I owe Kevin O’Neill & Patt Mills an apology. A long time ago, I quickly glanced over the first issue of “MARSHALL LAW” ,thought it was just a cheap, “JUDGE DREDD” rip off and didn’t give it another look – until today. With hindsight I can see why I had that opinion, but with older eyes, more worldy experience and patience, comes a new persepctive, so lets re-address the issue…
Imagine a world where a Vietnam-like war was fought not by regular soldiers, but by superhero soldiers, created in the image of that world’s equivilent of Superman. Once the war is won, what happens to the soldiers? They can’t go back to regular life, so they come home, become unlawful gangs and go to war with each other. Add into this mix a city destroying quake and you have murder, mayhem and madness. Only one man can stop them, and he HATES superheroes – whilst being one himself. Welcome to the wonderful world of “MARSHALL LAW” …
This limited series debuted in the Eighties, and has a wonderful “punk” feel to it. At first glance, it’s like a grown up “JUDGE DREDD” but in reality, nothing is further from the truth. Mills & O’Neill became the first to parody the Supehero genre to the point where the publishing giants themselves actually took offence! Others would come along and mess with the superhero norm (such as Planetary), but “MARSHALL LAW” was the most vicious. In this world, heroes are twisted psychotics, murderers, mentally disturbed or worse. The parody hits close to home on certain characters, especially DC regulars such as Batman & Superman. Marvel characters get a complete story to themselves – in a mental institution! I just love this weird, wacky take on the whole genre, and of course, it was a good preparation for the LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN where O’Neill was concerned…
On a seperate note, I have to say that this work shows off just how much we owe to O’Neill for the world of LOEG. Alan Moore is renowned for creating detailed worlds, but it’s Kevin O’Neill that gives us it’s visual representation. With MARSHALL LAW, O’Neill gives the same kind of detail and in-jokes that we see in LOGR, just in a more raw and primitive form. The colouring can be a bit inconsistant across the stories, but bear in mind most of it is hand coloured using markers, and not digital – when you think of it like that, you have to take your hat off and acknowledge the artistry…
It’s expensive, but it’s a hardback, and printed on top quality paper. As with most of the books I review here, it’s not for children – it contains VERY adult themes and lots of blood. i can’t say too much else without giving away the story, but I certainly recommend this to anyone who likes parody – or general bloodbaths and mayhem!
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