Friday, January 18, 2008

Gravel #0: Hardboiled mayhem


Ah, Gravel. Seriously, who doesn't love Gravel? Without it, where would our driveways and aquariums be? Nothing grits a path like a little Gravel. Gravel is----Okay, I'll stop now. I'm not really trying to convince you to go out and purchase landscaping supplies. I'm talking about Gravel #0 from Avatar Press. I just couldn't resist the bad pun. I swear it won't happen again.

Gravel #0 is the precursor to a new, ongoing, monthly series from Warren Ellis, Mike Wolfer and Raul Caceres. SAS operative Sergeant Major William Gravel has appeared previously in a few limited series, but this is his first chance to headline a regular series of his own. Gravel is a "Combat Magician," but don't go picturing some sort of cute, Harry Potter-esque fantasy-land of magic. We're talking ugly, painful, magic. Gravel is one tough, mean, SOB. He makes Wolverine look like a girly cry-baby, who likes unicorns and ponies. If you've ever been pelted with driveway gravel, you know it's hard stuff. But not as hard as Bill Gravel.

This zero issue introduces you to the main character, stuck out in the Middle East, on a typically violent and unpleasant mission. When he returns home to London, he finds that things have changed in ways that make him unhappy. You definitely wouldn't like Bill Gravel when he's unhappy. He does a little investigation and lands himself a quest that should keep him occupied while he's on holiday, and gives readers a pretty good idea where the first issue of his new series will be going. It won't be pretty, but it will be bloody.

As with most stories from the warped (in a brilliant way!) mind of Warren Ellis, Gravel isn't for everyone. If you are too young, or too tender, for heaping helpings of over-the-top violence and swearing, then you might want to steer clear of Sergeant Major Gravel. But if you like hard-edged storytelling, tough-guy characters, and wonderfully inventive swearing, then you'll love Gravel. However; if you need to resurface the driveway, you'll want to try Home Depot. (Sorry!)

Gravel #0 is only $1.99, it includes a preview of issue #1, AND it is guaranteed this week as Four Color Fantasies' Book of the Week. What more could you ask for?

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