...and I say that entirely as a compliment.
I had been waiting for this to come out because of the huge appeal of Black Summer, also by Ellis/Ryp. The 'zero' issue promo for No Hero made me think that this would continue in the same vein, and I was not disappointed.
Warren Ellis first came to my attention in the series 'Planetary', which has to be one of my all-time favorite pieces of writing (Cassaday's artwork certainly heightened my appreciation!). His work here and on 'Black Summer' continues in that grand tradition. Themes of hidden agendas, conspiracies, abuses of power, and a gut instinct in the common man to react violently to all the above have been the benchmark of Ellis' writing, and to have the release of this book simultaneously with the World Financial Market meltdown just shows you how 'in tune' Ellis is to our world.
So, back to 'No Hero'...Ellis' theme that America is broken continues here, and the use of outlaw enhanced vigilantes is straight from Black Summer. If you didn't catch that series, it is a 'must read', and the trade just came out. The platform gives Ellis plenty of opportunity to comment on the state of today's affairs, and he doesn't miss a beat.
Ryp is an acquired taste, but I love his work. kind of a mixture between Geof Darrow and Dave Gibbons (both also Frank Miller collaborators). I had become a fan of Ryp's artwork from his work with Frank Miller in the Avatar series 'Robocop'. I had picked that up based on Miller's hard-hitting storytelling techniques which he had honed in his Sin City series. Ryp, there as here, provides visually lush and gritty feasts for the eye. You could literally spend days pouring over the detail that he provides in the panels.
So, if you are smart and paid attention to what happened with the Black Summer series, pick up this book fast, because it is a likely sell-out.