What do you think?
Rate this book
Reload/MEK
Featuring two independent and diverse tales from the mind of one creator, RELOAD/MEK is a highly imaginative volume of sci-fi action and political intrigue. In the action-packed espionage thriller Reload, Secret Service Agent Chris Royal must find a way to take out the woman who has murdered the President before her rampage destroys the nation's capital. In the futuristic tale of revenge Mek, the woman who is responsible for the society-decaying trend of elective robotic enhancements investigates the murder of her former lover in a bizarre and deadly world of cyborg hooligans.
144 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2004
1 person is currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Warren Ellis
1,972 books5,772 followersWarren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.
He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.
Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.
A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.
Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.
Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
April 10, 2018
Featuring a surprisingly high level of graphic violence and profanity for an erstwhile “Free comics day” styled comic, Mek makes for quite a schizophrenic story. At best it reduces to a puerile take on genetic engineering with cyberpunk tints and tinges enshrouding all. Undeveloped at best, half-baked at worst it leaves a stale taste. Utter trash overall.
Which is all the odder considering that it’s partner, Reload is a quasi-well done story representing it’s other in this bundle tied together under the Ells name.
An almost “too soon,” story of conspiracy and terrorism swiftly resembling Garth Ennis’ 303 story seems all the more too prescient as a post 9/11 era story published in 2003. While featuring quite nice artwork, questionable writing and an equally mediocre plotline mar this work as much as the endless torrent of explosions that blast through it. Disappointingly, if more time and planning had been spent on it, Reload could easily have been spun out into a farther lengthier and far more enjoyable series overall.
Not worth your time.
Which is all the odder considering that it’s partner, Reload is a quasi-well done story representing it’s other in this bundle tied together under the Ells name.
An almost “too soon,” story of conspiracy and terrorism swiftly resembling Garth Ennis’ 303 story seems all the more too prescient as a post 9/11 era story published in 2003. While featuring quite nice artwork, questionable writing and an equally mediocre plotline mar this work as much as the endless torrent of explosions that blast through it. Disappointingly, if more time and planning had been spent on it, Reload could easily have been spun out into a farther lengthier and far more enjoyable series overall.
Not worth your time.
November 19, 2017
a fun warren ellis !!!
June 4, 2021
Two early Warren Ellis stories, and confirmation if any more were needed that he doesn't really write bad comics, even if these tightly-wound violent thrillers hardly represent the most interesting parts of his oeuvre.
February 12, 2013
Mek is a short story about use of mechanical body modifications in the future. It's not among Ellis' best but he's always been good at writing meaningful and interesting scifi and Mek makes no exception. Enjoyable reading.
Reload is yet another short comic from Warren Ellis. This one takes place in the near future when the president is assassinated and a secret service agent finds a nice mess behind the assassination. Gulacy's art isn't quite up to the standards I'm used to when Ellis writes and Ellis' text isn't at his usual level of quality either. Still, the plot is good and there's no time to get bored since it's only three standard issues long.
Worth checking out for fans of WE but this isn't the right place to start reading his works.
Reload is yet another short comic from Warren Ellis. This one takes place in the near future when the president is assassinated and a secret service agent finds a nice mess behind the assassination. Gulacy's art isn't quite up to the standards I'm used to when Ellis writes and Ellis' text isn't at his usual level of quality either. Still, the plot is good and there's no time to get bored since it's only three standard issues long.
Worth checking out for fans of WE but this isn't the right place to start reading his works.
April 19, 2014
Quando o presidente dos EUA é assassinado por uma agente ultra-secreta o responsável pelos serviços de segurança presidenciais vê-se obrigado a descobrir uma vasta e surpreendente conspiração. Afinal, a assassina estava a tentar fazer justiça eliminando uma cúpula presidencial dominada pela mafia. Os dons e cappos di tutti cappi fartaram-se de ver outras elites a controlar o poder governamental e decidiram tomar o poder de forma oculta. Warren Ellis em estado puro, com doses fortíssimas de acção e das suas hipermodernas especulações.
September 9, 2017
Mek
The complexity of this short series is obvious given the many panels showing the various trends in this artistic movement. Young people embraced the limitless potential of bio-enhancements that set them apart more than clothes, behavior or other possessions could. Unfortunately, given the willingness of a man who decided to offer illegal items to his customers, the movement degenerated into violence. While the main character claims that she is focusing her activism on the people and the safe evolution of Mek, this story has her on a personal quest that will require her use of the military Mek she installed on her body.
A Mek is a cybernetic and sometimes military enhancement that has become the trend in the future. The second type, also called bad Mek, is illegal for civilians and got RJ, Sarisa's former lover, killed. Sarisa is a well-known and respected pro-Mek activist who decides to investigate RJ's death.
Reload
The secret service agent in the story details his view on being paid to sacrifice his life for another man. That man is the president, but ultimately he is just that: a man with flaws just like regular men. The secret agent's job comes first, but the doubt is still there in the back of his mind.
