complete. Which means that, to hold to my dizzyingly over-complicated set of reading goals for the year, I needed a different comic for January. Thankfully, one thing I never lack for is a long list of things being recommended to me. The basic pitch of this seemed interesting enough to try, and I’m happy I did. A bit unfocused and meandering for its limited run time, a bit didactic in its narration, but overall quite an interesting read.
The comic is set in a 20th century afflicted with heroism – the aging supersoldier who won WW2 for the United States is finishing his third term as President, a genius with an artificial heart and a hulking mechsuit is siniglehandedly holding the Soviet war effort in Afghanistan together, the culmination of a centuries-long eugenics and indoctrination program is spending his twilight years cleaning up all the British Empire’s messes and burning all the bodies before he turns off the lights – you get the idea. The war in Afghanistan – and the way it’s inching ever closer to World War 3 as the American Dream orders more and more open intervention against the Soviets – is the focus. The story is told from the perspective of American and Soviet soldiers, politicians and journalists, and the Afghan civilians and soldiers they’re ostensibly fighting for.
This is a comic that was created in the aftermath of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and oh but you can tell. The human cost of wars of liberation and ‘nation-building’ and the sheer bloodlust involved in ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ is a recurring theme throughout, both in Afghanistan and in flashbacks and discussion of Vietnam. The story does not have anything hugely original to say here, but it says it clearly and with some artistic flair.
More broadly the book is about – well, as the title says. It’s a comic with superheroes, but it’s not a superhero comic – the various heroes are all through-a-mirror-darkly takes on one classic cape or another, but the story isn’t at all interested in interpreting them according to the logic or history of superhero stories. They’re here instead as larger-than-life standins and representations of this or that historical force. Captain America is a man obsessed with reclaiming the righteous moral purity of fighting the nazis and also a rough amalgamation of Nixon and Reagan. The Hulk is a walking war crime who caused such an embarrassingly public bloodbath in Vietnam that the government locked him in a black site until deciding his services are once again needed in Vietnam. Superman is the incarnate faith and belief of the Soviet people in the force of History and the coming communist paradise.
A faith and belief that, over the course of the story, vanishes or wastes away or (according to the narrator’s favourite theory) grew so disappointed with humanity that he killed himself. Which is the thesis of the story in a nutshell, really – the modernist, universalizing ideologies and narratives of the 20th century have, by the end of the ‘80s, grown threadbare and too worn out to take seriously. All that remains is old soldiers fighting a war they can’t conceive of ever winning, brutalizing everyone they claim to be here to uplift and save. Which they do with world-shattering skill and strength – destroying all the other dreams and alternatives which might have sprouted out around them almost as an after-thought. I say you can tell it was written in the 2020s, but honestly if you told me this was some particularly cynical gen-Xer writing in the ‘90s or 2000s I’d believe you too. It’s all very End of History (but a bad thing).
Themes aside – as a work of visual art this comic is...not gorgeous exactly, but striking. Impressionistic and almost painterly, committed to conveying huge amounts in a panel or two and happily discarding any pretense of ‘realistic’ representation of the action to achieve it. The character designs often feel like caricatures or political cartoons, and I believe this is entirely intentional and even works. It, frankly, carries most of the book on its shoulders. Not that the writing isn’t good and even clever (I quite liked the issue where the narration was all quotations from news/history/propaganda texts with wildly different slants), but with basic/replacement-rate art this would barely be worth a second look.
In terms of plot and pacing the comic – well, mainly it acts like it has many, many more than six issues to make its point. Extended subplots that take up most of an issue end up going nowhere, characters get screen-time and development entirely out of proportion with how important to the plot they are, and when you really look at it the unifying story hanging it all together is surprisingly thin. Which isn’t a crippling issue in this case, really – it’s very much a theme-first sort of story, and each issue is mostly its own contained thing with its own narrative beats – but reading it as a single work you can definitely feel it. It also does feel like something of a bait and switch, as the first couple issues are by far the most plot-focused and afterwards it gets only more contemplative, impressionistic, and political.
In terms of politics – the last issue is in its entirety essentially a lecture and morality tale. One that feels a bit like having its cake and eating it too – it’s slightly rich to complain about Afghanistan’s role in the western imagination as a brutal, remote ‘graveyard of empires’ rather than somewhere people actually live when you’ve spent the first five issues of the comic leaning into precisely the same tropes. But still, I am a fairly easy sell for works on such daring and careful arguments as ‘invading Afghanistan was a bad idea’ (even if the story gives itself the easiest possible time making it).
Overall, I’m glad I read it. Worth a look if you like comics but wish Watchmen had come out last year.
The comic is set in a 20th century afflicted with heroism – the aging supersoldier who won WW2 for the United States is finishing his third term as President, a genius with an artificial heart and a hulking mechsuit is siniglehandedly holding the Soviet war effort in Afghanistan together, the culmination of a centuries-long eugenics and indoctrination program is spending his twilight years cleaning up all the British Empire’s messes and burning all the bodies before he turns off the lights – you get the idea. The war in Afghanistan – and the way it’s inching ever closer to World War 3 as the American Dream orders more and more open intervention against the Soviets – is the focus. The story is told from the perspective of American and Soviet soldiers, politicians and journalists, and the Afghan civilians and soldiers they’re ostensibly fighting for.
This is a comic that was created in the aftermath of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan and oh but you can tell. The human cost of wars of liberation and ‘nation-building’ and the sheer bloodlust involved in ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘counter-terrorism’ is a recurring theme throughout, both in Afghanistan and in flashbacks and discussion of Vietnam. The story does not have anything hugely original to say here, but it says it clearly and with some artistic flair.
