The Resistance

The Resistance

by J. Michael Straczynski, Mike Deodato Jr. (Illustrator), Lee Loughridge (Colorist)

J. Michael Straczynski – creator of Babylon5, co-creator of Sense8, and writer of beloved runs on The Amazing Spider-Man, Thor, and Earth One – returns to comics, teaming with Mike Deodato Jr. – the blockbuster artist of The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, and Infinity Wars. Together they plant the flag for a new universe of heroes and villains for the 21st Century. As the world reckons with the appearance of these superpowered “reborns,” a small group of fighters takes on a military invasion in Eastern Europe.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Superheroes, Science Fiction, Comic Book, Sequential Art, Graphic Novels Comics

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 2020

About the author

Joseph Michael Straczynski is an American filmmaker and comic book writer. He is the founder of Synthetic Worlds Ltd. and Studio JMS and is best known as the creator of the science fiction television series Babylon 5 (1993–1998) and its spinoff Crusade (1999), as well as the series Jeremiah (2002–2004) and Sense8 (2015–2018). He is the executor of the estate of Harlan Ellison.
Straczynski wrote the psychological drama film Changeling (2008) and was co-writer on the martial arts thriller Ninja Assassin (2009), was one of the key writers for (and had a cameo in) Marvel's Thor (2011), as well as the horror film Underworld: Awakening (2012), and the apocalyptic horror film World War Z (2013). From 2001 to 2007, Straczynski wrote Marvel Comics' The Amazing Spider-Man, followed by runs on Thor and Fantastic Four. He is the author of the Superman: Earth One trilogy of graphic novels, and he has written Superman, Wonder Woman, and Before Watchmen for DC Comics. Straczynski is the creator and writer of several original comic book series such as Rising Stars, Midnight Nation, Dream Police, and Ten Grand through Joe's Comics.
A prolific writer across a variety of media and former journalist, Straczynski is the author of the autobiography Becoming Superman (2019) for HarperVoyager, the novel Together We Will Go (2021) for Simon & Schuster, and Becoming a Writer, Staying a Writer (2021) for Benbella Books. In 2020 he was named Head of the Creative Council for the comics publishing company Artists, Writers and Artisans.
Straczynski is a long-time participant in Usenet and other early computer networks, interacting with fans through various online forums (including GEnie, CompuServe, and America Online) since 1984. He is credited as being the first TV producer to directly engage with fans on the Internet and to allow viewer viewpoints to influence the look and feel of his show. Two prominent areas where he had a presence were GEnie and the newsgroup rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.moderated.

Reviews

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A worldwide pandemic sweeps the globe killing 400 million people before mysteriously stopping. I'll say one thing for Straczynski, he's got perfect timing. The first issue dropped right as the COVID shutdowns were happening in March. The first issue hits a little too close to home. It's pretty damn eerie. The death rate from the virus is 95%. Those five percent that survive start developing powers. Yes, this is something of a current update of Straczynski's Rising Stars on a global level.

Governments are trying to identify and control those with powers. There are a lot of parallels to the current administration in the U.S. Meanwhile, some of those with powers are wise to what's happening and begin to form The Resistance. It's a good introduction to a new shared universe from AWA. I look forward to reading more.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A virus hits like a tidal wave. Within 4 months over 400,00 Million are dead. No this isn't the Covid, but it sure feels like it, but even deadlier.

The idea this came out even before the Covid was a thing is scary. This virus goes through people like nothing, deforming and killing them extremely quickly. This first volume is a mix of political storyline of what to do while the virus is happening, then flash forward of what to do after. This is also a story of people who survived the deadly disease, and some who did, who were infected and came out alive after, developed powers. Only 5% survived this disease, but 5% of 400+ million is still A LOT. And they have the power to change the world now...but can they? Will they? And who will stop them?

I really enjoyed this. At first I was gonna say this is just "great" but the last issue pushed me to the top and I fell in love with it. Very gritty in nature of what's happening yet always interesting. If politics aren't your thing this may not fully work for you but I loved that part. Trying to decide to do the right or wrong thing is very interesting. Issue 3 really stands out as a fantastic issue of the government trying to use the people with "powers" to make "Superheroes" and "Super villains" and in a way this is a genius idea, because the government would 100% make this happen to promote things.

While it feels like we JUST scratch the surface of most characters because so many are thrown at you, when people die...and they do die...it's pretty goddamn brutal and you feel it. By the end I was both devastated on what happen to characters but also eager to see where it goes. If you're a writer who has basically retired for awhile, THIS is the way to come back. Both writing and art is fantastic.

