Ares

Want to know how to tell when I'm totally slammed at work and worn out at home? Just check the time between posts. When I'm only posting every ten days, that's not a good sign. Anyway, there's nothing more cliche than a blogger apologizing for not blogging enough. And love means never having to say your sorry, right?

Ares #1-5 from Marvel Comics

Sometimes, miniseries or one-shots come out that make no sense. I'm not talking about story here, I'm saying they make no sense when looking at the rest of the publisher's release schedule. Ares was one of those titles. When you look at the book--the story, characters, artwork--it just didn't seem to go with anything else Marvel was doing at the time. It was a story about the gods of Olympus, who have always been second tier in the Marvel U, unlike their stature at DC. And, besides Hercules, it didn't feature a single other Marvel superhero. It didn't cross over with another book, lead into Civil War, or guest star any mutants. It was a pretty random release.

I first gave the book a chance based on the artwork by Travel Foreman. His style is clean and angular, with a Frank Miller-esque use of light and shadow. I'm not trying to build him up to be the next big thing--I don't even know what he's done besides this miniseries. But his style is definitely cool and polished, and fit this book perfectly.

Foreman's linework was the reason I picked up the book, but Michael Oeming's story was the reason I stayed. Here's a summary: Olympian Ares has given up his dark throne and his career as the god of war, and is living in suburban America, raising his son, Alexander. When Zeus, king of the gods, contacts Ares for help in fending off an Asian pantheon, Ares refuses. So, Zeus does what any desperate lightning-thrower would. He kidnaps Alexander and uses him to lure Ares into battle. Soon, Ares is back in action--this time, using modern firearms and artillery to kick ass in Olympus.

See how there's no mention of Spider-Man or Wolverine in that story? Sure, it's a plot that's been overused in a million and one action movies, but it's so popular because it still works. It's a bit of a leap to imagine Ares as a loving father, but once you can make that leap, his motivations for the rest of the story all fit into place. And Oeming's characterizations of Zeus, Achilles, Hercules and the other Olympians are all familiar, yet still engaging. I found myself wishing he'd gone into the origins and history of the Asian gods a little more, but he does do a good job of providing Asian heroes as well as villains, so the story comes off more as an epic battle than a race war.

Overall, the miniseries is an easy read full of big-ass fight scenes. It sometimes borders on the cliche, but the unique setting and players keep it from feeling like a retread. Ares, as a character, is given enough charm to work as an antihero despite (or perhaps because of) his violent tendencies, and the rest of the characters are at least drawn beautifully, even when they don't get enough lines of dialogue. The best thing about this book, of course, is that it's a rare stand-alone comic series. You don't need to have ever read another Marvel comic to be able to pick this series up and enjoy it.

The same might not be said about any future series starring the character of Ares, however. A recent issue of Wizard magazine revealed that he's soon to appear as an Avenger in a post-Civil War series, along with Iron Man, Ms. Marvel, the Wasp, and Wonder Man.

So much for living outside of the mainstream, huh?