More broadly the book is about – well, as the title says. It’s a comic with superheroes, but it’s not a superhero comic – the various heroes are all through-a-mirror-darkly takes on one classic cape or another, but the story isn’t at all interested in interpreting them according to the logic or history of superhero stories. They’re here instead as larger-than-life standins and representations of this or that historical force. Captain America is a man obsessed with reclaiming the righteous moral purity of fighting the nazis and also a rough amalgamation of Nixon and Reagan. The Hulk is a walking war crime who caused such an embarrassingly public bloodbath in Vietnam that the government locked him in a black site until deciding his services are once again needed in Vietnam. Superman is the incarnate faith and belief of the Soviet people in the force of History and the coming communist paradise.
A faith and belief that, over the course of the story, vanishes or wastes away or (according to the narrator’s favourite theory) grew so disappointed with humanity that he killed himself. Which is the thesis of the story in a nutshell, really – the modernist, universalizing ideologies and narratives of the 20th century have, by the end of the ‘80s, grown threadbare and too worn out to take seriously. All that remains is old soldiers fighting a war they can’t conceive of ever winning, brutalizing everyone they claim to be here to uplift and save. Which they do with world-shattering skill and strength – destroying all the other dreams and alternatives which might have sprouted out around them almost as an after-thought. I say you can tell it was written in the 2020s, but honestly if you told me this was some particularly cynical gen-Xer writing in the ‘90s or 2000s I’d believe you too. It’s all very End of History (but a bad thing).
Themes aside – as a work of visual art this comic is...not gorgeous exactly, but striking. Impressionistic and almost painterly, committed to conveying huge amounts in a panel or two and happily discarding any pretense of ‘realistic’ representation of the action to achieve it. The character designs often feel like caricatures or political cartoons, and I believe this is entirely intentional and even works. It, frankly, carries most of the book on its shoulders. Not that the writing isn’t good and even clever (I quite liked the issue where the narration was all quotations from news/history/propaganda texts with wildly different slants), but with basic/replacement-rate art this would barely be worth a second look.
In terms of plot and pacing the comic – well, mainly it acts like it has many, many more than six issues to make its point. Extended subplots that take up most of an issue end up going nowhere, characters get screen-time and development entirely out of proportion with how important to the plot they are, and when you really look at it the unifying story hanging it all together is surprisingly thin. Which isn’t a crippling issue in this case, really – it’s very much a theme-first sort of story, and each issue is mostly its own contained thing with its own narrative beats – but reading it as a single work you can definitely feel it. It also does feel like something of a bait and switch, as the first couple issues are by far the most plot-focused and afterwards it gets only more contemplative, impressionistic, and political.
In terms of politics – the last issue is in its entirety essentially a lecture and morality tale. One that feels a bit like having its cake and eating it too – it’s slightly rich to complain about Afghanistan’s role in the western imagination as a brutal, remote ‘graveyard of empires’ rather than somewhere people actually live when you’ve spent the first five issues of the comic leaning into precisely the same tropes. But still, I am a fairly easy sell for works on such daring and careful arguments as ‘invading Afghanistan was a bad idea’ (even if the story gives itself the easiest possible time making it).
Overall, I’m glad I read it. Worth a look if you like comics but wish Watchmen had come out last year.
July 11, 2024
I loved the art and was especially invested in Azra's character. The final issue was amazing, but the book overall felt muddled and inconsistent.
March 28, 2024
I felt like there were too many things going on in this book. Each chapter was a different story. I wish there was a throughline to follow; I had trouble getting a grip on the story. I was reminded of Monsters because they're both long, meandering stories about a hulking figure. Out of everything, I was most invested in the journalist's story. The artwork was interesting.
Read for a graphic novel book club
Read for a graphic novel book club
April 9, 2023
Deniz Camp is a name to look out for. His work on Agents of W.O.R.L.D.E. got me to take notice of his imaginative storytelling that capably blends humor and style, and 20th Century Men is no less impressive. The story in 20th Century Men is set in a world where certain historical events across the 1900's occur slightly differently, charting a new course of history into contemporary times. There are some loose sci-fi elements mixed in, like an Iron Man-styled Soviet soldier and a supersoldier turned US President, but most of the story is presented like gritty retelling of an altered Cold War. Most of the narrative focuses on the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, and how the disparate geopolitical entities feud over territory and influence. In its blending of superheroics with history (particularly with the setting being the height of Cold War paranoia), one can't help but connect 20th Century Men with Alan Moore's and Dave Gibbons' Watchmen. I don't want to unfairly contrast this series with Watchmen of course, but I was fairly impressed with Camp's ability to navigate complex political commentary with interesting storytelling.
Stipan Morian's artwork is astoundingly great throughout. The panels are energetic and innovative, the colors are vibrant and lush, and Aditya Bidikar's lettering is spot-on as always. There's a lot of great creative choices made throughout to make the nonlinear narrative easier to follow, and a lot of that credit beongs to Morian's artwork. Just like Camp, Morian is definitely talent to continue paying attention to.
Stipan Morian's artwork is astoundingly great throughout. The panels are energetic and innovative, the colors are vibrant and lush, and Aditya Bidikar's lettering is spot-on as always. There's a lot of great creative choices made throughout to make the nonlinear narrative easier to follow, and a lot of that credit beongs to Morian's artwork. Just like Camp, Morian is definitely talent to continue paying attention to.
