''Cla$$war'' is a six-issue

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

limited series Limited series may refer to: *Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series *Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered *Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...

published by Com.x between 2002 and 2004. It was written by Rob Williams with art by

Trevor Hairsine Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch. In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qual ...

and

Travel Foreman Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist. Biography Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s ''Cla$$war'', where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine.supersoldier The supersoldier (or super soldier) is a fictional concept soldier, often capable of operating beyond normal human limits or abilities either through genetic modification or cybernetic augmentation. Overview Supersoldiers are common in military ...

programme and how the leading superhero, The American, deals with the revelation of the truth.Cla$$war Returns With a New Artist

Newsarama Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS. History ...

, June 23, 2003

Publication history

The series, written by Rob Williams with art by

, was due to be launched in November 2001, but had to be delayed because of the

9/11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

. The first three issues were finally published between January and July 2002 and were collected into a trade paperback in 2003. When the publisher came back from a hiatus caused by problems including a serious burglary, Hairsine had already moved on to

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

and, while

Cary Nord Cary Nord is a Canadian comics artist. He has worked on series such as ''Daredevil'', ''X-Men'', and ''Conan The Barbarian''. Throughout his career Nord has worked on books including ''Superman'' for DC Comics; ''Wolverine'', '' Mutant X'', ''Ghos ...

was initially pencilled in as his replacement, a job that finally went to

Travel Foreman Travel Foreman is an American comic book artist. Biography Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s ''Cla$$war'', where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine.The Authority'', Williams has said he had not read the series before starting to write ''Cla$$war'' and he went on to explain the actual inspiration: The series was always planned to run for twelve issues, and Williams has expressed an interest in writing the next six-issue story arc but he is concerned that "with the production quality and level of artist that the series has had in its different incarnations - it's really tough to sustain that over another six issues unless you're selling large numbers, and for an indie company like com.x that's tough to achieve."Finally Collected: Rob Williams Talks Cla$$war

, April 2, 2009

Reception

The reviews have largely been positive, apart from complaints about scheduling. Michael Deeley reviewed the first issue for

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During this ...

declared that it was a "this is a solid first issue for what promises to be an exciting and challenging story," with "tight" writing and "great art," the latter reminding him of "

Gene Colan Eugene Jules Colan (; September 1, 1926 – June 23, 2011)Eugene Colan
at the

, but with a grittier texture." The X-Axis thought it was an "impressive package" and the review at Sequential Tart complimented the "gorgeous" art and drew on the comparisons, saying "where ''The Authority'' deals with interdimensional war and interstellar invasion, ''Cla$$war'' is much more personal and immediate." Craig Lemon covered issue #2 for Comics Bulletin and concluded "a great title, a real breath of fresh air into a tired genre, one that doesn't rely on the shock value of revealing secret identities, or of constantly changing powers and/or costumes," suggesting some parallels with John Smith's '' New Statesmen''. Lemon returns for the third issue and suggests that "Rob Williams is really beginning to get into this scripting lark, hitting his stride with spot-on dialogue and humorous asides amid the serious plot."Review of ''Cla$$war'' #3

, September 7, 2002 Lemon also reviewed the trade collection of the first three issues, concluding that "a cracking script to go with his detailed plot, the right mixture of tension, intrigue plus humour" and that it "shows airsine'swork off to its best effect, the amount of effort he put in is all there on the page...complemented by Len O'Grady's excellent colouring work," although he did point out problems with spelling errors. When the series recommenced, Lemon picked up the reviews again concluding that the fourth issue is "a bit like '' Supreme-Power''-to-the-MAX, ideal for fans of that book or '' Rising Stars'', or for anyone who demands a little more ... intelligence ... from their superheroes." After the highpoint of the previous issue "#5 really just moves us from the bad guys looking for The American, to the confrontation itself" although "it still works and reads very well." Craig Johnson reviewed the last issue for Comics Bulletin and suggested "you have a book which comes close to out-Authoritying The Authority, out-Ultimating

The Ultimates The Ultimates is a superhero comic book series published by Marvel Comics and created by writer Mark Millar and artist Bryan Hitch, which first started publication from ''The Ultimates'' #1 (March 2002), as part of the company's Ultimate Marvel i ...

