Gravel Volume 2: The Major Seven

Gravel (collected editions) #8

by Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer

Rare book

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Horror, Comic Book, Thriller

176 pages, Hardcover

First published December 15, 2005

About the author

Warren 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.

Reviews

[Mike]

I am surprised at the pacing and almost-solitary nature of the story as it goes in the first few chapters. After the previous book, this one feels positively languorous and decadent - giving us a chance to get to know Gravel the man. From what I've seen, this is because Ellis only contributed plot, while Wolfer did all the scripting. It shows - I imagine "plot" means "general outline" and that Wolfer had a lot if freedom on each page.

It's an interesting story but not that much different in plot points from the previous volume. It would've been much more interesting for Gravel to do something other than kill his fellows in the Major Seven.

This book and the one after it aren't quite the Ellis-brand of big thinking, weird and wondrous tales. More like a decent mystery with some supernatural mixed in.

The art is good. Not average, not mind-blowing.

[Quentin Wallace]

So after dealing with the "minor seven" magicians in the last volume, Gravel finds himself dealing with the "major seven" in this one. When one of the major seven is murdered, Gravel is offered that person's seat. However, he has two tasks to complete. 1. Find out who murdered the member. 2. reform the minor seven.

So this is a mystery to find the murderer, as well as a quest to find new magicians for the minor seven.

The art was good, but overall this volume wasn't quite as good as the last one. Still good though, and Im still impressed with the improvement in this series.

[Mike]

I think this volume mirrors the first too much. Gravel ends up powering through a half dozen other powerful magic-wielders. The first time around it felt a little too easy, and this time it feels WAY too easy. In the first volume the people that Gravel took out were figured to be more or less his equals. He was just better. In this volume he takes on what amounts to his superiors, and while he doesn't directly deal with many of them (this time he uses a lot more trickery) he still comes out on top seemingly in the blink of an eye, against foes that should theoretically wipe the floor with him.

The magic stuff starts failing to suspend disbelief. In volume 1, you touch a gun and it spits fire instead of bullets, or you draw some symbols on a wall and it creates a portal or a way to talk to someone far away. Got it. In volume 2, Gravel is commanding entire seas and cities and turning everything in them into monsters that do his bidding. It's chalked up to the manuscript he acquired last time around, which is fine in itself, but it just takes everything to an absurd level. Also why is Gravel killing everyone? He kills one member of the group first out of nowhere, and later explains that he wanted to see if he could. It was a "field test". Dumb.

The other thing is, and this didn't bother me a lot in vol 1, but the book seems to be in a hurry a lot of the time. The beginning of vol 2 feels slow, but other than that every encounter seems like it wants to hurry up and move on. There are no fights that build slowly or take awhile. It's always "and now THIS guy will show up and fight Gravel!". Gravel's recruitment of the Minor Seven also seems fast. They're all shown kicking butt for a few pages, then Gravel shows up out of nowhere asking them to join. End scene. I don't even think their names are spoken in some cases. Also the magicians that Gravel fought and their powers in volume 1 were far, far more interesting than the ones in volume 2 despite the latter supposedly being all-powerful etc. etc. It makes no sense.

Volume 1 was a fun romp with a surly protagonist and some cool magic despite any of the above. Volume 2 leaves me on the fence as to whether I should give this series one more volume. I mean overall it's a good time. There just might be a lot better out there.

[Greg Trosclair]

I love nearly everything that I have read from Warren Ellis. Gravel is no exception. When you follow Sgt major Gravel on his missions for the SAS you are in for a pardon my language,"a Fucked up trip". Not normal and against social norms are almost always hallmarks of Ellis' writing. Mike Wolfer's art is a good mix for these stories. His art is very clean and maybe a little simple but I like it. I like it even more now that Gravel is in color. With Gravel facing off against Britain's greatest magicians in the Major Seven after blowing through the Minor Seven in the first volume of this series. It is a great deal of fun. Gravel also starts to put together his new version of the minor seven. It is a fun read. Like most Avatar books it pushes the boundaries of good taste but that's why I like it. If you like things pushed to the edge then you will enjoy Gravel Volume 2.

[One Flew]

3.5 stars

William Gravel has joined the big leagues, his reputation as a combat magician who can get things done earns him a place in the Major Seven.

I love Ellis' combat magician series, they're generally short sharp stories that are primarily action based. Mike Wolfers artwork always greatly enhances the content, rendering these sublime brutal scenes of violence and magic. This volume was fun, though a touch disjointed and anticlimactic. Still a lot of fun and a series I'll keep coming back to as long as Warren writes it.

[John]

More trope with some interesting ideas. Killing the minor seven makes Gravel and initiate into the Major 7. And then we kills them to ascend to be the King of England.

He's a more working class British, so to have his Minor 7 be more "common" is nice. But the musings on Britannia are nowhere near his level of reflection of say "Injection".

Nowhere near his best work.

[Jordan]

The storyline started in volume 1 expands here. Another interesting, exciting, violent and fun volume in the Gravel series. Warren Ellis seems to have no shortage of eccentric magician characters that each could star in their own series.

[Travis]

Warren Ellis continues the tale of William Gravel, combat magician, as he is accepted into the Major Seven after killing all the members of the Minor Seven in the first volume.

In retrospect I enjoyed Gravel, Volume 1: Bloody Liars much more after reading this volume. The artwork is a lot of softer in the second volume, which really tones down the grittiness this book needs. All the craggy lines are gone from Gravel's face, making him look less seasoned. The Major Seven look too fresh faced to feel like threats like the Minor Seven did. Rarely do I complain about artwork but in this case it was a jarring enough change to take note and provide notice.