October 20, 2025
I have no idea what I was doing with my first read- I missed it all. A truly beautiful story about war and pain, the people who profit at a distance and the people stuck in the middle. This is the type of story that can be reread multiple times and my second read gave me a totally new insight, there are mechanized warriors and super bombs but the FOCUS is on the military industrial complex and the ways in which they use people for their own gain and how often those in power are the ones choosing sacrifice for their people while keeping themselves at a safe distance.
The art and page layouts are great. Some good mix of heavy wording and open space- the desert scenes in Afghanistan are very pretty- the snow and cold of Russia is wonderful to look at.
Read this book!
The art and page layouts are great. Some good mix of heavy wording and open space- the desert scenes in Afghanistan are very pretty- the snow and cold of Russia is wonderful to look at.
Read this book!
June 27, 2023
I don't know, maybe this should be 5 stars? It took me a while to get through -- this isn't an easy read at all. But I don't think it's supposed to be. I think you're supposed to wrestle with it, chew on it, consider it. At times I felt like I might be dumb because I didn't totally understand what was going on -- and I actually think I'm a relatively bright person. I think history buffs would get more out of parts of this book than I did. But by the end, I felt like I probably just read a work of genius.
June 11, 2024
3.5 - After a slightly confusing start this book ramps up into well rounded anti war/anti imperialism narrative, which, in the end, is a bit on the nose. The characters could have done with being better fleshed out and but some of the narrative motifs used are clever and make the most of the graphic novel form to tell a compelling story. The glimpses of this alternative history world also spark some imaginative 'what if?' settings. The art is superb, very evocative and almost dreamlike in many parts.
June 20, 2023
I don't know man.....either I'm too dumb to get what this is going for, or it just wasn't for me. Issues stretch on and on with psychological babbling about life, death, morality, and the like, meanwhile the actual plot is both confusing and basic. I felt like it wasn't clear on where it was going beyond the obvious conflict that paints both America and Russia in a negative light. I read this cuz I wanted to have a opinion on Camp before they begin some marvel work, but this wasn't a good first impression.
November 16, 2023
20th Century Men is a strange and compelling look at the complexities of war via the storytelling style of Watchmen, though with a strong dose of acid. The first issue drops you into an alternate 80s in which Russia and America are still competing over Afghanistan. The Afghans, naturally, want nothing to do with either nation and would prefer to work things out for themselves.
Amidst this morass are superhero-adjacent beings, like the main character, a bulky, brilliant Russian in a suit of superpowered armor who pontificates at length in voiceover. There's also the blowhard American president on his fourth term, sending a psychotic warrior onto the battlefield against everyone's wishes. Finally, the Afghan native who is trying to split the gap between Russian and American aggression.
The story starts with a stolen nuclear device, then veers wildly into loads of other stuff, before concluding explosively. 20th Century Men is never easy to follow - like Watchmen, you really have to be paying attention for any of this to make the barest sense. It doesn't help that the art is art, man, wild stuff that's often incoherent, yet complementary to the storytelling.
I'm not sure how much I liked the book, or whether it was actually any good, but I couldn't put it down. I found it edifying how hard I had to try to read the damn thing? Reader beware, I guess.
Amidst this morass are superhero-adjacent beings, like the main character, a bulky, brilliant Russian in a suit of superpowered armor who pontificates at length in voiceover. There's also the blowhard American president on his fourth term, sending a psychotic warrior onto the battlefield against everyone's wishes. Finally, the Afghan native who is trying to split the gap between Russian and American aggression.
The story starts with a stolen nuclear device, then veers wildly into loads of other stuff, before concluding explosively. 20th Century Men is never easy to follow - like Watchmen, you really have to be paying attention for any of this to make the barest sense. It doesn't help that the art is art, man, wild stuff that's often incoherent, yet complementary to the storytelling.
I'm not sure how much I liked the book, or whether it was actually any good, but I couldn't put it down. I found it edifying how hard I had to try to read the damn thing? Reader beware, I guess.
Read
April 4, 2024You know the many comics over the past 40 years which have asked, what if superheroes were real, without the guardrails of corporate universes where nothing is allowed to diverge too far from our world - what would that do to geopolitics? If so, congratulations, because apparently nobody raving about this did. The main action takes place in the 1980s, where Ultimate Captain America by any other name is on his third term as President, and unless I seriously misunderstood one flashback, Budapest's uprising didn't just get crushed in the fifties, it got nuked. But events have still kept tamely following our timeline, just because. Hell, Britain has apparently had superhumans for 300 years, so how come there even is a USA? And come to that, if those British superhumans are raised in artificially heightened gravity and pressure, why is the one we see such a weaselly, spindly type? Is it because classic Hollywood casting of British villains has taken the lead over basic internal consistency? I rather think it might be. This failure to fully think anything through means that the book's messages land like the massive clichés they are: apparently, truth is a slippery concept! Children playing is nice, and war isn't very nice at all, but some people make a lot of money out of it! Huge if true, right? And OK, most morals can seem trite if summarised, but the way to get around that is to give the reader people who feel believable in situations that feel as if they're playing out naturally, and lead us back to the old messages from within such that they actually make an impact again because we see them with fresh eyes, not to puppeteer a morality play while acting like it's fresh and new. The only thing that stops 20th Century Men from feeling like a total waste of time is the art of Stipan Morian, a genuinely impressive discovery whose versatility, expressiveness and general ability to sell this unpromising material remind me of that glorious period in our own eighties and nineties when comics were realising what they could do. And hey, maybe if similar work from that period such as New Statesmen hadn't vanished into the memory hole, he might be illustrating something more worthwhile than a retread of it.