A 5 out of 5.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Michael Straczynski is known to me from his TV series Babylon 5 which I have seen and made me really enjoy scifi tv again, and turned out to be preferable to the then Star Trek TV shows.

He has also done a lot in comics world I found out and with this new series I finally made my acquaintance with another of his original work.
There is an pandemic, how current, that kills hundred of millions of people and there is no vaccin available anytime soon. Then it suddenly stops and nobody knows why. The US president is newly chosen and an independent too and he takes the nation to a far more despotically style state, I am sure Trump and his friends would not mind doing something similar. But there is a problem there were some people that have found themselves in possession of Superhuman skills that become a threat for a world with despots seeing their chance to grab the world in their hands and they do their best to stop these superhumans. They become the resistance against the dictators of our world and they get hunted because they are.

I am looking forward to the next installment.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man this was dope. So after the first issue, we learn of this virus that hits. It’s killing people around the globe extremely fast. So I was thinking, ok this will be a global sickness/catastrophe story. I was on board because so far the writing and the set up were really well done. But as you keep reading, you get a small tease as to where the virus might have come from, which is very interesting. Out of the hundreds of millions of people who contracted the virus, only 5 percent survive. We learn something happens to this 5% which takes the story down an entirely new path that I did not see coming. Wow. Now it’s these 5% versus the world governments. This was really good and I can’t wait for the next volume in October.

[A.J. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was probably my least favorite AWA book, even though it is the first in a giant shared universe the publisher has been building within its titles since they launched, most of which I have enjoyed immensly. This one is from J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato Jr. as they team up for a story that follows a group of people who are given super powers after surviving a pandemic that had killed millions. The new adminstration of the U.S. is setting up fascist policies, with the new president wanting to round these people up and get them working for him, so he can put a stop to any threat to the status quo. Will these super powered beings be the hope the world has been looking for, or just another harbringer of doom?

I usually love Straczynski’s work, but this one just never clicked for me. The whole book is slow as hell, and whenever anything does happen, there isn’t any urgency or rush to it. This might be a poor analogy, but it feels like everyone in this world is permanently coming down from LSD 24/7, as they all move slowly from problem to problem, acting ineptly each time. It’s as if they are trying to get to the end of the pool that is filled with syrup by wading through, rather than just getting out and walking around to the end. The art by Deodato Jr. does the story 0 favors as well. His work on other AWA books like Bad Mother, Redemption, and Not All Robots works, even elevates, those stories, but not this one. Every character except for say 3 or 4 distinct ones, all look and talk exactly the same, making it near impossible to tell who exactly is who. The volume feels like a setup volume for more interesting things to come, but as someone who has read all the main series so far, it never really gets there. It’s all okay worldbuilding that never builds to anything worthwhile. The final issue of the second volume is cool and delivers, but 13 issues into a series before something stands out isn’t exactly impressive. The second one is significantly better, but it never rocked my socks off or anything. Every series I have read to come out of this Resistance series has been boring and aimless, which is a shame considering how cool the premise is, and how strong the creative teams have been for each one. Even the other AWA titles are mostly amazing, but sadly, this one is a huge miss.

[Lukasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

Death always finds a way. A mysterious virus wiped out hundreds of millions of people. The survivors (around 5% of the affected) gained superpowers, and the pandemic aftereffects range from the minimal to the horrific.

The first six issues collected in Vol. 1 introduce Straczynski’s superhero universe. It's interesting, well-thought-out, and much different than Marvel or DC productions.

On the other hand, Straczynski tends to spend a lot of time establishing the premise and showing random scenes around the globe. I'm ok with it but readers craving structure may find it irking.

All told, I'm interested in following the series. Especially that it gave me the urge to reread Starczynski's Rising Stars, a thing I should've done a while ago :)

[Felix Zilich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Три года назад издательство Marvel в очередной раз сменило главного редактора. Аксель Алонсо оказался тем самым жертвенным козлом, которого обвинили во всех проблемах компании, после чего ритуально изгнали в пустыню. В пустыне Алонсо встретил еще одного марвеловского изгоя - бывшего вице-президента Marvel Билла Джемаса, с которым они внезапно решили замутить новый бизнес - AWA Studios. Создать с нуля собственное издательство и новую комикс-вселенную. В креативном совете AWA Алонсо собрал с десяток звездных ветеранов, с которыми в разные годы работал на Marvel (Фрэнк Чо, Гарт Эннис, Реджинальд Хадлин и тд). Главным концептуальным стратегом он назначил 65-летнего Майкла Стражински, редактором которого выступал на «Пауке» с 2001 по 2007 год.

