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| UBER No. 4, July 2013 |
Writer Kieron Gillen’s comparison to his narrative of "Uber" Issue Four with that of “the archetypal sports movie. In short:
underdog tries to get ready for the big fight” doesn’t really do the
breath-taking scope of this periodical's storyline total justice. For a start not many sports
personalities prepare for their disciplines by letting a Churchill tank fire at
them from point blank range like His Majesty’s Human Patrick O’Connor does… Nor
do they watch helplessly as one of their fellow team-mates literally tears their body apart through the strain of lifting an automobile up above their heads.
However this horror-war comic does indeed spend the vast
majority of its twenty-two pages building up the reader’s anticipation for the inevitable
confrontation between the United States ‘super-airman’ and one of Germany’s
“seemingly unstoppable… human battleships.” The British author also does a good
job of establishing just what is going to be at stake when the two juggernauts
go toe-to-toe… nothing less than the survival of Paris, if not the French
continent itself. Something which makes the British government’s drive to
better empower “the delightfully burly H.M.H.” all the more tense and
desperate. This really is a race against time crammed full of suspense as scientist Stephanie’s “attempt to create enough Ubers” to stand against the German onslaught
suffers occasional delays and setbacks. Whilst Markus, Werner and Klaudia make
their bloody presence very much felt in the Romanian oil fields, East Prussia and upon the
banks of the River Rhine.
But despite the grand scope of his tale, Gillen also
manages to push along several sub-plots without intruding too much upon the ‘main
event’. In fact many of them, such as Alan Turning’s arrival at Bletchley Park
as Head of Cryptography, Winston Churchill’s observations that his country’s
best option is simply “to let them bash the living hell out of us until they
run out fuel”, and an edgy General Guderian’s obvious fear that “the Allies
could have Panzermensch by now” actually help elevate the book’s apprehensive atmosphere.
Artist Caanan White is equally on form, packing his
personalities with plenty of pathos and detailed facial expressions as each
character, be they German or British, effectively ‘wears their heart on their
sleeve’. Alongside colorist Michael Dipascale, the African-American penciller
also provides a delightfully subtle “clock on the issue” in the form of Stephanie’s hair; illustrating the passage of time by changing its colour from
bleached blonde to “a natural redhead”.
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| The variant cover art of "UBER" No. 4 by Caanan White |
I think you know full well what I'm going to say about this issue, Simon. It is bloody brilliant! You got me hooked on this series with your descriptive reviews. You correctly guessed I'd like the series and I certainly do. I was glad I bought volumes 1 and 2 of the trade paperbacks, as it meant I could read 12 issues in one (okay, two) sittings. I won't spoil anything for you but it is fair to say that the story improves with each passing issue.
ReplyDeleteWhat I particularly like about this series is that in a male-dominated setting, my two favourite characters are female - Stephanie the scientist and Klaudia the German battleship. Stephanie, in particular, is a true heroine, working tirelessly for the Allies. As for Klaudia, there is much more to her than her early appearances might suggest. She becomes much more roundly developed in volume 2 (issues 6 - 11). There is a third female who fascinates me but I won't say who until you've met her.
Bryan, I'm absolutely delighted you're enjoying this series, and my word you've jumped ahead :-) I think as build-ups go this was a cracking issue too... and really sets up #5 for the Battle of Paris (which I have read and will hopefully post up in a few days). I too like both Stephanie and Klaudia, and am grateful that Steph's hair has now changed somewhat so I can more readily tell the pair apart ;-) Hopefully the tpb's contain plenty of pictures of all the great cover illustrations this series has created?
DeleteThe TPBs do indeed contain lots of pictures of the variant covers, so yes, that is a nice bonus. Klaudia keeps her blonde hair in a pigtail. Stephanie's hair changes style and colour much more frequently. Keep an eye open later on when Klaudia uses her powers to alter the colour of her hair. She wants it to be more blonde. It has interesting repercussions! 'Nuff said!
DeleteGood to hear Bryan, as there have been some cracking covers so far. I look forward to the sub-plot you mention Ref Klaudia's hair. She's starts altering its colours with this very issue.
DeleteSo she does. I've just checked and I thought Klaudia became "more peroxide" later. What is interesting about this scene, which looks perfectly innocuous, is that Werner witnesses what she can do with the distortion halo. I'll say no more, but that is what I meant about repercussions.
DeleteOh you're such a tease Bryan :-) I think I'm going to have to settle down and read a few more now... at least so I've caught up with you :-)
DeleteThis looks a like a good continuation of the series. Going to have to buy this as a tpb though. Too many things, not enough money or time. Where's it going to end.
ReplyDeleteWell if the next issue is anything to go by then it'll end with an absolute gore-fest of a bloodbath, with loads of profanities and pieces of human anatomy being thrown all over the place. I'll be posting up a review of #6 in a few days time, Bob. In all honesty you might want to avoid it for spoilers if you plan to get the tpb.
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