June 29, 2023
This is a comic book that you actually have to read. In every sense of the phrase. This is not a snappy action driven plotfest. Its a book with something to say
The art is wonderful, colorful, and daring. Every page is a statement made as art, and no two scenes are the same. Even that can be challenging when we are used to such uniform expression in mainstream comic books.
Despite some claims, it is not a deconstruction of the super hero genre. Or at least, its more than just that. Its a rather striking antiwar manifesto, that looks at a complex real world history through methods & tropes of genre fiction.
And at its core, there is a still beating human heart.
The art is wonderful, colorful, and daring. Every page is a statement made as art, and no two scenes are the same. Even that can be challenging when we are used to such uniform expression in mainstream comic books.
Despite some claims, it is not a deconstruction of the super hero genre. Or at least, its more than just that. Its a rather striking antiwar manifesto, that looks at a complex real world history through methods & tropes of genre fiction.
And at its core, there is a still beating human heart.
February 13, 2024
What a boring comic.
It's full of outdated criticism about the Cold War that we'd seen in some corny 80s comics.
But to my surprise, it was published last year.
Well, at least the story could be filled up with action.
No, it is mostly people talking and thinking about cheap philosophy. Even the action scenes are filled with pretentious texts.
Reading it felt like being in a room with teenage intellectual wannabes.
It's full of outdated criticism about the Cold War that we'd seen in some corny 80s comics.
But to my surprise, it was published last year.
Well, at least the story could be filled up with action.
No, it is mostly people talking and thinking about cheap philosophy. Even the action scenes are filled with pretentious texts.
Reading it felt like being in a room with teenage intellectual wannabes.
February 1, 2026
The year is 1987. Our setting is a familiar one. America and the Soviet Union are entering what will ultimately be the endgame moves of the Cold War. And yet there are wildcards in this world. A Soviet super-agent in a suit of armor. An American President who has powers and once fought for democracy and freedom during WWII. All of these are familiar players, yet very different in the pages of 20th Century Men. Fans of comics will get a kick out of the script and artwork. They are both utterly fantastic and hook you in right from the start.
Writing: Deniz Camp is a big name in comics. And while I was not familiar with his work before picking up 20th Century Men, now I can see why fans dig him. He writes with a style that speaks to his passion as a comics writer, but also layers in a hefty level of character development and dialogue that speaks to the more profound message he is trying to convey. That message is this: how do we reconcile ourselves in a world hell-bent on tearing itself apart? Everyone in this story has their own answer on how to deal with things: peace through war, peace through force, and peace through new ideas and forms of government. Yet in Camp’s 1987, none of them can work. They can only fail or take on new and terrifying forms. And that is why people will love Deniz Camp’s writing.
Art: Stipan Morian is a newcomer to the comics scene and makes quite a splash with his artwork in this series. It is gorgeous, it is vivid, and by gosh, it is full of ultra-violence. Even though this is Stipan’s own stuff, the fanboy in me sees a hint of Frank Miller within, the Frank Miller of Sin City and 300. Morian has an eye for detail and excellent linework that plays well with the script from Deniz. Readers will take note of the grittiness and determination that are significant components of every character’s facial expressions. Whether it is the President, the Soviet hero, or the determined heroine from Afghanistan who wishes for better things for her people. Stipan captures all of this and more.
Letters: For those who are fans of lettering, Aditya Bidikar is a recognizable name. He has lettered for various books from DC, Dark Horse, and other publishers. What he brings to the table is a gift for making words pop. At the book’s opening, there are panels where the F word is repeated in time to the thrum of helicopter blades as if identical. As with the artwork, the little details like that will keep your attention hooked. Suppose you need another example of what Bidikar can do. In that case, whenever Ali has an internal dialogue with herself, it is done in a magnificent cursive script, like pages from a journal. Combined with the rest of the beautiful lettering throughout this book, people will never want to put it down.
Overall Assessment:
“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”
– Oliver Hazard Perry, 1812.
Never before has that single line rang more true than when I picked up the TPB of 20th Century Men. Not only does it incorporate characters who are tasteful homages to some of the comics’ most iconic characters, but it is also filled to the brim with artwork that will keep readers glued to the pages. You add in the script that is equal parts superhero adventure and a treatise on the Cold War smattered with mythology and philosophy, and you have a graphic novel that is worth having in your private collection and even being taught in the classrooms of major universities. A grand triumph by the creative team, one that will last forever.
Writing: Deniz Camp is a big name in comics. And while I was not familiar with his work before picking up 20th Century Men, now I can see why fans dig him. He writes with a style that speaks to his passion as a comics writer, but also layers in a hefty level of character development and dialogue that speaks to the more profound message he is trying to convey. That message is this: how do we reconcile ourselves in a world hell-bent on tearing itself apart? Everyone in this story has their own answer on how to deal with things: peace through war, peace through force, and peace through new ideas and forms of government. Yet in Camp’s 1987, none of them can work. They can only fail or take on new and terrifying forms. And that is why people will love Deniz Camp’s writing.
Art: Stipan Morian is a newcomer to the comics scene and makes quite a splash with his artwork in this series. It is gorgeous, it is vivid, and by gosh, it is full of ultra-violence. Even though this is Stipan’s own stuff, the fanboy in me sees a hint of Frank Miller within, the Frank Miller of Sin City and 300. Morian has an eye for detail and excellent linework that plays well with the script from Deniz. Readers will take note of the grittiness and determination that are significant components of every character’s facial expressions. Whether it is the President, the Soviet hero, or the determined heroine from Afghanistan who wishes for better things for her people. Stipan captures all of this and more.
