I’ll start off by honestly saying I came across
Extermination more through luck than by any form of in-depth research. Whilst
enjoying an afternoon off work last week, I was strolling through London’s West
End and decided upon a visit to a nearby geek shop. One of this shop’s benefits
is their collection of grab-bags, inclusive of four comics, for a measly £1.
So amongst one of the four bags I bought was Extermination
#1.
As it only really cost me 25p, I held out no major hope for
it and was ready to file it in my ‘Miscellaneous’ comic folder however, after
reading the first two issues, it has proved to be one of the most intriguing
comics in my monthly list.
I was at something of a disadvantage as I didn’t know too
much about Extermination, other than a brief mention somewhere online a few
months ago, so it wasn’t until finishing #2 that I had managed to get a fairly
accurate idea as to what hell was going on.
To summarise the plot, Earth has been left on the brink of
destruction after coming under attack from an alien force. As #1 starts, the
only two characters introduced are superhero, Nox, and supervillain, The Red
Reaper. Previously enemies before the attack, they are forced to work together,
despite their differences, staying on the run from the alien horde, on their
nuclear-powered ‘bladecycle’. Nox, a Batman-wannabe in appearance and
character, tries to uphold integrity and decency in the face of mass extinction
by refusing to kill and even as far as banning the use of bad language. The
Reaper is a wonderfully over-the-top ‘pseudo-camp’ evil scientist who takes as
much pleasure in ridiculing Nox as he does in killing the alien creatures.
The basic premise of the series, outlined in #1, is nothing
we haven’t seen before, however where Extermination truly sets itself apart is
in the dialogue between the two main characters. Whilst it may be easy to
quickly dismiss their arguments as light-hearted good vs. evil debates, it
highlights also a clash of ideologies in a new world. Whilst Nox clings on to
the values and ethics of society before the attack, Red Reaper declares them
irrelevant as he likens the attack to a teenage boy hitting puberty, the world
now needing to man up and concentrate on the most basic instinct, survival. To
illustrate a certain level of credibility to Reaper’s argument, it is Nox that
is seen with the first signs of conflict as the series begins.
Interspersed throughout the comic are short flashbacks that provide
an important backdrop to how life was on Earth before the attack and also
highlights Nox and Reaper in their previous roles as enemies.
One of my concerns over the first issue was the limited
amount of characters, however this is thankfully rectified in #2 as more
survivors are introduced, in addition to ‘powereds’ such as Promethean, a
superhero who is used by the survivors to an extent possibly never before seen
in comics! #2 also expands upon the initial plot by revealing society’s
complacency and level of dependency on their superheroes and later, their
feelings of betrayal towards them as they are alleged to have abandoned them in
their hour of need.
As for the artwork, it is extremely detailed and imaginative,
especially during the battle scenes involving the various forms of aliens. One slight
criticism would be that it suffers from trying to have too much occur in each
still, resulting in the main characters appearing far too small when being
swarmed by aliens. Whilst this serves the purpose to highlight their plight, it
can make it hard for the reader.
To summarise, despite exhibiting a range of factors seen
many times before, Extermination still manages to pull it off with a
quirky-but-at-times-serious take on the alien invasion genre with two main
characters whose constant bitching make this a recommendation for those looking
for something new.
Rating: 3/5
