WHY WE LOVE IT: After POLARITY, we just had to work with writer (and Say Anything lead singer) Max Bemis again, and his thrilling take on how our modern society could evolve into an evil empire is absolutely terrifying.
WHY YOU WILL LOVE IT: Every fan of fiction is aware of the trope of the "evil, sinister empire" i.e. the Empire in "Star Wars." Oftentimes, when we are introduced to these totalitarian establishments, they are already fully in power and it's up to our hero to bring back order and peace. However, in EVIL EMPIRE, we explore how that would unfold in a real-world setting. How close to the precipice are we right now in the worl more
Bemis impressed with his last series Polarity, but with this first issue, he's shown he's learned from his previous work and in one issue blows it away. Add on top fantastic art, and you have a comic that's an absolute must buy. Read Full Review
Issue number One of Evil Empire reads like the beginning of a detective story. The characters have been introduced, a crime has been committed and a huge revelation is dropped that will have your mind scrambling around, trying to make sense of it all. It's an intriguing start, well written and featuring well drawn, interesting and believable characters. This could be a good one, so get a copy whilst you still can. Read Full Review
Evil Empire seemed to have passed in a flash, and the ending " also suspenseful, laced with its own brilliance " left me wanting more. I'm genuinely looking forward to whatever is next from these guys. Read Full Review
Bemis set up the end game for this series right out of the gate, and to some extent in the title. We're heading for an ‘Evil Empire', a totalitarian regime, but it's coming 25 years down the line. Instead of dropping us into this future, starting with a world very much like the one outside our window Bemis will be showing us the steps along the way that will lead us to that end result. Will you agree with every single parallel Bemis draws or conclusion he comes to along the way? Certainly not. But you don't need to, it's fictional after all, but I found the beginning of the path in this issue to be fascinating. I'll be sticking around as Bemis & Getty expand the story and lead us down a path to a very grim possible future. Read Full Review
The comic book is a great read and really has a fantastic pace to it. Obviously the cliffhanger is an attention grabber but all that came before is enough to jump on board with this series anyway. The comic book is on the way to becoming something special and I recommend getting in on the ground floor. This is your chance. Read Full Review
All this and a killer cliffhanger—which I won't spoil—that makes me practically salivate waiting for the next issue, and you have about as strong a debut issue as you can get. Max Bemis continues to show that his unique, grandiose writing style translates perfectly from the lyric sheet to the comic page. Pick up this debut issue and strap in for the ride; it's gonna be a good one. Read Full Review
As I mentioned, this comic leaves you with buckets of questions, Ive yet to see the true evil empire, or at least, anything more evil than what I see every day on the news. And more questions abound because at this point, none of the characters can or should be trusted. But Bemis pulls all of this off with perfection and ease, that is, if you enjoy reading some comics with your politics. Read Full Review
It's the art that really shines in this first issue though. Ransom Getty's clean lines and expressive characters come over like a cross between Gary Frank and Rags Morales and really make this a debut issue that grabs the attention. Read Full Review
Everything I mentioned makes Evil Empire a decent enough comic with some potential to explore this world slowly crumble piece by piece, but what surprised me and what will make me return for the second issue was the ending. It came out of nowhere and completely caught me off guard. Read Full Review
Even though Evil Empire gets off to a rocky start, the sheer shock value of the last few pages easily makes up for it, leaving readers wondering exactly what happens to turn the country into a dystopian regime. Read Full Review
What could have been an intriguing story instead comes off as a disorganized narrative with flat characters. The plot itself is far-fetched (which isn't usually a problem in comics, but it's the presentation of the plot that makes it hard to swallow), and overall the issue felt like it needed at least another draft or two, or at least another go round through editorial. More than anything, this feels like heavy handed propaganda thinly veiled as fiction, which makes it a chore to read and takes its anger out on the reader–none of which makes for a very inviting book. Read Full Review
A little messy, but maybe worth checking out when the all the pieces are in place. Read Full Review
Overall, this first issue was a decent read. There wasnt an awful lot to get too excited about through the middle, grounding plot. However, the beginning and ending of this book were quite exciting and hint at some excellent developments to come in the near future. Finally, the artwork was really quite astonishing. The visuals in this book are of incredibly high caliber and it will be great to see what Getty and Blythe pull off once the story really gets crazy. Read Full Review
So far, I'm intrigued, and really that's all. I want to stick around and learn how Bemis takes us from point A to point B but in all honesty, I was initially thrown by the ending of issue one. Once I read the final page, I was baffled. Like, WTF?! To me, it didn't make sense. It came out of nowhere. And while it may be explained in the following issue, it really better be a good enough explanation to warrant the bomb that was dropped on the last page. Anything less and truly discerning comic book readers will drop the title after issue two. Read Full Review
I think there's actually an interesting story in "Evil Empire" #1 somewhere, but it's not presented in the best way. Had Bemis and Getty presented a better destination, a better opening hook -- then perhaps the lack of nuance in the journey might have felt worth it. Unfortunately, as presented here, clunky and heavy-handed and with an unclear destination in mind, it's hard to invest in the journey, regardless of cliffhanger ending. Read Full Review
It could be that this comic just isn't for me. I was not a fan of Bemis' first foray into comics, but I know that most people gobbled up Polarity as if it were the most original thing to hit the comic industry in a decade. I'm sure there will be a similar response for this as well, but ultimately I found it to be preachy (just like Polarity), heavily reliant upon narration that doesn't actually further the narrative (just like Polarity) and basically dull (you know where I'm going with this). It's unfortunate, but even the shocking, completely out of place twist ending isn't enough to bring me back for more. Sorry morbid curiosity, you lose this round; but so did I with this comic. Read Full Review
Evil Empire #1 ends with a groan-worthy revelation, and in that moment shows exactly how it's set apart from similar stories in the genre. It's a juvenile attempt at a political thriller that is bereft of any sophistication or nuance. It communicates in platitudes and leaves its characters flat. Getty is doing his job telling the story but its not enough to prop this one up. By the end of the book, its unclear how this issue relates to the larger concept. This is how empires are born? By rappers hanging out with politicians? Bemis has a lot of things happening to his characters but his characters are not making anything happen. When plot is moving forward for the sake of moving forward, there's a problem, and one that an editor probably should have caught. Read Full Review
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