Letters: For those who are fans of lettering, Aditya Bidikar is a recognizable name. He has lettered for various books from DC, Dark Horse, and other publishers. What he brings to the table is a gift for making words pop. At the book’s opening, there are panels where the F word is repeated in time to the thrum of helicopter blades as if identical. As with the artwork, the little details like that will keep your attention hooked. Suppose you need another example of what Bidikar can do. In that case, whenever Ali has an internal dialogue with herself, it is done in a magnificent cursive script, like pages from a journal. Combined with the rest of the beautiful lettering throughout this book, people will never want to put it down.
Overall Assessment:
“We have met the enemy and they are ours.”
– Oliver Hazard Perry, 1812.
Never before has that single line rang more true than when I picked up the TPB of 20th Century Men. Not only does it incorporate characters who are tasteful homages to some of the comics’ most iconic characters, but it is also filled to the brim with artwork that will keep readers glued to the pages. You add in the script that is equal parts superhero adventure and a treatise on the Cold War smattered with mythology and philosophy, and you have a graphic novel that is worth having in your private collection and even being taught in the classrooms of major universities. A grand triumph by the creative team, one that will last forever.
February 23, 2024
20th Century Men is a superhero war graphic novel that was written by Deniz Camp and illustrated by Stipan Morian. It was first published in 2023.
At the end of the 20th century, superheroes, geniuses and activists rush towards WWIII. A Soviet hero, a super-powered American president, an insane cyborg soldier and an Afghan woman hell-bent on building a better life for her people all collide in a story that mixes history, politics and comic book mythology. This series consists of six issues, but because the story functions better when viewed as a whole than individually, I am writing about this entire series in one review.
While I appreciated the undeniable artistic integrity and phenomenal messaging behind this project, I have to admit that I ended up having mixed feelings about it. Deniz Camp is strong at world building and he has a lot to say about war and politics, but he doesn’t have a knack at telling a compelling, well-defined storyline or characters.
I admired the comic’s very anti-American military stance, which was audacious coming from an American writer. Both the Russians and the Americans are depicted in a negative light here, but the latter were particularly criticized for bringing chaos and destruction everywhere their military goes, which is very much true, so I did respect this messaging a lot. The final issue states that America is in the war game because of the huge financial gains stemming from it, which was also truthful.
So thematically speaking, I have no qualms with his writing, but I had issues with his weak characterization and terrible pacing and structure. The graphic novel is not easy to get into as it’s very slow and structured in such a way that it jumps from point to point and character to character, never settling on one thing enough for it to stick with the reader. Platonov was the best character of the bunch and the coolest, but most other characters did not get particularly strong arcs unfortunately.
The dialogue is also repetitive as the same point is revisited way too many times. I just wished for a more coherent, more involving story. It obviously tries to emulate ‘Watchmen’, but it lacked the storytelling power of that iconic graphic novel. What it does have, though, is absolutely astonishing art. This is the reason why I ended up liking this work in spite of its problematic writing. Stipan Morian is such a talented illustrator and he is particularly adept at drawing machines and the war scenes.
The panel grid is especially inventive as the comic would go from huge panels to smaller ones to no panels at all. I did wish that the letters on so many of them weren’t so small to read, but the panels also having little or extensive dialogue appealed to me. It’s a very unique structure in that regard. But the sheer artistry on display is admirable as every single panel is meticulously detailed, polished and evoking potent imagery that is both disturbing and effective.
20th Century Men is at the end of the day a messy graphic novel in terms of storytelling. It has a great message, but it felt repetitious and populated with underdeveloped characters. It’s still worth reading for its ambitious, absolutely gorgeous art with a particularly authentic grid layout.
At the end of the 20th century, superheroes, geniuses and activists rush towards WWIII. A Soviet hero, a super-powered American president, an insane cyborg soldier and an Afghan woman hell-bent on building a better life for her people all collide in a story that mixes history, politics and comic book mythology. This series consists of six issues, but because the story functions better when viewed as a whole than individually, I am writing about this entire series in one review.
While I appreciated the undeniable artistic integrity and phenomenal messaging behind this project, I have to admit that I ended up having mixed feelings about it. Deniz Camp is strong at world building and he has a lot to say about war and politics, but he doesn’t have a knack at telling a compelling, well-defined storyline or characters.
I admired the comic’s very anti-American military stance, which was audacious coming from an American writer. Both the Russians and the Americans are depicted in a negative light here, but the latter were particularly criticized for bringing chaos and destruction everywhere their military goes, which is very much true, so I did respect this messaging a lot. The final issue states that America is in the war game because of the huge financial gains stemming from it, which was also truthful.
So thematically speaking, I have no qualms with his writing, but I had issues with his weak characterization and terrible pacing and structure. The graphic novel is not easy to get into as it’s very slow and structured in such a way that it jumps from point to point and character to character, never settling on one thing enough for it to stick with the reader. Platonov was the best character of the bunch and the coolest, but most other characters did not get particularly strong arcs unfortunately.
The dialogue is also repetitive as the same point is revisited way too many times. I just wished for a more coherent, more involving story. It obviously tries to emulate ‘Watchmen’, but it lacked the storytelling power of that iconic graphic novel. What it does have, though, is absolutely astonishing art. This is the reason why I ended up liking this work in spite of its problematic writing. Stipan Morian is such a talented illustrator and he is particularly adept at drawing machines and the war scenes.
The panel grid is especially inventive as the comic would go from huge panels to smaller ones to no panels at all. I did wish that the letters on so many of them weren’t so small to read, but the panels also having little or extensive dialogue appealed to me. It’s a very unique structure in that regard. But the sheer artistry on display is admirable as every single panel is meticulously detailed, polished and evoking potent imagery that is both disturbing and effective.
20th Century Men is at the end of the day a messy graphic novel in terms of storytelling. It has a great message, but it felt repetitious and populated with underdeveloped characters. It’s still worth reading for its ambitious, absolutely gorgeous art with a particularly authentic grid layout.
December 17, 2023
3.5 stars - It's good in spite of much not working for me on the story side, because, ultimately, that's where Camp's ambition outstrips the script. It falls squarely falling in themes and execution as a lesser Winter Men (most things are tho, that's a 5 star book imo).
A solid two+ stars is for the artist. Stipan Morian has a lot going for him, mostly in terms of being able to render a scene based on the emotion it's meant to evoke and not just what the script asks for on camera. Art that evokes feelings! I know it sounds obvious given how graphic the medium is but there're just not many artists who do that consistently, especially in the genre books like this. Stipan reads the fictional room and sets the mood accordingly. There's blotchy colors for the fog of war, delicate crosshatch for the quiet empty moments, clean clinical lines for battlefield butchering. It's really, truly excellent stuff, even when I was confused, I loved looking at nearly every page.
...it was very often confusing though. There were two to three different narrators overlaid in panels, sometimes narrating from different times. There was an entire flashback that I couldn't tell when it was supposed to take place or even its relevancy to the action.
"It's not confusing," the defender would say, "its dense, it's complex, like Watchmen was." Ok, fair point, Watchmen was indeed complex. It had a lot of the same elements that I'm listing as negatives for 20CM, but Moore and Davis took great pains to make the action relatively straight forward even if the themes were dense. You never had questions about where you were or what you were seeing with Watchmen, it was about understanding the meanings intended at each juxtaposition.
The reward of reading (and rereading) Watchmen is about decoding. The chore of 20th Century Men is about untangling which is a far less satisfying reading experience for me personally.
Ultimately superhero comics are power fantasies. This is meant to be that, but what made Watchmen powerful was grappling with the ridiculousness of power fantasies in the light of reality. I struggle with the recent rash of modern deconstructions, in which it's a deconstruction of a power fantasy with more politically leftist power fantasies, essentially a fairy tale dick measuring contest (if it's all made-up, none of it matters).
It's got the correct politics for the comics scene, so it'll be reviewed well, I think, but if you look past that, I don't think it's quite as brilliant as every seems to think it is. I found it, based on the merits alone, pretty frustrating, though it's worth picking up for the art.
A solid two+ stars is for the artist. Stipan Morian has a lot going for him, mostly in terms of being able to render a scene based on the emotion it's meant to evoke and not just what the script asks for on camera. Art that evokes feelings! I know it sounds obvious given how graphic the medium is but there're just not many artists who do that consistently, especially in the genre books like this. Stipan reads the fictional room and sets the mood accordingly. There's blotchy colors for the fog of war, delicate crosshatch for the quiet empty moments, clean clinical lines for battlefield butchering. It's really, truly excellent stuff, even when I was confused, I loved looking at nearly every page.
...it was very often confusing though. There were two to three different narrators overlaid in panels, sometimes narrating from different times. There was an entire flashback that I couldn't tell when it was supposed to take place or even its relevancy to the action.
"It's not confusing," the defender would say, "its dense, it's complex, like Watchmen was." Ok, fair point, Watchmen was indeed complex. It had a lot of the same elements that I'm listing as negatives for 20CM, but Moore and Davis took great pains to make the action relatively straight forward even if the themes were dense. You never had questions about where you were or what you were seeing with Watchmen, it was about understanding the meanings intended at each juxtaposition.
The reward of reading (and rereading) Watchmen is about decoding. The chore of 20th Century Men is about untangling which is a far less satisfying reading experience for me personally.
Ultimately superhero comics are power fantasies. This is meant to be that, but what made Watchmen powerful was grappling with the ridiculousness of power fantasies in the light of reality. I struggle with the recent rash of modern deconstructions, in which it's a deconstruction of a power fantasy with more politically leftist power fantasies, essentially a fairy tale dick measuring contest (if it's all made-up, none of it matters).
It's got the correct politics for the comics scene, so it'll be reviewed well, I think, but if you look past that, I don't think it's quite as brilliant as every seems to think it is. I found it, based on the merits alone, pretty frustrating, though it's worth picking up for the art.
August 20, 2025
Set in an alternate history where twentieth century conflicts have been transformed by the presence of superhuman soldiers, the 1980s sees the US and USSR fighting a war in Afghanistan. The military figurehead of the Soviet campaign, a mechanized hulk by the name of Platanov, struggles to maintain control over a spiraling conflict as he discovers a redundant copy of the power source that fuels his strength has been stolen. As Platanov searches for his "second heart", he contends with the forces of a self-righteous and newly emboldened American administration as both trample on the sovereignty and well-being of the afghans who live on their battleground.
A dense, poetic, and devastating war fiction that amplifies the misguided ideology-fueled conflicts that defined the last century. For being a book that is classified as "superhero" fiction, the story reads very little like it with few heroes to be found nor the supernatural given much emphasis. Miraculous abilities are treated as yet another weapon of war, that serve to embolden the already reckless campaigns of nation building and human suffering the world's largest countries engage in. The writing is complex, philosophical, and endlessly quotable though I'm sure many will find it's rather dense musings a bit heavy handed. I myself quite enjoyed the prose and really appreciated the variety in storytelling format; a few chapters scripted like an illustrated novel, others as a sort of memorialized visual tribute, and the majority as a conventional panel driven comic. The art is also gorgeous and wildly varied with sketchy, volatile linework colored in heavy contrast butting heads against broad saturated collages of smoke and shrapnel. The aesthetic morphs on a near page to page basis and routinely surprises, yet consistently maintains a tense tone full of vivid depictions. While I found the somewhat lyrical narration, sparse plotting, and stoic characterization a bit of a double edged sword, there was very little about this work I didn't love.
