I continue to have a major problem with Pilot Season as I look at Top Cow’s releases and wonder if they shouldn’t be trying to publish more or if they’re really one step away from just releasing Witchblade and The Darkness as their only titles. As it is this batch of Pilot Season books are actually very good! Even the third book that I’m going to talk about prior to its release is worth being given a mini-series at the very least. But atlas, only one of these books will be given the false hope of eventually having its own mini or at least the title of “winner.”
Anonymous
No it’snot the Shakespeare movie bombing at the box office, this book is basically about a black ops operative that deserted the war and came home to do random acts of kindness. Okay it’s not too random considering it’s his father that he’s helping, but soon after he meets a woman how is being abused at home. He “black ops” into her home and black bags the man. When he awakens he’s tied to a pier with the tide coming in. Mr. Black Ops tells him that if he every raises a hand to another woman again that he’ll kill him. He leaves him, but times his call to the police so that they save him just in time but not before the fear of God gets to him. Unfortunately a Zebra can’t change its stripes. The abusive husband, who also happens to be a dirty cop, strikes another woman that’s investigating his criminal activities. From nowhere, Mr. Black Ops pops out with a shot-gun and says, “I warned you!”
That’s it. I was sold on this book before the last scene,but by this point I had actually forgotten that I was reading a Pilot Season book. What’s worse is that now I know that if I ever read this book again it could be years from now and by then it won’t have the same topical relevance a sit does now. It’s too because this book is definitely good enough to be a mini or even an ongoing depending on where the creators want to take it. If Image is smart they’ll green light this book once Top Cow crumbles.
Seraph
Here’s another good book that is definitely worthy of an ongoing. When you have Phil Hester co-writing anything you make it an ongoing. This book takes everything that was cool about Spawn and discards all the horrible ideas that were shoehorned into the story. Our Seraph is a man who put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. But an Angel brought him back to life and made him a power for God. Now he walks the city looking for a sign as to what to do with the power. His omen this time is a lost child poster. He shows up at the mother’s house and ask her about her daughter and the STD junkie mother tells him that she sold her for drugs and rent, but wants her back. Honestly it was the most believable junkie mom I’ve ever read. The Seraph tracks her down to a man who is basically a spider demon and he’s going to kill him, boom his power disappears. God shuts him down because he’s not doing his will, but his own.
That is why this book is so interesting. To see this character have to constantly figure out God’s will in any given situation when faced with pure evil was just brilliant. I couldn’t believe how smart of an idea it was and it shocked me that this was doomed to Pilot Season purgatory(pun intended). This book has so much potential and so much talent working on it that it’s a shame that it’s not being given an ongoing. This really could have been the next Spawn and possible ran for just as long given the circumstances of the story. Oh well right?
City of Refuge
Here’s the thing, I couldn’t tell if the world outside this city was gone or if the people within the city have cut themselves off from the rest of the world… and I liked that I couldn’t tell. I’m pretty sure that the city is functioning outside of normal society with participants that have signed up to live a crime free life under the corporate microscope. These people suffer from survivor’s guilt as they think about the people they’ve left behind. Our story follows a therapist that also works as a security guard in the city. When he’s on duty he’s given a drug that shuts down the chip implanted in his head that controls his violent emotions. On the first night of his twelve-hour duty he’s summoned to a hostage situation. It seems that the drug the security officers use has hit the street and now normal people are turning off their chip in order to be… violent.
The story didn’t amaze me, but honestly if this was a mini-series I would definitely pick up the next issue and give it a read. Sadly this book that could really have turned out to be a gem is just another casualty of Pilot Season. -- I guess you should probably go vote on one of these three books. They really are the best that they have to offer and out shine the others we’ve talked about, but really I don’t care either way since I’m still waiting for Mysterious Ways to finish so I can win all those free comics from Top Cow…like that will happen.