Концепт у новой вселенной был очень простой. Дредноут под названием Marvel плотно застрял в пыльных условностях послевоенной Америки. Мы же должны создать картину мира супергероев, которая полностью соответствует реалиям нового времени. Начиная с марта 2020 года AWA выпустили первые девять лимиток, каждая - от четырех до шести выпусков. (Важный нюанс: все лимитки происходят условно в одной вселенной, но при этом почти никогда не пересекаются). «The Resistance» от Стражински и Деодато - самое начало, пролог, стартовая история. И надо заметить, что с этим прологом стратег Стражински неожиданно попал в самый нерв.

Итак - пандемия, ребята. В мире появился смертельный вирус неизвестного происхождения, который начал бодро выкашивать человечество. Летальность вируса - 95 процентов. Все страны перекрыли границы, люди заперлись в своих домах, но этого было недостаточно. Когда количество погибших превысило 400 млн человек - вирус не менее загадочно исчез, растворился, но планета к этому моменту навсегда изменилась. На президентских выборах в США выиграл представитель новой профашистской партии с лицом молодого Эда Харриса. Россия во время локдауна под шумок захватила Беларусь. Хотела еще Сербию с Литвой, но не успела. Китайцы, чтобы остановить заразу, разбомбили несколько своих мегаполисов, поэтому тоже пребывают теперь в расстроенных чувствах. И это только цветочки. У людей, которые пережили вирус (у тех самых пяти процентов) стали пробуждаться суперспособности.

С «новыми реалиями» Алонсо и Стражински не ошиблись. Комикс был придуман и запущен в производство явно задолго до начала текущего пиздеца, но при этом предугадал (пусть и в гипертрофированной форме) очень многие детали. Особенно удивляет, что белорусские военные начали стрелять по мирным демонстрантам в Минске опять же за пару месяцев до начала реальных событий.

[Raul Ruiz · Rating 1 out of 5]

Menudo pedazo de chatarra de comic señores. El Estrasisnqui que quiere marcarse un comic adulto y sesudo donde mezcle superheroes y fino analisis geopolitico y social no es capaz de hacer otra cosa que no sea "buah Rusia, buah Corea del Norte" y "resistencia! revolucion! contra que? yoq se tio xdd"
Quieres hacerte una idea de hasta donde tiene metida la cabeza en culo el yanki medio? Descargate esta basura y muere de sonrojo.

Deodato fatal, por cierto.

[Guilherme Smee]

J. Michael Straczynski, em suas marcas de estilo, tem um problema sério: ele não consegue terminar as histórias que começa. A Resistência, em seu primeiro volume, tem um problema parecido. Assim como sua HQ de longa estrada, Rising Stars, A Resistência não é uma história em quadrinhos sobre personagens, mas sobre um evento. Na caso de A Resistência, é um evento infeliz: uma pandemia de um vírus que mata 400 milhões de pessoas ao redor do mundo, conferindo a uma parcela de 5% dos sobreviventes poderes extraordinários. A despeito dos competentes desenhos do brasileiro Mike Deodato Jr., A Resistência é como Rising Stars: uma premissa interessante para trabalhar pessoas com superpoderes, com conceitos legais e histórias pontuais muito bem desenvolvidas (como a empresa que dá emprego a super-heróis), mas que não funciona como um todo. Tudo parece bastante perdido, à deriva, sem uma linha condutora com a qual você pode se apegar e continuar empolgado. É uma história, como disse, sobre um fenômeno com um timing infeliz, que vai do caos para mais caos. Se você não curtiu Rising Stars recomendo não pegar A Resistência. Se curtiu, vai adorar.

[RG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Im not sure when the first issue came out but its very similar to whats going on atm

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! Kind of like the TV series Heroes but not shittier as it went along. I'm definitely psyched for volume 2, and the spinoff series like Moths.


Evil President Ed Harris must be stopped!

[It's just Deano · Rating 3 out of 5]

J. Michael Staczynsky's, The Resistance, is a clever exercise in world building with a dystopian atmosphere. The story is led by a series of events that ultimately appears to lay the groundwork for a whole franchise.

This started out real strong! The first quarter of this book had this on track for an easy four out of five rating from me - the premise here is great! The dialogue also is exceptional, complex and realistic, but what begins to eventually let this book down is its lack of focus on any protagonists.

