| Title | : | The Losers, Vol. 1: Ante Up |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1401201989 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781401201982 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2004 |
But the Losers were just playing dead—and now that they've seen what the Company is really up to, they're through with games. Now it's time to take the fight back to its source.
The Losers, Vol. 1: Ante Up Reviews
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I tried watching The Losers movie twice before and gave up quickly each time for the same reason why I gave up trying to read the comic once before: it comes off as the most bland, generic actioner EVER. Having forced myself to read this first volume of the comic I can confirm that, yup, it most definitely is that!
A team of rogue, er, special ops peeps (I honestly have no idea, nor care!) decide to wage war on the CIA for being corrupt douchebags. Whatever.
The Losers, Volume 1: Ante Up reads like the bargain basement version of Mission: Impossible that it is, complete with the obligatory computer hacking scenes, car chases, gun fights, a double agent betrayal, and ‘splosions, so many unexciting ‘splosions.
Worse than the boring story are the utterly dull characters, all of whom are personality vacuums doing their best Dirty Harry impressions. Aside from the corny and irritating mouthy one, I couldn’t tell any one of them apart without the visual element. Seriously, when the “betrayal” happens, I swear there’s another dude so exactly like him on the team, maybe even two, that I hadn’t realised until that moment that they weren’t the same person!
I loved Jock’s art which is very sharp, exciting and dynamic - it’s just a shame that it’s in service to this drab nothing of a story. The Losers, Volume 1: Ante Up is a shallow, flat, and absolutely forgettable comic full of unoriginal, unimaginative, pointless action for the sake of it - the only one losing out here is the reader! -
This was shockingly mehish. I remember watching the movie years back and finding it pretty entertaining. Now I was a teen, so rewatching it now could make me think it sucked. Anyway, I figured I'd try the comic series. Got all 3 books in the series for 8 bucks. Now I can kind of see why I got them so cheap.
The story is about a bunch of mercs going off the grid, presumed dead, but then they are not, and then there's a whole lot of backstabbing and revealing the true bad guys and then...nothing? Like it just ends on a real odd note that feels like it wasn't sure how to wrap up. Just a lot of "Oh no he's the bad guy, but duh, no duh, well oh shit, yeah he dead...no he's not" lot of twist and turns without any fucks to give.
What I liked: Some funny character moments and cool ideas. Like the idea of this story is pretty solid and the characters COULD have been great.
What I didn't like: I didn't remember a single name, the art is really fucking ugly and hard to follow, and the storyline...dumb? Like ones that try to be really hard to follow but fail and they come off as try hard? That's this. Also the characters are so bland I can't remember their name or anything.
This was pretty bad. Awful even. I had to force myself to get through this. Maybe I should just watch the movie again instead. A 1.5 out of 5. I'll give it a 2 just because I'm being nice. -
Starting with a vague premise and a relatively hefty load of dialogue is usually not a good way to start a comic. However, The Losers quickly picks up speed and no moss is spared. More in common with an Audio-Visual throwaway cousin such as Crank (I & II) than a more properly bodied tale, this tale of knife & dagger & blazing AK-47’s possesses just enough charm to carry it’s lip-swishingly misty story forward. With just enough mystery and spent cases to coat the comic, slaughterhouse violence brings the first leg of the journey to a sanguinely enjoyable end.
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I'm in love. I admit, I read this in preparation for the movie, but even if the film gets the characters absolutely perfect, there's no way it can compete with the visuals in this GN. The story is simple enough so I didn't lose the thread in all the action, but Aisha's storyline brings enough mystery so that I'm not bored. (And by the way, best entrance by a female lead EVER.) The sarcastic humor is just right for a bunch of fatalistic guys who've gotten over the whole fearing death thing and are just gettin on with what needs done. (Favorite line, Jensen: Hack this Mo@#$%%^^) But really it's all about the look of the thing. The highly angled cover shots of the whole team, bristling with weaponry are awesome, and each character is so clearly delineated via clothes, expressions, and mannerisms you feel like you know exactly who they are at first glance. Seriously, I don't think I saw Cougar's face anywhere in the volume except on the cover, and I'm still half in love with just a hat, a chin and a ponytail. I gotta find me book 2.