A dense, poetic, and devastating war fiction that amplifies the misguided ideology-fueled conflicts that defined the last century. For being a book that is classified as "superhero" fiction, the story reads very little like it with few heroes to be found nor the supernatural given much emphasis. Miraculous abilities are treated as yet another weapon of war, that serve to embolden the already reckless campaigns of nation building and human suffering the world's largest countries engage in. The writing is complex, philosophical, and endlessly quotable though I'm sure many will find it's rather dense musings a bit heavy handed. I myself quite enjoyed the prose and really appreciated the variety in storytelling format; a few chapters scripted like an illustrated novel, others as a sort of memorialized visual tribute, and the majority as a conventional panel driven comic. The art is also gorgeous and wildly varied with sketchy, volatile linework colored in heavy contrast butting heads against broad saturated collages of smoke and shrapnel. The aesthetic morphs on a near page to page basis and routinely surprises, yet consistently maintains a tense tone full of vivid depictions. While I found the somewhat lyrical narration, sparse plotting, and stoic characterization a bit of a double edged sword, there was very little about this work I didn't love.
April 22, 2024
Wow! This is definitely the best GN that I've read this year (so far).
Centering around the Russian invasion/occupation of Afghanistan, that is merely the core starting point, as the story in this actually starts in Vietnam, 1969, revealing to us the horrors of war where the U.S. has put a hyper-violent crazed cyborg super-soldier onto the battlefield and landscape of Vietnam, whilst the Soviets have worked on Comrade Platonov to produce their own super-soldier clothed in a metal, bulky exo-suit (picture the first Iron Man suit cobbled together by Tony Stark in the first Iron Man film).
The artwork throughout is sublime subtly changing where the story demands; it some more frenetic moments it reminded me of Sam Keith, but elsewhere there are painted pages and some truly outstandingly beautiful images, in amongst the brutal rending of combatants and civilians alike.
There's so much in the volume that shouldn't work, for instance, the 'heavenly' angel/alien/Collective Man in Siberia (where the Tunguska impact event took place), but it all feels of a whole, the world-building well-realised, both in the writing and the art.
This book also contains one of the best ever summations of American politics that I've ever read:
"People complain. Congress argues. That's what they do."
Uttered by a super-powered, former WWII soldier, the American President (obviously!)
Centering around the Russian invasion/occupation of Afghanistan, that is merely the core starting point, as the story in this actually starts in Vietnam, 1969, revealing to us the horrors of war where the U.S. has put a hyper-violent crazed cyborg super-soldier onto the battlefield and landscape of Vietnam, whilst the Soviets have worked on Comrade Platonov to produce their own super-soldier clothed in a metal, bulky exo-suit (picture the first Iron Man suit cobbled together by Tony Stark in the first Iron Man film).
The artwork throughout is sublime subtly changing where the story demands; it some more frenetic moments it reminded me of Sam Keith, but elsewhere there are painted pages and some truly outstandingly beautiful images, in amongst the brutal rending of combatants and civilians alike.
There's so much in the volume that shouldn't work, for instance, the 'heavenly' angel/alien/Collective Man in Siberia (where the Tunguska impact event took place), but it all feels of a whole, the world-building well-realised, both in the writing and the art.
This book also contains one of the best ever summations of American politics that I've ever read:
"People complain. Congress argues. That's what they do."
Uttered by a super-powered, former WWII soldier, the American President (obviously!)
May 2, 2024
Overall I really dug this book. It felt like a feverish, angry book about how voices are tragically lost in the fights of giants. In this case, those giants are superheroes that stand in for global superpowers. It’s in the lineage of things like Watchmen and Taiyo Matsumoto’s No 5, but is its own beast with that core of reframing the conflict around who is trampled under foot.
It doesn’t hold back with its caricatures. It’s Captain America is Regan on steroids, the dark side of the idea of the American Dream (hence his name) and it’s Iron Man is a walking Iron Curtain, a tin tsar with a beating heart of something not flesh. But it’s Tony Stark is a sad, broken idealist who has to face reality. It’s not a pleasant book, but it is quite a read. Dense and captivating.
Loved the art. Very malleable work from Morian, who style shifts when the need arises. Especially liked the moment when it turns into a Gerald Scarfe type caricature of the spymaster. Bidikar’s lettering always amazes me.
I wasn’t a fan of a few choices, but I understand them and appreciate the intent even if I don’t quite agree that they worked.
Im still gonna be rattling this around in my head for a while. If my thoughts sound scattered, that’s cause this book does that to ya. Its overwhelming. It’s especially wild reading it now, as History is happening again, and people are being trampled again.
It doesn’t hold back with its caricatures. It’s Captain America is Regan on steroids, the dark side of the idea of the American Dream (hence his name) and it’s Iron Man is a walking Iron Curtain, a tin tsar with a beating heart of something not flesh. But it’s Tony Stark is a sad, broken idealist who has to face reality. It’s not a pleasant book, but it is quite a read. Dense and captivating.
Loved the art. Very malleable work from Morian, who style shifts when the need arises. Especially liked the moment when it turns into a Gerald Scarfe type caricature of the spymaster. Bidikar’s lettering always amazes me.
I wasn’t a fan of a few choices, but I understand them and appreciate the intent even if I don’t quite agree that they worked.