The plot of this volume also isn't nearly as enticing as the first volume. While battling the Minor Seven each issue could focus a new member. The story of the Major Seven is better integrated across all the issues, which makes more a more cohesive whole but makes each individual issue stand out less. Dealing with beings of higher magic also means Ellis can get away with a lot more hand waving and be slightly more esoteric. I still love all the tidbits about British lore and mysticism but I could not care less about the members of the Major Seven. Many of the members of the Major Seven aren't given enough screen time to characterize fully, so their scenes wind up feeling like filler.

The mystery core of this story, solving the murder of Avalon Lake, doesn't play out as well as the simple revenge tale from the first volume. The ending is fairly anti-climatic, and winds up being predictable yet out of left field at the same time. Not quite as bad as an Agatha Christie reveal can be (relying on details the reader can't be privy to), it just wasn't as satisfying. The closing scene does a decent job of setting up the third and final volume, which I am very curious about given the results of the first two volumes.

Gravel still relies on many of the same tropes as Constantine, but at least they're good tropes with some signature Ellis twists.

A potential victim of middle chapter syndrome, based on my eventual reading of the next volume.

[Dave]

You would think that just stating "Warren Ellis is probably my favorite comic writer, and one of my favorite writers of all time"; as well as "the Gravel series is probably one of my favorite things that Warren Ellis has ever done" would be enough to turn people on to the books. No? Okay then.

One of the reasons why I'm such a big Ellis fan is because he's truly ORIGINAL.
I know that's somewhat of an alien concept in today's world of sequels and remakes, but it's very much true. Although the characteristics of William Gravel, combat magician, are decidedly not original (man of few words and many muscles, kicks ass, anti-hero), the rest of the books drag you in like a beautiful woman in the Red Light District. Imagine the world of Harry Potter but a lot bloodier and with no fucking children about. the UK has a secret world of magic going on behind the scenes, and of course, it's at war.

As the 1st volume dealt with Gravel's entry into the Minor Seven of England, a circle of 7 'minor' magicians who have lost their way, Vol 2 deals with Gravel's acceptance into the Major Seven (and the after-effects of Vol 1). I love ALL of the characters that Ellis creates for this series. What an amazing basis for a universe... no wonder it's been optioned for a movie.

[47Time]

Brilliant story. The main character has really come into his own as a very capable magician, strategist and, lately, investigator. He gets the job done, that's for sure.

Gravel is invited by the Major Seven, magicians of the highest order in Britain, to join their group. One of them gives Gravel the task of investigating the mysterious death of the previous seventh member of the Seven. His other task is to rebuild the Minor Seven. He also learns the teachings of the artefact that he recovered from the previous Minor Seven members.

While he admits to not being the sharpest bulb in the box, his investigation proceeds apace and he uses the way the Seven see him, 'as a bloody nit', to his advantage. He talks with each member of the Major Seven in an attempt to gather clues and carve his place in the organization, even if they need to be taken out of the picture.

[Artur Coelho]

Depois dos sete menores chega-se aos sete maiores. Após eliminar os magos menores Gravel é contactado pelo líder dos elusivos sete magos maiores, entidades poderosas, invulneráveis nos seus locais de poder, que vigiam a Inglaterra mas que não se imiscuem nos assuntos terrestres. Após a morte misteriosa de um dos seus elementos, há uma vaga no grupo... e Gravel é induzido contra a sua vontade. Como mais novo elemento e o único que detém street smarts Gravel é encarregue de tentar descobrir quem eliminou o elemento assassinado e reconstituir os sete magos menores. Nada ingénuo e desconfiado, Gravel encontra forma de eliminar com extremo prejuízo os supostamente invulneráveis magos e encontra um grupo de inadaptados com poderes mágicos capaz de assegurar um novo grupo interventivo.

[Alan]

I think we might have to give Mike Wolfer some credit here for doing something credited co-writer Warren Ellis never did with Gravel. Give us some character development and back story. We do get to see the larger picture of magic in Britain, The Major 7, and the start of the recruitment of a new Minor 7. In between we find out how Gravel became a combat magician for the SAS, and why he is able to do what he does. Something to be said for a hero, if Gravel is one is arguable, who knows he has to work at his craft.

[Zedsdead]

Volume 2 follows Gravel's induction to and interactions with the Major Seven. It's also a murder mystery: Gravel is tasked with uncovering who murdered his predecessor, the mythical Lady of the Lake.

I have mixed feelings about Gravel. On one hand I love what Ellis and Wolfen are doing with magic. It's creative, mystical, strange and fun, and the different schools feel genuine. But the depictions of people are lacking. The drawings feel two-dimensional, amateurish. And as for Gravel himself...generic gritty antihero #1931. Ennis keeps doing it better.

[Matt Kelland]

This for me was the most enjoyable of the series. I liked the set-up in vol 1, even though the twist at the end was predictable, but it really got going in this book. Strong, punchy action with wry, quirky Ellis humor and great characters.

[Devowasright]

the story really takes off in this volume. i need to go back and read all the strange kiss stuff now..

[waits4thebus]

I just love the idea of the gritty, battle-scarred, loner, cowboy type, except he's a wizard, and an exceptionally good one at that.

[Brian]

Combat Magician Gravel eliminates the Major Seven after being set up to be killed by several of its members.