Sunday, July 23, 2017

We Who Are About To Die!


Scaredycat, Scatterbrain, Toxyn, Backhand, Hardcase, Sheer, Backhand, Silencer, Brava and Wildcard -- these are the names of the Morituri who followed the first generation. In the latter issues of the series we follow them and see as some of them come to the end of their personal stories. To my mind the saga of Strikeforce Morituri lasts twenty issues. That's when writer Peter B. Gillis and artist Brent Anderson leave the title. They have told the stories of the original volunteers and the second and third generations who sacrifice themselves for their fellow men. None end in quite the way you'd have imagined and that's the cold beauty of this story which makes you feel for these characters very deeply as they confront the ultimate. Not all the individual stories end by the time Gillis and Anderson leave the saga. The story goes on by other hands and it's fine, but it never felt like the same series to me.








I have been rather vague in my reviews of this series because it's crucial that the reader come to it without being spoiled. Don't cheat yourself, get some and enjoy!

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2 comments:

  1. Well, damn.
    Strikeforce: Morituri was on my upcoming topic list, but you're right. It's best to go in knowing as little as possible, and you've covered it. (sorry for the pun)
    I'd only add how starkly this series stands apart from a medium where death is treated as a time-out from the game.
    And add a second to your recommendation to read it.

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    1. I've been wanting to read the series again for a few years and finally got to it this summer. In some ways my memories of the series were stronger than the reality, but the reality was still pretty excellent. Stories that stick.

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