In “Black Summer” (originally published in Black Summer # 0-7, May 2007 – July 2008), the British author decided to write a story that begins in the White House. Horus, arguably the world’s most powerful metahuman, has decided to answer a question most superheroes would never even dare to ask: “how far do we go in pursuit of Justice?”. In order to answer that question, one must first and foremost define justice, and the easiest way to do that is by contrasting justice to injustice. For Horus, superheroes moral standards should question whether or not the American government is just or unjust; and he comes to the conclusion that the American president is committing injustice on a far greater scale than the any supervillain.
The president of the United States of America is supposed to attend a press conference in the White House; however, he is intercepted by John Horus and assassinated. When millions of viewers expect the familiar face of the president, they’re confronted with Horus, literally covered in the blood of his victim. The metahuman then explains why he assassinated the leader of the free world: “we are supposed to fight evil [...] but we are supposed to stand by while this Administration commits crimes [...] it is my belief that the war in Iraq is illegal and predicated on lies. It is my belief that our people and theirs are dying for corporate gain. It is my belief that America is now unfree”.
Should we act on beliefs? For Horus, the answer to that question is irrelevant. He has already made his decision. But he seems to be unaware of the repercussions of the assassination. The most immediate question among the American citizens is what will happen with Horus’ former friends: the Seven Guns. For Horus, the death of the president ushers in a new era for the United States. There will be free elections and Horus himself will oversee the democratic process. For Tom Noir, alcoholic, crippled and former member of the Seven Guns, this is the beginning of a hunting season that will bring about the downfall of the Seven Guns. Years ago, John Horus, Tom Noir, Kathryn Artemis, Dominic Atlas, Zoe Jump, Angel One and Laura Torch were the Seven Guns, a distorted and twisted version of the Justice League of America or The Avengers, they were never Earth’s greatest heroes but they sure are Earth’s most dangerous metahumans. After being disbanded, only Horus remained as a faithful assistant of the president until the day he decided to execute his boss.
In a matter of minutes, Tom Noir is chased down and attacked by a new generation of metahuman agents. He barely survives and is rescued by his old colleagues. Questions of loyalty soon arise: do metahumans should protect themselves from the rest of the world? What happens when they do not agree with Horus? And what happens if they agree? Because the real danger, the most controversial issue is if they believe they can step above the law and they can demote or destroy the government. Can power justify actions that are illegal? Can superpower overthrow political power? Should it? In every chapter of this fascinating saga, Ellis invites us, the readers, to reflect on those questions.
As the story progresses, it’s especially shocking to see how the country starts to fall apart. For all its vaunted power, the United States finds itself in a fragile situation. The battle is as much ideological as it is physical; and, in fact, it’s because of the conflicting ideologies that even within the ranks of the army there are officers tired of killing each other or going after the metahumans, they all disagree with each other about what should they do. Was the assassination of the president justified? What is the real meaning of the war in Iraq? What does it mean to engage in a legal or illegal conflict in the postmodern world?
With such a violent beginning, it’s quite evident that this story does not have a happy ending. Although the remaining members of the Seven Guns fight for their lives and, after much discussion, decide to go after Horus, they can’t fight against him and the new army of metahumans that follow the orders of the vicepresident. One by one, they die. And in the end, the confrontation between Horus and Noir is as dramatic as it is conclusive.
The art by Juan Jose Ryp is absolutely amazing. There are so many details in every panel, the reader can see every drop of blood and can count how many bullets are shot and how many explosions go off, of course, every corpse, every dismembered limb, every hole in the wall, is meticulously illustrated by Ryp. The Spanish artist is also able to convey expressions, feelings and emotions with an intensity that very few contemporary pencilers would be able to achieve. Furthermore there is a shared sense of design that goes along every one of the pages, enhancing an already fascinating a script by Ellis. A truly extraordinary miniseries!
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La conexión entre política y superhéroes rara vez ha sido explorada en cómics de DC o Marvel, tal vez porque los editores nunca se sienten cómodos lidiando con temas de la vida real que podrían ser controversiales o simplemente porque, como parte de grandes corporaciones, estos editores sienten la obligación de ser políticamente correctos todo el tiempo. Afortunadamente, eso no es una preocupación para una editorial independiente como Avatar o para un escritor desafiante como Warren Ellis.
En "Black Summer" (publicado originalmente en Black Summer # 0-7, mayo de 2007 - julio de 2008), el autor británico decidió escribir una historia que comienza en la Casa Blanca. Horus, posiblemente el metahumano más poderoso del mundo, ha decidido responder a una pregunta que la mayoría de los superhéroes nunca se atrevería a preguntar: "¿qué tan lejos podemos llegar en la búsqueda de la justicia?". Para responder a esa pregunta, primero se debe definir la justicia, y la manera más fácil de hacerlo es contrastando la justicia con la injusticia. Para Horus, los estándares morales de los superhéroes deberían cuestionar si el gobierno estadounidense es justo o injusto; y llega a la conclusión de que el presidente estadounidense está cometiendo injusticias a una escala mucho mayor que la de cualquier supervillano.
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| Tom Noir |
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| Horus |
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| Tom Noir fights to survive / Tom Noir lucha para sobrevivir |
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| 7 Guns |
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| The final battle / la batalla final |
El arte de Juan Jose Ryp es absolutamente increíble. Hay tantos detalles en cada viñeta, el lector puede ver cada gota de sangre y puede contar cuántas balas se disparan y cuántas explosiones detonan, por supuesto, cada cadáver, cada miembro desmembrado, cada agujero en la pared, es meticulosamente ilustrado por Ryp. El artista español también es capaz de transmitir expresiones, sentimientos y emociones con una intensidad que muy pocos dibujantes contemporáneos serían capaces de lograr. Además, hay un sentido de diseño compartido que acompaña a cada una de las páginas, mejorando un ya de por sí fascinante guión de Ellis. ¡Una miniserie verdaderamente extraordinaria!