Im still gonna be rattling this around in my head for a while. If my thoughts sound scattered, that’s cause this book does that to ya. Its overwhelming. It’s especially wild reading it now, as History is happening again, and people are being trampled again.
March 7, 2025
This is an impressionistic and kaleidoscopic look at war, told through the lens of sci-fi superheroes fighting battles for various reasons. It is, ultimately, grimdark and cynical, yet with a slight spark of hope that we might one day come to our senses. It is easy to see how this could be an origin story of brutal dystopian futures like those in Warhammer 40k, but I hope not.
It’s alternate history, touching on WWII, Vietnam, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan, contrasting the reason why people who are caught up in the conflicts fight versus the politicians and corporations who benefit from perpetual war. It’s fairly epic and wide-ranging for all of that.
By the end there’s no tidy solution. When I read historical accounts of wars like the ones fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, I come away as baffled as ever about *why* these conflicts happened. The stated rationales are ever at odds with what is said behind closed doors, and there’s always misinformation and disinformation running riot throughout it all. This comic exemplifies that by showing both humanity and inhumanity on both sides.
I’m reminded of the song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield:
https://youtu.be/gp5JCrSXkJY
It’s alternate history, touching on WWII, Vietnam, and the Soviet war in Afghanistan, contrasting the reason why people who are caught up in the conflicts fight versus the politicians and corporations who benefit from perpetual war. It’s fairly epic and wide-ranging for all of that.
By the end there’s no tidy solution. When I read historical accounts of wars like the ones fought in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan, I come away as baffled as ever about *why* these conflicts happened. The stated rationales are ever at odds with what is said behind closed doors, and there’s always misinformation and disinformation running riot throughout it all. This comic exemplifies that by showing both humanity and inhumanity on both sides.
I’m reminded of the song “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield:
There's battle lines being drawn
Nobody's right if everybody's wrong
https://youtu.be/gp5JCrSXkJY
December 2, 2025
“It was and it wasn’t… this is how we begin our stories, with words that destroy themselves to free what comes after. This is our story. Call it fiction— I dare you. Our story. Look what they do to it. If I could choose, I would choose children, I’d raise them up strong here in this place they call graveyard of empires. Graveyard…? This place where our grandmothers told stories and our uncles smoked pipes and drank tea with sugar in their mouths? Graveyard? Where our brothers are born, and birds burst from the trees? Graveyard? Where we buried seeds, and drew water, and grew golden in the sun? They call it a graveyard and then do everything to make it true. Are these the stories you find in a graveyard? There’s life everywhere. Graveyard? It wasn’t. Not a graveyard, or game, or adventure. Not a proving ground, or an alien planet, or a place to become a man; not a conquest, or duty, or opportunity, or resource. Afghanistan is the center of the world, and our story is the story of the 20th century. A story of genius, miracle and martyr. What is left of our story? A graveyard? It was and it wasn’t. If I could choose, I would choose children. Running, careless, through a field.”
Took me a while to get into it but Camp and Morian are just working towards an unbelievable level of quality in this book. Hope they keep collaborating on things forever.
Took me a while to get into it but Camp and Morian are just working towards an unbelievable level of quality in this book. Hope they keep collaborating on things forever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 8, 2026
«Ay, Petró… dime… ¿Cuándo decidiste que la muerte era algo tan hermoso?»
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Aunque este cómic me ha encantado, no tengo muy claro que pienso de él.
Me ha encantado el dibujo, lo bien que funcionan los 6 números por separado y bastantes de los puntos del argumento, así como algunos de los personajes y del mundo que crea.
Por otra parte, me ha resultado bastante confuso seguir la trama, y sobre todo el argumento del cómic. Más allá de retratar los horrores de la guerra y lo injusta que es sobre los que la sufren, creo que la cantidad de perspectivas confrontadas hacen que al final haya demasiadas ideas para sacar nada en claro.
También me ha resultado un poco decepcionante políticamente, sobre todo por el final (¿Quién querría vivir en una perpetua asamblea popular? ¿Quién se cree que tal cosa podría funcionar al margen del resto del mundo?) y la simplificación de la realidad soviética en los 80.
Aún así, lo recomiendo mucho. Pero no, las comparaciones con Watchmen no están justificadas.
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«En la guerra a un hombre no se le compra...
Solo es el hombre el que puede venderse.»
«Parecían imposiblemente dotados de vida.
En realidad, estaban muertos. Eso fue lo que les brindó semejante ventaja sobre nosotros.»
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Aunque este cómic me ha encantado, no tengo muy claro que pienso de él.
Me ha encantado el dibujo, lo bien que funcionan los 6 números por separado y bastantes de los puntos del argumento, así como algunos de los personajes y del mundo que crea.
Por otra parte, me ha resultado bastante confuso seguir la trama, y sobre todo el argumento del cómic. Más allá de retratar los horrores de la guerra y lo injusta que es sobre los que la sufren, creo que la cantidad de perspectivas confrontadas hacen que al final haya demasiadas ideas para sacar nada en claro.
También me ha resultado un poco decepcionante políticamente, sobre todo por el final (¿Quién querría vivir en una perpetua asamblea popular? ¿Quién se cree que tal cosa podría funcionar al margen del resto del mundo?) y la simplificación de la realidad soviética en los 80.
Aún así, lo recomiendo mucho. Pero no, las comparaciones con Watchmen no están justificadas.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
«En la guerra a un hombre no se le compra...
Solo es el hombre el que puede venderse.»
«Parecían imposiblemente dotados de vida.
En realidad, estaban muertos. Eso fue lo que les brindó semejante ventaja sobre nosotros.»
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