COMIC REVIEW: The O Men – Volume 1
Posted by comicgeekboy on May 29, 2012
Before there was Spandex, there was The O Men. By the same creative mind Martin Eden the award nominated series follows Doctor O as he gathers together a new superhero team calling them The O Men.
When one thing has been such a hit I am sure it must be difficult at times to come back to an older piece of work. But Martin Eden has nothing to worry about as The O Men is a stunning piece of comic fiction.
Eden took some time away from The O Men to start Spandex and unfortunately it sits at the moment as an unfinished project like Superman 2 did after Richard Donner left. Thankfully Eden has promised to finish the tale, releasing the original issues in four volumes with a fifth and final volume with the new issues.
Volume 1 (out now) feels like Eden’s depiction of the X Men. We have our leader who is the scot of a school for gifted people. Yet unlike Xavier, the first team Doctor O created (the psi-squad) did not end up in a good place. Many have died or been traumatised by the events to the extent that they would never want to be apart of The O Men. Eden cleverly leaves hints about what happened to Psi-Squad but never fills in the details completely. A very effective way of building the story.
Like with Spandex. I could not imagine anyone else drawing The O Men but Eden. The black and white texture adds mood just like the colours add something to Spandex. The page layouts work well to go with some clever visuals. The thing about Spandex is that although it is shocking it is not the key to its success. Spandex is built on a rich tapestry of good storytelling that runs all the way through. The same can be said about The O Men. It is less shocking, but Eden’s story grabs you from the get go.
The O Men is a must buy. I finished reading it and wanted to read it again. There are very few indie let alone mainstream comics I can say that about. It actually feels like eternity that I have to wait for Volume 2 to be released. A tense, suspenseful read, The O Men is just as good as Eden’s modern classic Spandex. You can check out The O Men here.
Rating: 4/5
Reviewer: Luke Halsall
