Cla$$war Collected Edition Review

Cla$$war Collected Edition
Com.X
Hardcover
210 pages
$24.99 (2009)
ISBN 9781607438168

Contributors: Rob Williams, Trevor Hairsine, Travel Foreman, Len O'Grady, Ed Deighton, and introduction by Andy Diggle & Craig Johnson

Reprints: Cla$$war #1-6 (of 6)

Synopsis: America developed a superhuman program after WWII with the help of a brilliant Nazi scientist and become the undisputed world superpower.  The government created the first superteam - Enola Gay, employing them to safeguard national interests across the world and domestically.  The team enjoys superstar status with all the trappings of fame - drug addiction, impropriety and mental illness. 

Their leader, The American is finally woken from blindly following orders by an ex-black ops agent Isaac, who shows him the truth behind what his country used him for over the years.  Declaring war on his corrupt government, he must now deal with his former teammates who lack the motivation to break their chains in the Cla$$war!

 Pros: Hardcover includes bonus intro story and lots of extras, nice concept and very dark

Cons: One more cynical superhero book with mediocre writing/art

Mike Tells It Straight: Cla$$war is an action-packed mini-series inspired by conspiracy theories and rendering a tainted view of government controlled superhumans.  It suffered from an inconsistent publishing schedule and creative switch with Hairsine drawing the first half and Foreman the latter.  The story was originally planned for a twelve issue run with this book collecting the first half. 

I must say the story is largely derivative of other works (Superman, The Authority, Miracleman), but it gives us a somewhat convincing take on what the government would actually do with its very own superteam - i.e. complete and utter evil!  I'll check out the final half of the series if they ever make it, but it seems highly unlikely unless Com.X suddenly makes money or a film gets produced.

TO BUY and Recommendations: