Uber #2 - Avatar Press

UBER No. 2, May 2013

Writer Kieron Gillen, almost as a postscript, mentions in this comic’s ‘afterword’ that he would be “concerned” if readers felt the “interesting” contents of this title sat within “their comfort zone.” Considering the absolutely horrific language, mind-numbingly detailed mutilations and unbelievably high body-count contained within Issue Two of “Uber” that must surely be a massive understatement.

The magazine’s ‘wraparound’ variant cover alone, which depicts the three German ‘battleships’ gleefully tearing their foe’s torsos from their legs, or simply disintegrating their heads with baleful energy attacks, is violent enough to sicken and perturb many a spontaneous buyer. And if that doesn’t manage to deter the casual reader, then the cringing profanities of a foul-mouthed English strumpet on the first interior page would surely do so. 

But what this title lacks in good noble sensibilities it admittedly makes up for in tension, excitement and action, as the plot predominantly follows the flight of British secret agent Stephanie (formerly known as Doctor Freya Bergen) as she attempts to cross into Allied territory whilst transporting the secret formula of the Nazi’s Ubermensch. Initially waylaid by starving refugees, and then pursued by motor-cycle riding German super-soldiers, the pony-tailed “Limey” proves a particularly tough target for the Third Reich to capture. Especially when she seeks the assistance of an American tank team to help dispatch the seemingly invulnerable Panzermench, Rudoph Gelt, and all manner of body parts and brain matter begin to fly across the pages.

Disturbingly the comic’s secondary storyline of Sieglinde and Siegmund defending Berlin from a US Air Force bombing raid, is no less harrowing an experience for any unsuspecting mild-mannered bookworm. Especially as it provides artist Caanan White with a splash-page opportunity to show off his excellent flair for drawing Allied aircraft as well as a talent for sketching the gruesomely disgusting dismemberment of the aircrafts’ crew; with severed arms, legs and heads, complete with flowing gore trail, proving especially prevalent. Indeed from the moment Stephanie encounters the American reconnaissance unit, the professional penciller does not stop illustrating hapless soldiers having their vital organs exposed and shredded in as blood-curdling a manner as is possible within the medium of a comic book; the deaths of the tank crew and then shortly afterwards Gelt, being especially ghastly, grotesque and unsettling.

The regular cover art of "UBER" No. 2 by Caanan White