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Art & Books Books

7 Against Chaos

7 AGAINST CHAOS by Harlan Ellison, art by Paul Chadwick and Ken Steacy (DC Comics), 200 pages, $28.99 cloth. Rating: NNNN


Harlan Ellison is back. The legend among American fiction writers has finally returned after working 10 years on his new graphic novel.

It’s set on a futuristic Earth that could be the love child of an Asimov/Heinlein collab. Mutants slave in mines, coliseums are jammed with blood-hungry fans cheering on monsters battling warriors, and humans pollute rivers and lakes with abandon.

When a war hero begins to recruit six outcasts for a mission to save the planet, the book briefly veers into X-Men mode to explain the special superpowers each character brings to the team.

But Ellison’s Earth doesn’t seem worth saving. In fact, the author has said in an interview that maybe it’s time to pack it in and let the cockroaches take over from the human race. His cynicism comes across in several panels where the recruits venture to gruesome regions to battle armies standing in their way.

The plot isn’t spectacular, but the action unfolds quick and heavy, almost as if Ellison wrote this first for Hollywood and then decided to contact DC for a book deal.

The dialogue is peppered with Ellison’s trademark sarcasm, giving way to some humour amidst all the ray-gun blasts and lizard battles.

There are few quiet scenes the pace never lets up, making it a book best enjoyed in one sitting.

Hats off to Paul Chadwick and Victoria’s Ken Steacy for the stunning artwork, which captures the finest details in Ellison’s imaginative landscapes.

Speculative fiction in graphic novels can sometimes fall flat on the page if the art doesn’t shine, but 7 Against Chaos wins on all fronts.

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