." The X-Axis was less impressed, suggesting that the scheduling made it miss the window where the story's politics were truly relevant: "by this point Cla$$war seems like a strangely contradiction - simultaneously a hamfisted anti-government rant, and a curious relic of a more innocent pre- 9/11 era when you actually had to make up silly conspiracy theories to justify broadsiding the US government." '' SFX'' reviewed the complete collection and found itself agreeing and disagreeing with Craig Johnson's introduction to the book: " Johnson's right, if you don't have ''

V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing serial in the British anthol ...

'', order it at once. But if you do, ''Cla$$war'' should be the next book on your must-buy list." Troy Brownfield at

felt that "Rob Williams doesn’t flinch when he puts a cold eye to this idea, and it’s his willingness to stare deeply that gives the story its fire" and that "lend some terrific art to the proceedings" before concluding that the volume is "an action-packed super-hero tale with resonance and relevance."

Ain't it Cool News Ain't It Cool News (AICN) is an entertainment news website founded by Harry Knowles and run by his sister Dannie Knowles since September 2017, dedicated to news, rumors, and reviews of upcoming and current films, television, and comic book pro ...

was impressed with Hairsine's art, suggesting he "deserves a blowjob while eating ice cream for this work," and they felt that the change of artists was not the problem it could have been, " re you knew it was a different guy, but he embodied the predecessor so well you just thought it was the original artist trying something new." They were also impressed with the story and the presentation of the hardcover volume, concluding " erall the series is a powerhouse and this new hardcover collection certainly rocks - especially with an incredible amount of extras thrown in," with their main concern being that the series was planned for twelve issues, so the volume is only the first story arc:

Collected editions

The series has been collected into two

trade paperbacks A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) book ...

. The first was released in 2003 and brought together the three issues that had been published at that point and the second collects the entire six issues: *''Cla$$war: Series One: Complete Edition'' (collects ''Cla$$war'' #1-6, 210 pages, March 2009, ) This volume also contains a number of extras: introductions by

Andy Diggle Andy Diggle is a British comic book writer and former editor of the weekly anthology series '' 2000 AD''. He is best known for his work on ''Adam Strange'' and ''Green Arrow'' for DC Comics as well as his creator-owned series '' The Losers'' an ...

and Craig Johnson, a new eight-page prologue by Williams and Hairsine, posters by

Ben Oliver Ben Oliver is a British comics artist who has worked for '' 2000 AD'' on ''Judge Dredd'' as well as providing art for '' The Authority'', '' The Losers'', and ''Ultimate X-Men'' Biography Ben Oliver lives in Bristol, his first professional wor ...

(Burner) and Mike McMahon (Enola Gay), as well as Oliver's cover for the unpublished trade paperback collecting ''Cla$$war'' #4-6.

Film adaptation

It was announced at the 2009 Long Beach Comic Con that the series has been optioned by

Mandeville Films Mandeville Films is an American film production company headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1995 by film producer David Hoberman, the company re-formed as Mandeville Films and Television in 2002 after a short hiatus for three years, ...

, the production company that made the film '' Surrogates'' based on the comic book of the same name. Rick Alexander,

David Hoberman David Elliot Hoberman (born September 19, 1952) is an American film and television producer, best known as the co-creator and executive producer of the USA Network television series ''Monk'', and the founder and co-owner of Mandeville Films. He h ...

and

Todd Lieberman Todd Darren Lieberman (born February 20, 1973) is an American film and television producer. He founded Hidden Pictures Media in 2022 and won an Emmy for Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers in 2022. He co-founded Mandeville Films and Television with ...

will be the co-producers.'Cla$$war' Optioned By 'Surrogates' Producers Mandeville Films
Splash page, '' MTV'', October 2, 2009

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Classwar 2002 comics debuts