An assassin named Kiva Ann Reed kills the US president. One agent in his detail named Royal takes her picture before she runs away. The authorities apprehend the woman they claimed was the killer, but she is not the one in the photo, so Royal suspects a conspiracy. He disobeys orders and investigates Kiva on his own.
The complexity of this short series is obvious given the many panels showing the various trends in this artistic movement. Young people embraced the limitless potential of bio-enhancements that set them apart more than clothes, behavior or other possessions could. Unfortunately, given the willingness of a man who decided to offer illegal items to his customers, the movement degenerated into violence. While the main character claims that she is focusing her activism on the people and the safe evolution of Mek, this story has her on a personal quest that will require her use of the military Mek she installed on her body.
A Mek is a cybernetic and sometimes military enhancement that has become the trend in the future. The second type, also called bad Mek, is illegal for civilians and got RJ, Sarisa's former lover, killed. Sarisa is a well-known and respected pro-Mek activist who decides to investigate RJ's death.
Reload
The secret service agent in the story details his view on being paid to sacrifice his life for another man. That man is the president, but ultimately he is just that: a man with flaws just like regular men. The secret agent's job comes first, but the doubt is still there in the back of his mind.
An assassin named Kiva Ann Reed kills the US president. One agent in his detail named Royal takes her picture before she runs away. The authorities apprehend the woman they claimed was the killer, but she is not the one in the photo, so Royal suspects a conspiracy. He disobeys orders and investigates Kiva on his own.
May 7, 2020
Dos miniseries de Warren Ellis completamente distintas pero igual de buenas.
En Reload, un agente del Servicio Secreto está en el que sería su último día de trabajo, de no ser por el asesinato del presidente. Al tratar de capturar a la perpetradora, descubre una conspiración que revela los niveles de corrupción tras el gobierno del país más poderoso del mundo. Aunque es más un thriller político, tiene elementos de ciencia ficción pues la historia transcurre diez años en el futuro de su publicación (lo cual hubiera sido en 2013) y hay algunos elementos tecnológicos ligeramente especilativos pero todavía realistas. Con buenas secuencias de acción, un ritmo trepidante y arte lleno de sombras, nos da una historia ampliamente disfrutable y autocontenida que bien podría ser el inicio de algo más extenso.
Por su parte, en Mek tenemos un futuro más lejano donde las modificaciones corporales cibernéticas se han vuelto lugar común y han dado paso a un mercado negro de modificaciones ilegales con tecnología militar prohibida, o “bad mek”. Sarissa Leon, una figura política prominente en la lucha por la legalización del mek, regresa al barrio que la vio ingresar a la escena posthumanista para investigar el asesinato de un antiguo asociado. Ellis recurre nuevamente a sus fuertes, política y ciencia ficción, para mostrarnos un discurso denso y complejo que puede verse como reflejo de los debates en temas de drogas y nuevas tecnologías. El estilo de Steve Rolston es un poco caricaturezco y me hubiera gustado algo más detallado, pero no es para nada malo. Mi única queja es lo breve de la serie, pues podría dar para mucho más. Si Ellis algún día decide expandirlo a una novela, con gusto la leería.
En Reload, un agente del Servicio Secreto está en el que sería su último día de trabajo, de no ser por el asesinato del presidente. Al tratar de capturar a la perpetradora, descubre una conspiración que revela los niveles de corrupción tras el gobierno del país más poderoso del mundo. Aunque es más un thriller político, tiene elementos de ciencia ficción pues la historia transcurre diez años en el futuro de su publicación (lo cual hubiera sido en 2013) y hay algunos elementos tecnológicos ligeramente especilativos pero todavía realistas. Con buenas secuencias de acción, un ritmo trepidante y arte lleno de sombras, nos da una historia ampliamente disfrutable y autocontenida que bien podría ser el inicio de algo más extenso.
Por su parte, en Mek tenemos un futuro más lejano donde las modificaciones corporales cibernéticas se han vuelto lugar común y han dado paso a un mercado negro de modificaciones ilegales con tecnología militar prohibida, o “bad mek”. Sarissa Leon, una figura política prominente en la lucha por la legalización del mek, regresa al barrio que la vio ingresar a la escena posthumanista para investigar el asesinato de un antiguo asociado. Ellis recurre nuevamente a sus fuertes, política y ciencia ficción, para mostrarnos un discurso denso y complejo que puede verse como reflejo de los debates en temas de drogas y nuevas tecnologías. El estilo de Steve Rolston es un poco caricaturezco y me hubiera gustado algo más detallado, pero no es para nada malo. Mi única queja es lo breve de la serie, pues podría dar para mucho más. Si Ellis algún día decide expandirlo a una novela, con gusto la leería.