After the initial introductions to the world as it is here it slowly becomes clear to the reader that you're follow a series of events and not a person or individuals. There's just so many people and so much flitting across different global events here that the focus is spread so thin it's hard to invest in any one character at all - you simply just don't get to know them well enough. This leaves the whole thing really feeling like an introduction to the series and it never really seems to move or develop beyond that.

Overall, this is a fantastic display of world building, but it seems that this does come at a cost to it's characterisation and sacrifices any chance of the reader developing any serious or substantial connections to any one protagonist. Upon finishing this I definitely wanted more - which there is! There is a sequel and spin off for this series so maybe this will address some of the gaps here. I'm intrigued enough to read on, but I'm hoping for improvements.

[Borja · Rating 2 out of 5]

Una historia que en un 80% ya la he leído y en un 20% la he vivido gracias a la pandemia.

No es que este mal, pero no me ha parecido que destaque especialmente. Straczynski ya ha escrito cosas parecidas en el pasado, el dibujo es irregular y está pensado como mega evento para lanzar una nueva editorial de cómic, por lo que aparecen y desaparecen personajes continuamente.

[Judah Radd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great setup, cool concept, amazing art, weak characters and the main post-setup plot never really took off. I’m interested to see where it goes from here, but this volume is lacking in satisfaction.

[Carlos J. Eguren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tenía que pasar. El COVID 19 ha cambiado todo, incluida nuestra vida diaria y la manera en la que asumimos la lectura de una obra de ficción. Hasta hace poco, temas como pandemias parecían dignos de la ciencia ficción, pero ahora, cuando aparece en una obra, a todos nos trae nuestros propios recuerdos. Es simple: el siglo XXI ha comenzado, en realidad, con esta pandemia y eso marcará a nuestra generación.

Últimamente pienso en cómo algunas obras recientes ya estaban tratando el tema de las consecuencias de la pandemia antes de que comenzase. Quizá, solo sean ecos que siempre están ahí y yo ahora me he fijado en ellos, pero ahí están esas creaciones que hablaban sobre la desaparición de miles de personas (como Endgame), una enfermedad (Contagio), la muerte casi bíblica (la preparación de la serie de Apocalipsis, basada en la novela de King) o el resultado de una epidemia a una gran escala como es el caso de The resistance: tras una enfermedad que mata a miles y miles de personas, los supervivientes desarrollan superpoderes. ¿Oportunismo? Puede, pero, acaso, ¿el cómic de superhéroes no vive de eso?

The Resistance (La resistencia) empezó a publicarse en marzo de 2020, justo cuando empezó el confinamiento por estos lares, y uno lee las primeras páginas de este cómic con cierta incomodidad y es lo que me ha parecido más interesante de este regreso de J. Michael Straczynski al cómic, tras años apartado después de haber encandilado a muchos con obras como su Spider-Man (qué discutible), su Escuadrón Supremo (un refrito), sus fanfics de Watchmen o su Midnight Nation.

El resto de la crítica aquí

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I admit to having some issues with how Straczynski allegedly handled some issues with the actors on Babylon 5, and his having to write every script. I will also confess that I do think he is a good writer, and here he takes the concept he used in Rising Stars and refined and updated it for 2020 in The Resistance.

Whereas an unknown event caused 24 people to gain super powers in Rising Stars, the event here is better defined. A pandemic is wiping out the human race and it suddenly stops after millions are dead. The same time the pandemic ends it is learned that an unknown number of people gained super powers, with varying degrees of power levels (all right that is sort of like the Wild Card series).

For various reasons people with powers have trouble finding employment. The government, especially the U.S. government fears these people and goes about first co-opting hem then threatening them. Those that refused to be co-opted, those who wanted to do some actual good with their abilities, begin the formation of the resistance.

And, they use intelligence in putting together their organization. They form cells to try and keep themselves from being easily caught. They kidnap/recruit a former presidential intelligence advisor who resigned because of an ethical clash with the president (the president is unhinged to say the least), and well lets say the portrayal of the U.S. government here is nearly spot on if compared to the current administration.

The ending leaves things both 1) open for more installments and 2) the end might be nigh in more ways than one.

[Trike · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite the prescience of the pandemic aspect of this comic combined with the thinly-veiled Trump administration, this book is a weak reimagining of the superb Rising Stars and terrific Supreme Power, Volume 1: Contact — both by Straczynski— which was rather disappointing. Rising Stars is a cool variation of the Wild Cards idea about a space-borne plague giving superpowers to some while killing millions, repurposed for the Marvel universe in Supreme Power, but this iteration just feels warmed-over.

Which is a bummer, because I’m usually a huge fan of Straczynski’s work. The art is a bit muddy, which is also a downer, as Mike Deodato’s work is usually cleaner. It kind of fits the mood of the book, but I think it goes too far. He does a nice job evoking Ed Harris as the President, though. Dream casting, I guess.

[Shadowdenizen · Rating 4 out of 5]

WHike this was a reasonably strong and ambitous first volume, I will confess that it didn't instantly capture my attention as "Babylon 5" and "Rising Stars" did.

And speaking of Rising Stars.. I'm not sure how this will play out in the long-run, and differ from Rising Stars, but there's definitely some parallels going on, though updated to the current year and political climate.

I'm tentatively onboard for more of this saga, though....

[Adam Fisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review being submitted to Diamond Bookshelf for potential professional publication.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the 21st century the Earth was hit by a global pandemic (not that one) called XV1N1. It was 100% contagious and had a fatality rate of 95%. It seemed poised to wipe the human race off the face of the Earth, and then one day it just stopped. Those who survived the disease, those in the 5% mostly came through unchanged, but a small percentage of those who survived were changed and given extraordinary powers. Now those few people seem to be the only thing standing between the ordinary people and the rising fascist powers across the Earth.

The Resistance was born out of a desire for Indie comic company AWA Upshot to have a setting that their writers could work in if they desired to. The goal of the book therefore is both to hook new readers on this setting, but also to provide a huge overview that writers can look at and find the corner they want to play with. And in that respect it succeeded in creating a world that isn't Marvel or DC, but has a similar openness one can work within. However, it also lacks something those other shared universes have; normality. Marvel and DC largely take place in our world making it fairly easy to understand it. I can pick up a copy of Amazing Spider-Man without needing to understand what happened in the Kree Skrull war. I don't think that's true here. This universe was ours until a pandemic completely changed the rules, and it seems to me that unless a writer does a really good job of introducing everything that a new reader may be confused if they haven't read the primer.

That brings me to my second complaint; this isn't a story, it's a primer or a series bible. That's fine in a way, those are necessary, but I'm not sure those should be written as stories, especially when any individual aspect of this could have been a really good story if it just slowed down and focused on part of it. When JMS was making Babylon 5 he initially wanted to make a huge space opera about empires rising and falling, but he couldn't afford to do that nor was the technology there, so instead he made a show about a small town in space watching the events of that space opera unfold from a distance. This strikes me as the space opera without the primary focus on the people on the margins, and its worse for it. Babylon 5 worked because it was always ultimately about people and what makes them think. This is ultimately about events not people. The few short periods when this book excited me were the moments that it slowed down and focused on people. They were few and far between.

And it's too bad because the JMS type ideas this is filled with are both good and relevant; the pandemic poised to destroy the human race only to vanish at the 11th hour, the rising dictatorships responding to our natural fear, the rise of a new type of human bring prejudice with them, the idea that power reveals who you were before you got it, the democratization of super powers with a comics universe made up more of spider-men than batmen. Those are great, but as a list all they are is intriguing potential, and this comic is more of a list than a story. I wish I loved this, but I barely liked it. I would recommend reading Rising Stars or watch Babylon 5 instead. I hope someday I'll feel the same way about this as I do about those, but I don't feel confident about that.

[Matty Dub · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m so happy I’m done with this and I never have to read it again.

This felt like the opposite of a Millar movie pitch but was just as bad. Instead of having a super condensed story for a movie to pick up and run with, we have a tale diluted by a slew of plot points meant to create a shared universe for Upshot. This is not for your reading pleasure, this is for all the spin offs Alonso will wet himself green lighting.

A whole line based on a global pandemic that kills millions but gives 5% of those infected superpowers.

Generally speaking the narrative feels disjointed and the arc feels poorly planned out on a issue to issue basis. To make things worse, it all ends on a cliffhanger and from what I can see, there’s nothing in that shared universe coming down the pipe so we’re left with a mediocre product that ends in a mediocre way.

The Razzah covers are nausea inducing and Deodato’s interior art is mostly reused backgrounds and characters drawn directly over pictures. You have Ed Harris from The Rock, Devitto from Twins and Harvey Keitel from Reservoir Dogs. I name the movies because it seem instead of actually pencilling, old Deodato just drew over stills of those movies.

