SEVEN SOLDIERS OF VICTORY by Grant Morrison (lately of 52) is a 'mega-series' that truly justifies being called epic. Morrison set out to revitalise several established but under-used DC characters, providing each with an accessible origin and an adventure in a distinct style, while simultaneously weaving a single storyline around all seven culimnating in an apocalyptic battle to save the human race. Originally published as seven four-issue miniseries, each focusing on one of the seven characters, and two bookending Seven Soldiers issues (#0 and #1), the series is now collected in four trade paperback volumes, which arrange the issues of the miniseries in the order they were published, rather than collecting each miniseries in isolation - the effect is a slowly-emerging order from what at first seems to be disconnected stories.
The core plotline reveals the Sheeda, a horrifically powerful civilisation of hunters and scavengers who periodically ravage Earth, bringing its nations to ruin and leaving barely enough in their wake for humanity to begin the slow process of rebuilding. The last such 'Harrowing' was ten thousand years ago, decimating the then-glorious world-spanning empire so thoroughly that barely a trace of it remained to be discovered when our present civilisation arose. Now the Sheeda are returning, and for a mysterious group that foresees their threat and seeks to stop them, the only hope is a prophecy that seven soldiers will destroy the Sheeda forever. But the Sheeda know the prophecy too, and are pre-emptively destroying all the groups that are gathered to stop them - so to defeat them, seven soldiers must fight together without ever meeting each other, or even knowing that they are fighting the same battle.
The overarching plotline is typical of Morrison: bold, cryptic, vast and complex like some sort of cosmic Rubik's cube, baffling at first, but strikingly powerful when its elegant story arc begins to emerge. Seeing the clues to the grand story emerge in the isolated miniseries is thrilling in a way a more straight-forward story could never achieve - but it would be a big ask to read seven stories simply to make sense of one, so Morrison took great care to make the miniseries accessible and enjoyable in their own right, giving each hero a strong identity, a compelling drive, and a unique outlook on their place in the world.
Zatanna is a stage magician who, like her father, nurtures true magical powers behind the elaborate sleight-of-hand she practices for audiences. When we find her she is suffering a crisis - she is a self-described 'spellaholic' whose reliance on magic to solve her problems has reached the point where she has unwittingly become a danger to her friends and allies. After a recent disaster caused her to face how serious her problem had become, Zatanna's trust in herself is shattered, and she is left unable to do magic - and without the powers that made her a superhero, unsure of what to do with her life. But just because she's powerless doesn't mean her enemies have forgotten her, and Zatanna and her newfound apprentice find themselves hunted by a demonic magical being that can hide anywhere, in anything, and wants only to destroy...
Shining Knight tells of Sir Justin, a knight in the court of the true King Arthur, who united the world millennia ago, and who our Arthurian tales are a mere echo of. Arthur's civilisation of Avalon was the one that existed before ours, and Justin is caught up in the Sheeda Harrowing that will bring it to an end. On a daring mission into the Sheeda's floating fortress Castle Revolving, Justin and his pegasus steed are flung through time, emerging in present day Los Angeles. With no idea where or when he is, unable to understand modern language and baffled by a culture so strange as to seem alien, Justin strives to discover some purpose to his survival, when it seems all of Avalon died ten thousand years ago. But Justin and his horse are not the only travellers from Castle Revolving, and a Sheeda assassin stalks the young, confused knight through the city of angels...
Bulleteer is Alix Harrower, who never wanted to be a superhero. She was content to live a normal life, but her husband was obsessed with finding a way to make both of them into the perfect, ageless heroes he idolised. Experimenting with a method of turning skin into living steel, he had a fatal reaction to his miracle treatment and died - but his wife, who was contaminated while trying to help him, survived. Now transformed into an unstoppable superwoman, the Bulleteer, she is faced with the prospect of being a superhero, living in a bizarre world of powers and battles and arch-foes she never wanted, and knows nothing about - and as if that wasn't enough, she begins to discover that her late husband was very different to the man she thought she loved, that his heroic ambitions may not have included her at all, and that his dabbling in the world of superheroes has put her in danger...
Klarion the Witch-Boy lives in the shadowy Limbo Town, where the witch descendants of the lost colony of Roanoke live under the watchful eye of the pious, domineering Submissionaries. Klarion doesn't want to follow the Submissionaries' rules, to live his life in dark monotony, with only the prospect of death and revival as a zombie 'Grundy-man' to mine rock to look forward to - he wants to pursue the stories of a world beyond Limbo Town, the Blue Rafters where the world his people once abandoned still exists, and is filled with unimaginable wonders. But the Submissionaries find evidence that the Sheeda are returning to that world, and intend to isolate Limbo Town completely, so that they will be spared the Harrowing that will follow. With the gates being closed, Klarion must find a way to the mysterious surface world, and quickly...
