Review by Aaron Cooper

I never thought I’d see the day. The flip-book, a malignant boil on the comic market, has permeated the collected edition shelves of the local comic scene. How did this marketing ploy akin to the foil cover ever see the light of day? Better yet, does it work in the context of a trade paperback? Let’s discuss.

Let’s start with Red. Retired C.I.A. black ops killer gets the death sentence from a new official suit looking to promote a new image. Assassin takes out all that ruined his retirement. I’m pretty sure I’ve read this before, or at least variations on the theme. There’s much Tom Clancy, The Fugitive, and even 1980’s Arnold Schwarzenegger to be found here. It is also hopelessly unrealistic. Sure, these are comic books, but not since a John Woo film have I seen so much ammunition and so much death to everybody but the main character, who just happens to take out a major governmental base unscathed. Sure, whatever. This is a single issue short story concept dragged out over 3 chapters, so the reader can see every bullet fired and the point of impact on every victim. Not to say Cully Hammer’s (of new Blue Beetle fame) artwork is bad to look at in fact it reminds me a lot of Eduardo Risso’s work on 100 Bullets. It’s just that Warren Ellis doesn’t give him enough interesting concepts to draw. It’s a bland, stereotypical story.

On the other hand, Tokyo Storm Warning gave me plenty to look at. It is a homage to Japanese giant monster films, like Godzilla, Gamera and Daimajin. I had high hopes but also a massive amount of suspicion against Ellis to see if he could pull it off. You see, I’m a massive Japanese sci-fi and fantasy buff. I know these films. I also know Ellis is familiar with them, as he hinted at them in Planetary. Yet, so many lose sight of what makes that genre fun and how it works.

Fortunately, Warren Ellis did it right. Giant monsters, giant robots to battle them with, and an international cast make Tokyo Storm Warning a fun read that harkens back to the glory days of Shogun Warriors. Ellis ‘gets’ it. He also chose a brilliant artist in James Raiz to bring it to life. Raiz infuses a manga style into a more traditional style while throwing in some wonderful (if not too close to the original) character designs of giant monsters attacking Tokyo.

Unfortunately, whereas Red was too long for the concept, Tokyo Storm Warning feels too rushed! The ending (I won’t spoil it here) is vague to the point of feeling like a cop-out. It also lacks characterization. No human drama here, but most won’t care as they’ll be here for the giant critters and pulverizing robots. Personally, I enjoyed the story more because it was homage to the giant monster genre. Other readers may find it too cliché and I’m willing to admit that.

Overall, both stories had their merits, but are completely different from each other to force them together in a trade paperback. Depending on tastes, most will find these mediocre at best. Throwing two short series into a moderate sized trade paperback, rather then individual prestige or bookshelf size is a bad idea. Two half-wrongs don’t make a right Wildstorm, only a bigger wrong.