This book has an aggregated score of 9.6 on comicbookroundups. Do not let it fool you as it has an average of 2.3 published reviews per issues. The publications doing the reviewing are the bottom of the barrel variety too, those that give either 2s or 9-10s depending on how close they are to Alonso et al’s jerk circle.

There is potential in AWA/Upshot but it doesn’t lie in its flagship book. Don’t waste your time with this, read Hotell instead.

[Jaime Valero · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leí el primer número de esta serie en pleno confinamiento, por lo que el impacto de esta pandemia ficticia narrada por Straczynski no pudo ser mayor. Ahora me he leído el primer volumen del tirón y las buenas sensaciones se han confirmado. El guionista nos plantea una historia a caballo entre el drama superheroico y el thriller político, con el transfondo de una pandemia global mucho más letal que la que estamos viviendo en el mundo real. Y con otra particularidad: los supervivientes del virus desarrollan unos poderes sobrehumanos.

Salvo por el episodio protagonizado por el personaje James Struck, que queda fuera de lugar por el tono empleado -una especie de parodia del género superheroico un tanto chusca-, el resto de la trama funciona a la perfección y sirve como un interesante retrato de la sociedad contemporánea, y no solo por la cuestión del virus. De hecho, esta obra puede interpretarse como una lucha entre los defensores del status Quo y aquellos jóvenes que quieren cambiarlo. Como muestra, esta frase extraída de labios de un miembro del gobierno: "They must never, ever discover how powerful they are, individually and together... Because if they do, then we are lost, and we will fall."

Ya espero con ganas que salga el segundo volumen.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Back in 2020, I read the first issue of The Resistance through Free Comic Book Day, and I said, “The evocative cover drew me in, and this story ended up being my favorite FCBD issue as it was a complete first issue of a new series, not just a taste like so many FCBD stories are. In fact, the narrative is eerily similar to what we are going through now, as a pandemic sweeps through the globe. In this tale, the pandemic is even more deadly, with a 95% fatality rate. But suddenly, the virus stops- as if a switch were turned off. The remaining world needs to regroup, with hints that there might be a mystical or otherworldly reason for what happened.”

Reading the entire graphic novel after a solid introduction was enjoyable- the world-building was strong, for while the first chapter showcased a pandemic that changed the world order, the remainder of the book deals with the fallout. With only 5% of the world population remaining, political alliances are in turmoil, when suddenly millions of survivors begin to manifest superhuman powers (shades of the Marvel X-Men). What do these new powers symbolize- will these evolved humans bring hope to a fragile Earth, or are they super soldiers that were mutated by some aliens who plan to overthrow our planet? Governments step in to control these “reborns”, but many are cautious of the authority that is placed upon them, thus a resistance is born.

The art is solid and appropriately shadowy and moody considering the storyline. The artist Mike Deodato Jr is very fond of grid overlays (see bottom picture) and it works very effectively. Deodato is an established artist, and his work reminds me both of Michael Gaydos’s work in the Jessica Jones graphic novels and a grown-up version of the scratchy art I recall from Image’s early days in Wild C.A.T.S. and Youngblood.

Author J. Michael Straczynski offers fresh commentary about heroes and villains and ties it all into our current pandemic and certain fascist regimes. But he also has fun with it, as one of the chapters is just plain entertaining as you follow James, a new reborn being introduced to a superhero school, and he gets a behind-the-scenes look at how fake and controlled the heroes are. He was obviously inspired by the Marvel, DC, Invincible and Jupiter’s Legacy hero worlds, but makes it all his own. In his afterword, he mentions this will be a new universe that other AWA Upshot authors can connect into, so I look forward to this continuing story plus other tie-ins!

This review can also be found on my blog: https://graphicnovelty2.com/2022/01/0...

[Adam Stone · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is probably my last time trying to read a book by Straczynski. Apart from chunks of his Amazing Spider-Man run, I struggle to remember anything he's worked on that I've enjoyed. I read all of Rising Stars when it came out, but I couldn't tell you anything about it now. I snored through his Thor run (which is not entirely his fault, I find many Thor stories dull). His Wonder Woman Wears Pants / Superman Walks books for DC were almost impressively terrible.

And Resistance? It's boring. You couldn't ask for better timing for a book about a pandemic killing millions (which, thankfully, ours hasn't ... yet), and yet nothing interesting happens over the course of the book. People speculate about what causes the virus. People get super powers. Some rebel against the gover...zzzZZZzzzzZZZZzzzzZZZZzzzz.

There is not an original thought anywhere in this book, which is pretty consistent with the AWA Upshot books. The M.O. seems to be to take dull writers, pair them up with talented artists, and ask them to take tired concepts, strip them of any interesting characters, and just plop in dialogue from shitty 90s sci-fi shows.

I was really excited for this new company when it was announced. We need more comic book companies chipping away at the stale storytelling of DC and Marvel. But while companies like Image, Boom, and TKO are gifting readers with intelligent stories we haven't read before, and allowing artists to stray from the current colortones, line thickness, and panel layouts of The Big Two, little companies like this seem to be trying to take the comic book industry back to the turn of the millenium. I loved comics in the early 2000s, but we certainly don't need to read them again.

Unlesss you're a Straczynski fan, there is no reason to pick this book up. Go find something by a young, up-and-coming writer and artist team who have something new, even if it's imperfect. It will be much more satisfying than this failed TV pilot from twenty-five years ago. The only decent thing about this series is Rahzzah 's cover for the first issue.

[Sheldon Wiebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Resistance comes from the unusually talented J. Michael (Joe) Straczynski and is one his best comics/graphic novels (significant when you consider his prodigious output in the field).

When a pandemic strikes down 400,000,000 people, the world panics - no one can figure out where it came from, let alone come up with a cure or vaccine.

Then the pandemic stops killing. It still lies dormant in the vast majority of the world's population, but it has stopped making people sick.

Using the pandemic as an excuse - along with the discovery that possibly millions of the those who survived the virus might have some kind of powers - an independent politician becomes President of the United States... and promptly calls for actions that will lead to fascism.

Around the world, though, people with powers are beginning to form a resistance to national and global powers that are corrupt/being corrupted - as well as working to save individuals in danger.

This graphic novel builds a world that will be shared by other comics creators (though you won't need to read other titles to be completely up to date on this story).

With this series, Joe has constructed a world of believable characters and his main theme - powers amplify who they are (if they're good people, they'll be better; if they're not good people, they will be worse - and, of course, there will be those who don't want to get involved - which may, ultimately, not be a viable stance, eventually).

Like all of Joe's best work, there are moments of speechifying that feel absolutely right for the characters doing it. There are also small character moments that rely on actions to make their points.

Mike Deodato's art is a great match for Joe's writing. It ranges from subtle and nuanced to all out blood and thunder. Although Deodato has evolved a style that is completely his own, there are panels/sequences that remind that he counts Jim Steranko as one of his primary influences.

Frank Martin's colors emphasize every nuance Deodato is providing.

The combination, along with Joe's excellent script, is impressive.

I will be awaiting Vol. 2 with (as Robin Williams put it) worms on my tongue.

[RubiGiráldez RubiGiráldez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Es muy triste que lo más destacable de este cómic sea su funesto paralelismo y oportunismo con el desastre real del Covid-19. Si bien es cierto que lo de un virus (posiblemente alienígena) que dota de poderes a los supervivientes ya lo abarcó George. R. R. Martin hace unos cuantos años en otra de sus sagas literarias menos conocidas, Wild Cards. Stracynski, ya solo por su fama asociada aunque sea con su etapa con Spiderman, podría haber tenido más suerte con esta premisa. No creo que sea el caso, porque The Resistance puede ser una de las peores lecturas comiqueras que han pasado por mis manos en los últimos años.

Pensaría que tras esas primeras páginas que abordan un mundo afectado por una pandemia aún más agresiva que la que acabamos de vivir, la historia empezaría a respirar un poco. Pero el guión de Stracynski busca sobre todo realizar un asfixiante e impersonal thriller socio político en el que el aporte superheroíco de momento está limitado a unos míseros pasajes (algunos aún bastante interesantes como esa agencia de superhéroes super estandarizada o la premisa de que CUALQUIERA podría conseguir super poderes para poner en jaque a un país) que para nada pueden justificar las ínfulas de crear un universo comiquero que ni se piense hacerse un hueco junto a editoriales como Valiant o Black Horse con su Hammerverse (ya ni pensar en Marvel o DC).

The Resistance se antoja más bien como un storyboard de una serie cancelada a principios de los dosmil ya ni con el piloto rodado. El dibujo de Mike Deodato Jr. es totalmente feista y simple, tanto que incluso para algunos personajes relevantes como ese presidente post Trumpiano el dibujante no ha tenido reparos en replicar sin mucho disimulo el careto del actor Ed Harris.

