Nemesis Issues 1 & 2

Written by Mark Millar
Art by Steve McNiven
review by Dan Tres Omi

Some of you might be familiar with Mark Millar and Steve McNiven's work on Old Man Logan and Marvel's Civil War. Together these two bring classic material to the masses. You have seen Millar's work come to life in the already cult classic “Kick Ass.” Just when you thought Millar couldn't top his work, Millar along with McNiven give us Nemesis.

Nemesis is one of the illest supervillains since the Preacher's The Saint of Killers. He is filthy rich, ruthless, and calculating as they come. He doesn't bore his opponents with ill tales about his past or how he plans on destroying the world. If you are on his hit list, consider it a done deal. Nemesis travels the world killing off all of the top cops in a flamboyant fashion. As a matter of fact, he sends his enemies a postcard with the exact date of their assassination and Nemesis is never late.

When Nemesis finally touches down in the United States, he raises the stakes by kidnapping the president after sending Blake Morrow, Washington DC's super cop, his dread postcard. It seems as if Nemesis has bitten off more than he can chew when Morrow thwarts his plans and captures him.

Unlike Millar's “Wanted,” where Millar slowly put the story of the villain together and then began to build everything up to the climax, Nemesis comes crashing down on the reader. It is not until Issue 2 where we get a glimpse of Nemesis' origin. Millar works this well into the story line. Although, there are more explosions and bullets then a hollywood blockbuster movie, McNiven's art doesn't go overboard with the panels. McNiven's style does justice to Millar's work. In Issue #2, Millar slows it down and this is where McNiven shines. You can see the flaws on the faces of his subjects.

Nemesis is published by the Marvel imprint Icon. Instead of putting out Issue #3, Icon has reprinted a variant cover for Issue One. This really bought much head scratching to the fans of Millar and McNiven. Hopefully, Icon will publish the upcoming issues soon. In the meantime, copping Issues #1 and #2 is a must.