Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: Baptism of Fire
Written by: Tony Bedard
Penciled by: Paul Pelletier (chapters 7-10, 12), Yanick Paquette (11)
Inked by: David Meikis (chapters 7-10, 12), Drew Geraci (11)
Colored by: James Rochelle (chapters 7-10, 12), Justin Thyme (11)
Lettered by: Troy Peteri
Editor: N/A
Publisher: CrossGen
The first NEGATION collection, Bohica!, was a grandiose epic that could easily fill a cinema. The second collection is more of the same, only bigger, better, and with more twists and turns than a Bond movie. Tony Bedard doesn’t allow his characters to rest for a moment, as they continue to face off with the Negation armies, in an attempt to return to the CrossGen universe proper. Bedard (with Mark Waid) began the series with a cast of 100 beings who were taken from their homes and brought to the Negation Universe. Following a prison break, Bedard quickly whittled the group down to a more manageable number in the first volume. In the second, we get to know the remainder of the group a lot better.
How Bedard crams so much action into what amounts to seven issues is beyond me! Once again the travails our heroes face are multifaceted. From ground-based warfare to a stunning space battle, NEGATION should keep any fan of sci-fi satisfied. The first trade saw the survivors split into two groups, only one of which whose exploits we followed. The second trade kicks off as the two groups are reunited. The internal strife within just Obregon Kaine’s group, these are the characters we followed through most of the first trade, was constantly at a boiling point. Now with more personalities and ideas, the team is a total pressure cooker.
The book is blessed with a tremendous cast, not only of heroes, but of villains as well. In fact for many of the stories the villains simply steal the show. A good mixture of characters on both sides is essential to a great story. Far to many works can only boast great characters on one front; much of the success of NEGATION so far, can be directly correlated to the strength of heroes and villains. Komptin was the main foil in the first trade, and he is once again hot on the heroes tail. While he’s a really good villain, the two I’m most excited to see further fleshed out are the Negation Emperor Charon, as well his “sonâ€, Lawbringer Qztr.
Charon is one of the more interesting characters I’ve been introduced to in a long time. His look reminds me a little of the Marvel Comics version of Captain Marvel, only with no clothes. He’s a tyrant in the truest sense of the word, yet like many great villains, he believes that he’s the good guy. Charon’s attempts to find out the mystery behind the invulnerability of a captured baby runs through the tenth chapter, and it’s both funny and frightening at the same time. The awe that the infant has survived his latest barrage, and the contemplation of what to try next, are wonderful character builders that make you fear Charon even more.
Lawbringer Qztr is the other villain that takes a big hand in our hero’s misfortunes. The Lawbringer’s are Charon’s children, and are actually made up of energy from the Emperor. Qztr is an unstoppable fighting machine, that’s destroyed entire planets. He’s a perfect villain to face our heroes, as the reader’s belief must be that the good guys don’t stand a chance. His head to toe leather clad look is right out of an S&M photo, but his spindly form is horror story all the way. Qztr is just one more interesting villain that this book has to offer.
The art is beautiful once again! NEGATION is such a wonderful synthesis of the stories that Tony Bedard writes, and the outstanding pencils of Paul Pelletier, and the fine inks of David Meikis. Like with the first trade paperback a fill-in team does a single issue of this compilation, but the work of Yanick Paquette and Drew Geraci fits seamlessly. The high quality CrossGen upholds within their art teams, as well as the timely delivery, is refreshing in an age when some companies just don’t hold such standards.
With NEGATION there is so much to talk about, and so little time. I could go on forever about just how wonderful this book is. Of the range of CrossGen titles I have sampled, this may be the best; it’s right up there with current favorite ROUTE 666, also written by Tony Bedard. I feel the need to describe more of the plots and themes as I write, but my goal is merely to whet your appetite, in the hope you will pick this book up! DO IT! DO IT, NOW! Oops, my bad. Seriously, you won’t be sorry.