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ABSOLUTE RATING: {3.5/5 stars} (Rounded Down)
STANDARDIZED RATING: <4/5 stars> -
The very best kind of conspiracy-theory-fueled action/adventure. This is the first volume of Diggle & Jock's The Losers comic book, collected in graphic novel format. Strong language & graphic violence, so not for kids, but the writing and art are top notch and I'm eager to read Vol 2 and find out what happens next.
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Now this I like. CIA vs CIA, sharp dialogue, clever plans that are actually clever, and lots of exploding things.
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The Losers are thought dead after being betrayed by a CIA agent named Max and put on the death list. They are now officially KIA and looking to force the Agency to give them their lives back. They're a team of black ops experts, but that doesn't mean they can't be sarcastic to one another. While the actions scenes are solid and the dialogue alternates between dead serious and funny as hell, I couldn't help but feel like I was missing some background. Still, it's an explosive start for a story filled with special forces, firefights and strategic planning that has plenty to offer.
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The Losers GN came into my reading orbit after I saw previews from the movie. (I know, for shame!) But I'm glad it did. Although I did enjoy the movie, I couldn't help feeling like a lot was left out.
Sure enough,
thanks to a recent LA Times article, writer Andy Diggle said the movie version of The Losers was "a lot lighter, less grim and a lot less political". Naturally, I had to check out the original source material.
Ante Up begins right in the middle of the action after the black Ops team calling themselves The Losers plan on getting back the CIA for abandoning them on a prior mission. Clay, the head of the team, isn't keen on letting the agency go so quickly. So when he discovers all the underhanded shenanigans that the agency is involved in, he sees the prime time to get his and his team's identities and lives back. All with the help of the mysterious Aisha who may or may not be on their side.
I really enjoyed Ante Up. The mature rating is spot on with the amount of violence and cursing but the story is pretty awesome in dealing with true to life issues surrounding the government. Issues such as arms dealing and drug operations:
Jensen: So they're selling sh-- to the American people to raise money to protect the American people from the guys who produce the sh-- they're sellin' them in the first place. That is f-- up on so many levels, man...
Clay: Don't kid yourself. Only people they're protecting here are their lobbyist buddies in arms and oil.
Pooch: It's there right on the dollar bill, man--In G.O.D. we trust...
Roque: What the h-- does God have to do with it?
Aisha: Guns. Oil. Drugs. The holy trinity.
With an allusion to the Iran Contra situation of the 1980s, Diggle makes this series grounded with some interesting commentary that I wish was kept in the movie.
The strength is in the characters and how they interact with each other. Each 'loser' has his and her own personality and way of talking which bounces off their comrades well. Having a soft spot for awesomely deadly heroines, I loved Aisha even though she terrified me sometimes. I wish her character was more developed from the comic to movie translation.
In any event, although this may seem like another shoot-em-up conspiracy comic series, definitely check out The Losers for some great characters, epic action movie style storytelling and humor. I'm definitely hooked and will be checking out the rest of the books! -
Well to be honest, I've never heard of this title before the movie adaptation. I just got around to reading it though, even if I saw the movie a bunch of times already. The movie was good, but well - as much as I'd hate to put it in clichès, this is better. Atleast so far to where of the series I'm in.
The situation and the back story to it were't really touched yet in this volume. Somehow, I think keeping those details on the later volumes is the route Diggle is taking. Which is actually more favourable than everything being explained in just one volume. There is no fun in information overload. What I love about this title though, is that the plot seems to thicken more the longer you read it. Above that, the characters are quite interesting in their own asshole sort of way, I'm looking at you Clay. The art style was pretty gnarly. The plot to this specific volume seems to lay the ground rules in this CIA vs CIA battle to which I'm looking forward to. Everything is just pieced altogether and it fits in well with one another. The whole mystery about Max is actually quite compelling. It's something that would make you want to read more and proceed on to the next volume. Storytelling was impressive and well like I said, the art style was very brilliant. Compared to Mark Millar books, this here is a bit subtle on the whole violence thing, though totally shying away from it is obviously being avoided. Nevertheless, what it lacks on violence maybe, it provides in the whole gritty stories I think I'll be reading more on. I'd easily recommend this to anyone. -
Okay so. Tumblr made me watch the movie version of this comic, because of reasons (Chris Evans). I loved it. I loved it with the fire of a thousand fangirl screams. Err, that metaphor kind of got away from me there. ANYWAY. Point is, the movie made me download the comic, and I am ripping through it. Holy shit this is a fun read! The film follows a few of the storylines faaaaaairly closely, and it is a pleasure to see Jensen do his "I am a dangerous telekinetic" bluff every time I come across it.