December 25, 2018
Two Warren Ellis penned yarns of femme fatales seeking blood and revolution. 'Reload' is the conspiracy theorist's wet dream, with Paul Gulacy bringing his proven skills for action storytelling into a nonstop pace piece full of cine noir tone. 'Mek' is subtler, born of the background of new media and tech innovation, as the protagonist's quest follows grassroots community change eroding into revenge, deceit and betrayal. Artists Steve Rolston and Al Gordon show incredible range giving indy suburbia feels as well as metripolitan blockbuster. Ellis is competent but both these feel paint-by-numbers, laden with tropes and often much too serious.
February 10, 2018
Love me some Warren Ellis wackiness and these two short stories hit the spot. I could almost see the Mek story as an episode of Black Mirror. Fun reads.
January 4, 2016
I just read MEK, and I can't say I'm a fan of it. Yes, it's Ellis. Yes, it's cyberpunk ( and I'm a big cyberpunk fan). The problem with this comic, is, I think, it's too short, and a bit confused, the art is mediocre and the story is not so clear. So, even when I love Ellis, and I love Cyberpunk, I'm not giving it much stars. Let's see what will I find in Reload.
... Ok, so, I'm done with Reload, I liked it very much. Ellis is a genius and he knows how to write a good action story with political criticism.
What we have here is another revenge story, justice-took-by-hand. Everything start with explosions and a president getting killed, from there on, the story take a change and the bad people turn into the good ones.
All in all an entertaining read, much better than the other half of the book. And the art is not bad, too, not the best out there but not bad.
3.5/5
... Ok, so, I'm done with Reload, I liked it very much. Ellis is a genius and he knows how to write a good action story with political criticism.
What we have here is another revenge story, justice-took-by-hand. Everything start with explosions and a president getting killed, from there on, the story take a change and the bad people turn into the good ones.
All in all an entertaining read, much better than the other half of the book. And the art is not bad, too, not the best out there but not bad.
3.5/5
July 24, 2011
Leído dentro del libro Wild Works. De las dos series que llevo leídas (Mek y esta), por ahora va ganando Reload ya que sin duda tiene mejor dibujo (aunque niempedo es de los mejores laburos de Gulacy) y es más fácil seguir la historia. Pero tiene una premisa interesante, un desarrollo bien planteado y ya. Quizás si algún día lo releo con menos sueño lo disfrute más, anoche simplemente me pareció una obra pasable de dos autores geniales.
January 16, 2010
Not really sure what makes this book unique. Maybe it was just Warren Ellis' warmup assassination story before Black Summer.
The other story in this book, Mek, is a bit better, but still a rather formulais three issue mystery story: Act 1: introduction, Act 2: exposition, Act 3: explosion. Interesting cyborg-political commentary.
The other story in this book, Mek, is a bit better, but still a rather formulais three issue mystery story: Act 1: introduction, Act 2: exposition, Act 3: explosion. Interesting cyborg-political commentary.
September 24, 2016
Flip Book, dos historias distintas en un mismo tomo, una tiene una historia interesante sobre humanos en un futuro donde hay prótesis cibernéticas mejoradas que se comercializan en el mercado negro, con pésimos dibujos y la otra es una historia muy corriente de conspiraciones y espías con muy buenos dibujos,, no es para quedarse ni con una ni con otra, sólo para completistas del afamado autor Ellis.
November 17, 2008
Another of Warren's movie pitches cleverly disguised as a comic book. I'd complain about how obvious Warren is being, except all of these stories would make great movies.
This one is a great action thriller featuring a dedicated CIA agent that's a bit of a maverick and a bad ass Emma Peel clone.
Lots of cool action.
This one is a great action thriller featuring a dedicated CIA agent that's a bit of a maverick and a bad ass Emma Peel clone.
Lots of cool action.
March 17, 2016
if there isna common thread that binds these two Ellis works, it woukd be a philosophical critique of modernity. yes, tht's it. on one hand we have the complexities of technology that brings us to the edge of humanity.on the other hand, we have in Reload the critiqie of one's allegiance to the state and its capacitoes. lovely, isn't it?
May 24, 2008
lean and fluid. ellis makes it look so damned easy. great way to kill time and gives you something to think about while you're doing it.
October 28, 2008
Nice drawings complimented by even nicer writing. Elllis brings you into action without fear and helps you to fearlessly become part of it.
March 23, 2009
Warren Ellis is my favorite action writer as of now, and this is paper-thin, but still pretty amazing, considering it's a three issue setup and conclusion.
May 14, 2009
Yet another Warren Ellis graphic novel beginning with the assassination of the president of the the United States. All in all, a good political thriller.
March 24, 2010
Nice action scenes but ridiculous plotting.
February 7, 2011
Reload
Art is ok
story : there is a lot of action and no story (something lame and Predictable)
Mek
is waste of time , Art is Mediocre , story is a lame conspiracy theory
Art is ok
story : there is a lot of action and no story (something lame and Predictable)
Mek
is waste of time , Art is Mediocre , story is a lame conspiracy theory
May 8, 2014
Liked Reload, didn't enjoy Mek.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews