Concept: John Woo
Writer: Garth Ennis
Artist: Jeevan Kang
Publisher: Virgin Comics
John Woo’s contribution to Virgin Comics Director’s Cut line, Seven Brothers has the distinction of being the best title Virgin has put out thus far. It’s also the first book that has any hope of making an impression on the western comic buying market. It has a, well known, commercial writer and a creator who breaks away from the Virgin house art style. They deliver an unexpected tale, and a series that will either create or destroy new publisher Virgin Comics.
The concept, which spun from an idea by filmmaker John Woo, has been developed by writer Garth Ennis and artist Jeevan Kang. Seven Brothers is an unusual tale in which seven people who are brought together by a mysterious woman. The seven happen to be related to each other, and this relationship will lead them to greatness.
The story opens up with the legend of how the Chinese explored and mapped out the world in the 15th century, but isolationism prevented the Chinese people from teaching the world peace. We then jump to the present and see how the multicultural cast is assembled and how dangerous the woman that rounds them up is.
Seven Brothers is a natural combination of Woo and Ennis. In both of their best works, the major themes addressed are brotherhood and the application of stylish but excessive force. Ennis excels in bringing a defined identity and a sense of realism to a fantastic tale. From the action of Hard Boiled and Hitman to the observations on a violent life in A Better Tomorrow and Preacher, both creators have made a reputation of doing stories about honor, friendship, and other virtues of men of war. The teaming is so smooth it is hard to see the join where Woo’s concept ends and Ennis development of it begins.
The action that takes place in Seven Brothers is graphic and terrifying. The introductory situation one character faces during his recruitment is signature Ennis with Woo inspiration added. The scene is so over the top that it elicits diabolical laughter. When the men meet for the first time and how and why they are brought together not only develops the basis of the series but gives a sense of magic. Ennis is back to writing dialogue that is real, funny, and scary while simply explaining the back story in a way that it all works together.
Ennis has been criticized recently for repeating his style to the point where he appears to be producing many works on autopilot. This is not the case of Seven Brothers. Here, Ennis uses all his storytelling skills to bring life and energy into an intriguing concept that could be a retelling of Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai through a modern fantasy lens. The attempt is satisfying and compelling.
The art by Jeevan Kang works for the series. He gives every character distinctive characteristics that are at once realistic and iconic. Kang’s sense of layout is solid and his figure work allows the character to act on the page. The only flaw of the book is the coloring. The first issue also had a behind the scenes look at various pages and they look better in Black and white. Kang is an artist of great potential trapped behind a colorist that detracts from his storytelling. Hopefully readers can look beyond the coloring to see the greatness of Kang’s art.
Seven Brothers is good, messy, fun. It is an action packed book with crisp dialogue and capable art that has breakthrough potential for publish Virgin Comics. It delivers a Garth Ennis who is willing to have fun with expectations and displays his appreciation for the male action story. It brings a tale by John Woo that neither Hollywood nor Hong Kong could bring to the screen and it also introduces a great talent to the American Direct Market.
- Francis Davis a career drunk with a love of comics and movies, lives in and works for the City of Chicago. Confidentiality agreements prevent him from saying exactly what he does, but it is important.