I love the art, the use of colour and reveals and angles and everything, it's just incredamazeballs. Aisha is a FUCKING. BADASS. I mean, she was awesome in the movie and all, but goddamn. The comic gives her room to spread out, really filling the panels with seriously intimidating silences and awesome asskicking, and basically I am in love.
I was a bit worried that the main spoiler of the film would ruin my enjoyment of the series, but luckily they get Roque's betrayal out of the way in like the first three issues, and after that, it's just a full on, balls-to-the-wall race to find Max. The first volume is violent and cinematic and super fun to read. I'm hooked! -
I came to know about the series after I heard about the movie .. Haven't seen the movie yet because I will finish the series first before watching it now. Awesome start to the series .. The Losers is a team of Black-ops Commandos who are trying to clear their names after someone tries to get them killed. Awesome action and story .. Now I am kicking myself to miss this series till now.
I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more, you should also read what you love and then just
Keep on Reading. -
I preferred volume 1 to volume 2. Aisha is a great killer character and I really like Cougar but my interest in the two of them, and her storyline in particular, may not be enough to hold my interest very long. I'm gonna try to read till the end of the series, the art is awesome and some of the dialogue is killer, but its dragging near the end of the book.
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The Losers is an interesting collection of personalities that create an interesting team but somehow struggle to tell an interesting story. Andy Diggle needed to use more exposition and flesh out the individual motives for some of these characters, especially Aisha. Jock's art is fantastically gruesome. Overall, its a book that could have been better especially for an opening chapter.
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I've always been a huge fan of Jock and art style and it definitely is one of the big draws for this book. Andy Diggle's writing is also pretty darn good. I'm a fan of the film, but the more mature story telling definitely helps pull you in more. Even though the story plays out rather similar, I still really enjoyed it.
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This was entretain and complex story.
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It was pretty topical for its time, but it seems a little dated now.
All in all though - its a cool dirty tricks operation by a bunch of bad asses. -
Honestly, I liked the movie more.
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Many twists and turns, comedy and some serious plots.
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I mean, it’s a self aware A-Team style heisty story. What’s not to love? Especially since it gives me extra sentimentality since and reminds me of my brother.
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Even before The Losers movie came out, even before I got back into reading comics, I had heard about this series and thought it sounded promising. It took nearly seven years to get around to reading it, but I finally did. After seeing the movie first though, which left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth as evidenced in my Rabid Rewind review, I wondered if the graphic novel would hold up as well as I first thought.
In a word: yes.
It's pretty simple for an action story, I suppose, though it gets a little thick around the middle as the story progresses. A team of military roughnecks called the Losers--an actual "A" Team--supposedly killed in action back in '98, have resurfaced to track down the CIA operative who betrayed them and nearly got them killed. Max. But, they don't know who Max is or even what he looks like, which is kind of a problem, since they need him so they can clear their names and get their lives back. So, they set out to sabotage the global drug running operations and other criminal activities that Max is overseeing, while collecting evidence against him and clues about his identity--and all while the world either thinks they're dead or gone rogue against American interests.
Each character has his quirks and mannerisms, even to the point of being a bit of a cliche, but the camaraderie works and makes for a gang of gun-toting bad-asses that you root for. Clay is the grizzled leader with a no-nonsense attitude, Pooch is the wheel man and the middle-age family man who just wants to get back to his family, Roque is the hard-as-nails prick, Jensen is the wise-cracking techno geek, Cougar is the sniper and man of few words, and the newcomer to the group is Aisha, a CIA agent with a huge chip on her shoulder and an unearthly talent with blades.
I dig heists, gun fights, and cool motherfuckers spouting one-liners. Some of the movies that come out these days just don't hold that same magic from the movies of the seventies and eighties. But, Diggle and Jock brought some of that good stuff into the 21st century and up-rezzed it for today's audience. And the illustrations offer up the kind of gritty visual you might expect from a story like this. The pacing is great, but it's easy to see how the film adaptation needed to parse a few key items rather than offer an expansive look at this graphic novel. There's a lot more meat on the bone and Diggle plays it for all it's worth.
It's an impressive start to the series and I really did wind up wanting more once I hit the final page. Definitely interested to see what the second volume has in store. -
It's hard to know what to say about The Losers. First of all, I enjoyed it. I love heist stories, or really, any kind of story that sets a complicated plan in motion, only to have everything go horribly wrong.
But, as a consequence of the type of story this is, I have to confess that it's a little formulaic and lazy in terms of characterization. It doesn't help that the story pretty much starts in medias res. In short order, we meet the squad (the wacky computer guy, the silent-but-deadly sniper, the big burly vehicle guy, the taciturn leader, the untrustworthy outsider, etc.) and learn that they're out for revenge against the evil secret government agency that tried to kill them. They pull a job to get things started before moving on to a much bigger job. But then there's a big twist! Except it's not really that much of a twist, and the only reason you can't really see it coming is that you haven't really had much of a chance to get to know any of the characters involved.
So, yes, it's formulaic, and reading it feels like reading just about any of a thousand similar stories. It reminds me in a lot of ways of 100 Bullets, although so far it's a lot less complex. Sometimes, though, there's nothing wrong with familiarity. I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, which is surprisingly short. -
A few months ago, I wrote a review of The Losers, Vol. 4 having never read any of the previous volumes. In the review I stated that I had trouble understanding the plot and that I couldn't tell some of the characters apart. Since then I have found and read Volume 1 and now have a much more favorable view of the series.
It really does pay off to start at the beginning here, even though writer Andy Diggle's approach is to dump us right in the middle of a plot and then fill in the details later. The action here is relentless and Diggle nicely doles out the plot complexities one at a time. He gives the characters and situations just enough mystery to keep the reader on the hook, breathlessly awaiting more answers.
The characters are a fun and colorful lot, definitely in the Magnificent Seven mold, as each has their own quirks and special skills. I especially enjoy Jenson, the techie wiseacre and Aisha is one of the most butt-kicking females in comics. The dialog is crisp, and peppered with both profanity and a nice biting sense of humor.
The art is rough edged and angled, which adds a harshness and tension to the plot, but I still had a little trouble telling who's who at times.
That aside, this a thrilling and enjoyable series no action fan should miss. Now if I read volumes 2 and 3, I'll probably understand Volume 4 even more.
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I am enjoying the *shit* out of re-reading this stuff. I read these books years ago and loved it, then reluctantly saw the movie (and loved how fun it was).
Now I'm coming back to the source material and I gotta tell ya - Diggle and Jock, with these incredibly intense, fast-moving storylines that assume you have a brain and a sense of adventure - wow, what a ride.
As good as the movie was, Jock has a dynamic sense of movement and perspective that can't be matched (even by the most hyper-real art that you might find in a Brubaker Captain America or a Bendis Dark Avengers story). I'm having a blast re-discovering the fun and amazing dialogue that Diggle caught my attention with back in the days. Why can't he write like this anymore? Is Marvel really castrating his voice that badly?
Awesome, fast-paced action. Why did I hold off re-enjoying this for so long? -
In which a rebel team of former military misfits (nerd, ethnic chick, mystery psychopath, black badass, DeNiro-type leader, double-crosser) sabotage some sinister CIA-sponsored drug-running operations. Action-packed, suspenseful, even lefty-subversive. A vast improvement on its obvious inspiration, the A-Team (not to mention the
Able Team).
Great quote (original bolding included): "Hold it right there. I'd lay down my life to defend America, to free it from the parasites that are eating away its heart. You ever accuse me of betraying America again, you and I are going to get into more than just a conversation." -
Looks awesome! Andy Diggle did (is doing) an amazing job with Hellblazer. That is saying a lot because he was standing in the shadow of such great minds as Warren Ellis, Alan Moore and Garth Ennis. This is why I wanted to check out his Magnum Opus listed here.
But do you know what is bugging me? I find a good graphic novel I want to read. Then I go to the wiki page to get a quick synopsis of it. When I get to the bottom of the page, I see this message (always): "In 200?, it was announced that a movie adaptation is in development with a screenplay by ..."
Why? Why must all my comics be movies?
