Welcome to the first (of what I hope will be many) installment of I WANT MORE, a new fanfic review feature.
First up is WARRIORS #1-3 at AVENGERS2000, written by Jason MacAskill & Steve Seinberg. A little while back, Avengers2000 pulled together a huge crossover event known as The Stark Invasion. Warriors is a series that spun out of that crossover, and is firmly grounded in that continuity. Still, you really only need to know two things to understand where Warriors is coming from: an alien race called the Stark attacked the Earth and was barely driven off, and many heroes died in the defense of their homeworld, including several of the New Warriors. Warrirors #1 gets this info out front and center early on, and the reader is then witness to the classic issue
#1 motif of forming (or re-forming) a new team. However, Steve and Jason handle this in a manner that feels original, while setting up an interesting roster. (I'm going light on details so that you can enjoy the revelations for yourself.) Meanwhile, a splinter group of the Masters of Evil are conducting business of their own. You have to love an issue that includes the line: "And so, brimming with caffeine and fructose, nicotine and a touch of cabin fever...the Masters of Evil came to Seattle... " Or I do, at least. The Masters of Evil get a lot of screen time and show a lot of personality, and their scenes are fun to read.
Issue #1 is fairly self-contained, with the inevitable conflict between Warriors and Masters of Evil wrapped up by issue's end, although hints are dropped for the next big development. Issue #2 sees the Warriors attending a memorial service for the fallen victims of the Stark Invasion. I applaud this move, as Warriors is really as much about the overall after-effects of the Stark Invasion as it is about a new team of crime-fighters. Other writers might have tied the origin of the team into the fallout from the Stark Invasion, and then never mentioned the Stark Invasion again, but kudos to Steve and Jason for not doing that. Furthermore, the Warriors find themselves caught up in a frenzied struggle against the entire Dark Dimension itself - the source of the powers of many a Marvel hero and villain, some of whom make cameo appearances. And the origin of THAT crisis situation has its roots in the Stark Invasion as well. When a site puts out a crossover as massive as the Stark Invasion, it just feels right to have so many ripples evident.
Issue #3 continues the battle against the Dark Dimension, and has a lot going for it - some nice flashes of style with the shifting perspective through the battle, strong action sequences, and a
growing sense that, as bad as things look for the heroes, things could get worse, and probably will. The issue ends with the big reveal of a villain who had been obscured up to that moment, setting the stage for the final showdown.
Good, compelling story, good characterization, good connection to the overall continuity of the host site - the only thing missing is the conclusion! So come on, Mssrs. MacAskill and Seinberg ... I WANT MORE!!!
UPDATE:
On October 16, 2006, Steve and Jason updated Avengers2000 with the conclusion I demanded. Sadly, this was to be their last issue on the title. Happily, on the other hand, fanfic legend Barry Reese stepped in and took over the reins of WARRIORS as of issue #5, posted January 10, 2007. I’d say the future of this title looks bright! And it’s all because of me! (ha ha ha)
UPDATE 2: Sadly, Barry’s run on this series lasted only three issues, with #7 appearing in March of 2007. But in what I consider a hallmark of the Reese Fanfic Ethos (the Reethos?), he tied up a lot of loose ends and left the series in a place easy for a new writer to continue. I think WARRIORS is a strong concept, so if anyone out there is interested in submitting a proposal to Avengers2000 to take over, I’d urge you to do so!