Writer/Artist: Grant Morrison, J.H. Williams III, Simone Bianchi, Ryan Sook, Frazer Irving, Pasqual Ferry, Yanick Paquette, Doug Mahnke
Publisher: DC, 4 volumes, $14.99
Told over the course of seven different comic series, the Seven Soldiers of Victory followed seven seperate individuals who all have a part in a larger battle against evil. The evil force in question knows that a team of seven is fated to destroy it and as such has pre-emptivly started to destroy gatherings of seven. Fate has taken it upon itself to seperate the heroes so that they never actually meet, and each different series focused on an individual character's struggles as they each attacked from different vantage points or played some other role in the grand scheme.
So when these first came out as single issue, I'm pretty sure I hated them. They were the usual over the top non-linear thoughts that Morrison throughs out at you, and none if it really felt like a solid cohesive project if you read the titles by themselves. The art ranges from solid to fanatastic depending on which title you picked up. The Simone Bianchi art, while pretty, relies on splash pages and poses way too much. On the other hand you have J.H. Williams III and Doug Mahnke, both pretty much making the entire thing worthwhile. Speaking of Doug Mahnke and his contribution to the entire crossover, Frankenstein is perhaps one of the best stand alone sections of the entire project.
However, as a straight read of collections, I have to admit that despite its faults it is a brilliant and compelling series. The collections print the issues in the order they are meant to be read in, so you can take in the entire scope of the shared story. Once you can get over certain artistic styles and absorb them into the greater piecework then it really takes off. There are some contradictions in the series in regard to other pieces of the DC framework, but you just have to ignore some of the more radical changes because half of them don't count considering Infinte Crisis kinda rebooted the DC universe again anyway. If you're not a big DC reader, than it won't really matter.
This is a piece of work that Morrison started way back in JLA Classified, so technically this is 3-5 year long project. It also sets up a few roots for DC's event the Final Crisis, so the entire scope of Morrison's planning is very impressive. It is also interesting because it brings Morrison's infatuation with Jack Kirby's New Gods into focus. You can tell he loves expanding the concepts and ideas of Fourth World, even back in his JLA run. The frame work of this entire series is based on the way the Fourth World epic sprawled across numerous titles, so even in its publishing it is paying tribute to Kirby.
So overall, it's a huge headache and definitly irritating in some places, but a worthwhile and enriching read.
If you like this then try: Grant Morrison's Justice League, The Invisibles, Jack Kirby's Fourth World, Final Crisis, Batman RIP
Related Links: DC Comics
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