Strikeforce: Morituri! Marvel have just released a paperback collection of the first 13 issues, with the promise of two more volumes to collect the complete 31-issue series and five-issue sequel, and the first one is just awesome. I've never read it before (it came out in the mid-eighties) and have always sort of wanted to, so this new release is just my cup of tea. There's a possible movie in production, apparently, hence the revival, although a planned TV series came to nothing amid arguments between Marvel and Peter B Gillis.
The first 13 issues are supposed to be the best - Gillis (a great writer) left after twenty to be replaced by James D Hudnall (not at all a great writer), but I'm a sucker for complete stories, so I'll be getting the whole set. And the art is almost good throughout - this first collection is drawn very nicely by Brent Anderson, with one fill-in by the equally nice Whilce Portacio, and the later issues were mainly the world of Mark Bagley. And even though John Calimee, who did three issues, is supposed to be about the worst artist ever employed by Marvel at the time, I quite like his work on Alpha Flight in a weird way, so I'll look forward to seeing his work on Morituri too.
But the whole premise of the series is more-or-less original science fiction of the type the big companies don't do any more, so it needs encouragement. Go out and buy the too-expensive paperback, now! Or buy the old comics for cheaper, if you can find them...
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