No hay nada verdaderamente interesante a lo que agarrarse para mantenerse al loro de este cómic y su universo que no creo que nadie pueda realmente reflotarlo.

[Frank Lang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anfangs kann die Geschichte von J. Michael Straczynski noch überzeugen. Ein tödliches Virus wütet auf der Erde und rafft große Teile der Menschheit dahin. Auch mit einer Corona-Müdigkeit im Nacken wird der Anfang gut und spannend erzählt. Unter etwas mystischen Umständen wird die Pandemie gestoppt bzw. beendet, aber es bleiben plötzlich Menschen mit Superkräften übrig.

Und mit den Superkräften erhält das Bekannte Einzug. Die Geschichte liest sich plötzlich wie ein Mix aus bekannten Comics mit den typischen Achsenmächten der bösen und guten Mutanten und den Nicht-Mutanten irgendwo dazwischen. Es formt sich eine Form der Gesellschaft, in der sich die Mächte bzw. Mächtigen formieren, immer im Streben nach der größten Macht.

Mike Deodato Jr. schafft für die Erzählung das optische Gewand, das im Großen und Ganzen sehr gelungen ist. Die Optik wertet mit Sicherheit die Erzählung auf, kann diese jedoch nicht vollends ersetzen. Für einen Comic steht viel Text geschrieben. Zudem werden (Auftakt zur Serie sei Dank) einige Handlungsstränge eröffnet, die alle weitererzählt werden möchten. Dazu fehlen aber charakterstarke Zugpferde, wie sie in X-Men zu sehen sind.

Fazit

Das Duo Straczynski und Deodato möchte ein komplett neues Universum schaffen und hat sich meiner Meinung nach ein wenig überhoben. Nur weil man viel in ein Comic packt, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass es gut ist. Sie hätten sich besser auf einige wenige schillernde Figuren konzentrieren sollen. So ist ein überfrachteter Auftakt entstanden, der nur bedingt überzeugen kann.

[alexander shay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this comic, but it felt like it wasn't much of anything. The art style seemed like someone cheaply 3D rendered all the scenes, and then just traced over them and added some cross hatching for the shading and colored it to make it look 2D. I've seen this style before and it always bugs me, but in this comic it did even more so. It didn't feel at all like someone actually drew each panel by hand (digitally or traditionally).

I liked the premise, but it took quite some time to get to any specific characters to follow through the book; most of the first few issues were backstory and explanation. So there's very little time to connect with any characters and the ones they do spend time on felt shallow and like they needed more development. Maybe they'll get some in the next volume, but there were just so many characters introduced and governments involved that I couldn't tell who was who (the art style didn't help with that, certainly). Even though it says this is volume one, it felt like a full series in the sense that where they ended it could actually be the end (had everything in between been skimmed and shortened to fit into a single issue). So much depth and character building was missing that it honestly felt more like the storyboard for a graphic novel than an actual graphic novel.

[Brian Bullen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great series to kick off AWAs publishing run. There was lots of twists and turns and a great deal of world building in these 6 issues. It all moves at a great pace, from the start where the characters are all dealing with stuff on there own and then building up to becoming something more. Characters are really well thought out from the main “hero” types to the not so humanitarian governments and other such seedy people. The art for the series is really great, there are some really awesome panels that just jump off the page. I think this series does a good job of updating the superhero genre, and give it a very real world feel and definitely portrays things in the right light and you can see that the powers are a great metaphor for issue that exist in society now.

This was my first series I read from AWA and cemented them in my brain as a company to watch out for when I got into indie comics. I would give this series 9 out of 10, great start to a brand-new universe and publisher.

[Eli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did not love it but I am glad I read it. It is an interesting into to an interesting world. A world swept by a virus that kills 400 million and gives superpowers to between 10-20 million survivors. That’s the elevator pitch the comic is much more nuanced. A piece by Straczynski in the back of the TP explains that Alex Alonso came to him and asked him to construct a world that any creative team could then play in building on what went before and bound by the general rules but free to explore and make up there own hero’s, villains, scenarios. It reminds me of what Crossgen tried and never got a chance to complete. Why Straczyski? Because as Alonso rightly pointed out he is a world builder. I personally am not a huge fan of Straczyski’s comic work but I will forever love him for Babylon 5. That was some killer world building. That show could have run forever and I would have been happy. His work here is more interesting than exciting but it grew on me and once I understood the overall premise I was more interested to continue and see where this all goes. The art by Mike Dedato is why I picked up the book and it is top notch. It is worth checking out.