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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Atavar, 10 Jun 2008
The British comic anthology 2000AD has given us some real gems (see the "Shakara" review and the "Caballistics, Inc." podcast elsewhere on the site). Some of the strips, unlike "Judge Dredd", will probably never see the silver screen, either being too quirky, too special-effectsy, or too downright bizarre to ever get signed. "Atavar" is one such strip, originally printed about six years ago in the award-winning 2000AD weekly. Not long ago, the story was released as a glossy hardback collection, including the first two volumes of the strip in graphic novel format. The book itself is very nice. The story depicted is even better.
It starts in silence, broken only by the heavy breathing of a lone, naked human individual who wakes up to find himself in an unfamiliar place. He staggers to his feet and is met by a small group of alien life forms who quickly manage to establish communications. They explain that he is the last human being alive - or rather a clone of one, the only surviving human in the galaxy. He has been resurrected to help combat a techno-organic species called the UOS that is threatening the few remaining sentient races. And why should he be any use against such a fearsome and virulent threat...? Because it was his race that created them.
The story itself is fine, although not as mind-blowing as similar 2000AD strips like "Shakara". It's more the revelation of the various aspects of the story that lends the collection its momentum and intrigue. The fast pacing that a series of five- or six-page strips demands means that this is a fast, absorbing read that doesn't give you time to wonder how the story will end or consider the motivations of its group of interesting characters and species. The twists hit you before you even start to figure them out for yourself.
The artwork is top-notch, if you like that sort of thing. It is a little cartoony, but highly detailed and each pose is dynamic. Richard Elson provides the artwork to back Dan Abnett's compelling storyline; Elson has recently completed a second volume to 2000AD's successful "Kingdom" strip, which alongside "Atavar" provide solid, colourful worlds to dive into whenever real life gets too grey. His depictions of the various alien races are stark and enthralling, for once making you want to stop and actually check them out rather than skimming ahead to find out how the thing ends.
In fact, the two impulses conflict, which is rather a testament to both Elson and Abnett's talent, and their dedication to making the strip as good as it could be. In that they were very successful, the only downside to the hardback release being its price-to-content ratio, which is pretty high. £12.00 ($23.00) will buy you only about 90 pages, but if you're looking for something special that won't come around twice, or have a spare tenner or an upcoming birthday, and get hold of a copy of this, read it, then keep it safe. You'll want to take it out again a few weeks later.
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