Frankenstein is the famous creature, who though thought long-dead, has in fact taken his creator's name and become a freelance hunter of monsters and avenger of wrongs. Summoned back to life after being buried during a battle with his old foe (and former King of the Sheeda) Melmoth, Frankenstein finds himself in unfamiliar surroundings, recruited by a haphazard super-spy agency, and thrust into battle with all manner of foes, in such bizarre locations as the catacombs of Mars, and the far future of the Earth...
Guardian is the story of Jake Jordon, a good cop who was disgraced and expelled from the Force after a tragic mistake led to him shooting an innocent boy he thought was his partner's murderer. Depressed and unable to hold down a job, he is convinced by his family to take one more shot at being some kind of hero, and applies for the post of Manhattan Guardian, the figurehead, inspiration, and leader to the 'newsboy army' of freelance contributors to the eccentric newspaper of the same name. He proves his worth in a test arranged by the newspaper's editor, but on accepting the position finds himself suddenly thrust into a series of bizarre adventures, pursuing his fiancée after she is kidnapped by grizzled 'subway pirates' fighting a chaotic war on runaway commuter trains deep beneath New York City, over the mythical Foundation Stone of Manhattan...
Mister Miracle is an escape artist, but ropes and chains are child's play to him - his idea of an escape is allowing himself to fall into an artificially-generated black hole and somehow emerging unscathed. With the aid of his companion 'mother box', Mister Miracle always survives - but during his latest stunt, he finds himself confronted with an unearthly revelation about himself, and his place in a war between gods that is simmering even now, cloaked in human forms among an unsuspecting populace. With the minions of the mysterious Dark Side hunting him, Mister Miracle's talent for escaping from impossible situations is put to the test...
Each miniseries has its own art team, giving each a unique feel: textured and physical for Shining Knight, quirky and shadowy for Klarion the Witch-Boy, rich and Hammer-horror-ish for Frankenstein, characterful and crafty for Zatanna, modern-superheroic for Bulleteer (which makes a neat contrast to Alix's uncertainty), classic pulp-hero for Guardian, and sharply stylised for Mister Miracle - each style fits its book, and it's an enjoyable experience to read through the issues of the series in the order the trade paperbacks present them, moving from style to style and seeing how each handles telling its story, in concern with the writing. As a devotee of heroines, my eye was naturally first drawn to Zatanna (who is uniquely lovely and charming under Ryan Sook's pencils) and Bulleteer - in fact, it was a brief Bulleteer appearance in 52 that led me to search out this title to begin with - but I thoroughly enjoyed every miniseries regardless, and there's no denying that each and every one has the potential to be continued, should DC ever feel like doing so.
Each miniseries has its own story - they all lead to the same place, but by very different routes, and each has a satisfying arc of its own. But as well as the slowly-emerging clues to the grander story, and the realisations of how the miniseries intersect, the seven stories are united by a common theme, as each examines what it means to be a hero. Zatanna, a former Justice League member, has the best claim to the title of superhero, but is beset by doubts about her worthiness, and must rediscover the belief that she can do good in the world. Justin has no connection to the modern world he finds himself in, and must look within for a reason to fight. Bulleteer, though she never wanted powers, can't stand by and not use them when she sees a need, but in the superhero world she's a naive newcomer, and worries that she's being taken advantage of. Frankenstein has a driving purpose that keeps him going, but grapples with his place in a world that seems to have moved on without him. Mister Miracle is no stranger to risking his life, but can he do it when it's not on his terms, as part of an escape attempt? And Klarion is both wide-eyed and cynical, and finds the idea of heroism less appealing than simply wandering carefree. Each becomes a hero, in a way - each in their own way - during the course of the battle against the Sheeda.
I can't recommend Seven Soldiers of Victory highly enough. Each character is fascinating in their own right, and as their stories slowly mingle and merge, the overall storyline of the Sheeda Harrowing develops a momentum and power that is truly compelling. It's not a story that simply presents itself to you - reader involvement is demanded, in deciphering the clues, and while much of it is fairly easy to follow, there are some surprises that take an eye for detail and a quick mind to absorb. But while you can read this on a surface level and enjoy it, it really is worth the effort to delve deeper, and understand the themes and ideas buried in its foundations.
