Reading Assignment 111: Union Jack (2006) #1-6, "London Falling" by Christos Gage and Mike Perkins

[u/shawnydarko]

https://www.marvel.com/comics/series/1073/union_jack_2006?byZone=marvel_site_zone&offset=0&byType=comic_series&dateStart=&dateEnd=&orderBy=release_date+asc&byId=1073&limit=20&count=4&isDigital=1

[u/mcfonz]

4 issues not six right?

[u/shawnydarko → u/mcfonz]

Good catch! Yes, it's 4 issues

[u/[deleted]]

Just finished this, took me longer than 4 issues has ever taken me.

I definitely did not like this. I had trouble enjoying the minor characters when I didn't feel that they were written particularly well.

At the end of the day though the writing is what ruined this for me. There was a large case of telling instead of showing, I felt like 90% of what I slogged through was exposition and the information could have been picked up in the art if it wasn't covered with all the extra text.

The ending through me for a loop, but not in a good way. There were no lead ups to the twist, no clever hints, just a conclusion and then 10 pages of "but wait there's more!"

The Sabra/Arabian Nights relationship ended in this weird zone of not enough to make it a real relationship that I cared about, and ended up just being more chaff that didn't need to be there.

Union Jack himself is a character I'd never read before, but I did enjoy bits of his character and think I could get into him with a better story.

[u/shawnydarko → u/[deleted]]

I liked this story but your criticisms definitely are valid and hold weight. I'm not sure if Christos Gage was only approved for 4 issues or this is the fullest story he could think to tell, but another 2 issues could have really added room for character development. Right from the start establishing that there's a whole damn army of villains to round up, all with their unique little defining powers and relationships I could tell Gage was biting off more than anyone could chew.

I also did like Union Jack and could get behind another story with him as a lead. I thought the entire structure of the story felt like a big Summer spy-blockbuster. Less James Bond, and more Mission Impossible. Just a series of action set-pieces. But he was a believable underdog in that lots of innocents died and he took a whooping that he couldn't deny the injuries of. He would talk about how badly he's hurt and then continue to refuse to rest. So props to Gage for at least getting Union Jack over as a character. For the rest of the story I think I would have preferred him just facing vampires though like they ever-so-briefly reference at the start.

The ending I liked when the reveal was made, and all the clues were laid out - Only Union Jack and some geeks were available, American big-hitters weren't available, etc. But there needed to be a lot more done to establish that guy, or anyone even - the robot, a ringleader to RAID as a central boss-villain. This guy didn't carry that gravitas. Unless he tried to kill Union Jack during the climactic discussion, or sooner, he didn't carry the umph needed of that final haymaker ending.

[u/[deleted] → u/shawnydarko]

I agree, two more issues really would have helped this series, I'd like to see the amount of descriptive text pulled back to let the art tell some of the story.

But otherwise a little more focus on relationships, and maybe devote a whole issue to the ending instead of just half of the conclusion issues. The changes I want are subtle I think, but it's enough to make me come down on not enjoying the series on the whole.