This one’s a mixed bag. Any time I have to go back and re-read parts of a comic just so I can understand what’s going on or figure out who’s who, it detracts from the enjoyment I have reading.This one’s an uncertain collage of espionage, science fiction, and action adventure, never quite settling into exactly what it wants to be – even going so far to employ different artists for each issue devoted to a sub-genre. Each issue is effective in and of itself, but when taken as a whole it leaves the

James Bond. George Smiley. Jason Bourne. Edward Zero? Nuh-uh. Although Ales Kot really wishes it were so, his spy/secret agent “character”, Zero, is as archetypical as they get - a bland, yes I’ll make the obvious pun, zero who never feels vaguely real or interesting. But he’s the “star” of this series so settle in for some generic spy stories in this first volume, An Emergency. The subtitle is a good indicator of what’s wrong with this book. Kot thinks that by throwing in mindless action, showi...

A tank round liquefying a shoulder, an upper lip being savagely bitten off, a hunk of brick ruining years of orthodontics, and a flaccid middle-aged wiener. These are some of the things you have to look forward to in the phenomenal first chapter of ZERO. Ok, maybe not the wiener so much. But it didn't ruin the experience. Ales Kot did a good job of making what could have been a Operation Treadstone clone into something more interesting. Ales jumps back and forth in time to tell the story of Edwa...

This book by Ales Kot has been talked up by a lot of people since issue #1 came out. Kot, who had a well-received short run on DC's Suicide Squad, delivers up a spy thriller that's dense, uncertain, suspenseful, and full of psychological insight. Zero, Vol 1, An Emergency, collects issues #1-5, for a bargain price of only $9.99, although other first volumes from Image have collected six. Ah, well, never the mind.Although there's some element of Jason Bourne in Edward Zero, Kot gives the denoueme...

For fans of Queen & Country, a pretty decent spy thriller. The art is hit and miss with a different artist drawing each issue.

Kot's political writing dunks its toes in the mainstream here, and it's not completely successful. There are two tones at odds with eachother - there's the more cynical, political edge, bumping up against sillier, over the top material.Having different artists doesn't help the readability.

Actual rating: 3.5This was an interesting one. I only vaguely knew going in what to expect with 'Zero' (the barest of bare details: a spy story).It became so much more than that, though. I won't go into it too much, because to be honest, I am still quite confused. The story jumps around from different points in time during Edward Zero's life. He, and other children, were molded into spies for the 'The Agency,' a mysterious government faction. What side are they fighting for? Are they agents of g...

AN ok start; looks like it might get more interesting in the next one. Good use of different artists and story telling styles between chapters, making it look like a collection of shorts.

First read I was going to give it 4 stars but re-reading it made me give it 5.At first you are reading a very exciting and elegant spy thriller but re-reading it made me aware of all the symbolism and parallelism beneath. I even want to re-read it a third time, for God's sake. Every issue makes you want to search concepts you are not sure about. That makes you learn. You learn a lot reading this. Maybe I am biased because I love spy genre and most of all Hideo Kojima's work (which I am sure has

Almost entirely awesome, with each chapter drawn by a different artist, and the discontinuity of time throughout, it does seem quite disjointed. I was with it all the way up until the last 4 pages, where is really took a wild left turn into WTF-ville! I was least impressed by the art of Tradd Moore who styled chapter 2... ...but that's just personal preference. If you were wondering what Mina was whispering, it was... (view spoiler)[ "You shouldn't be able to read this." (hide spoiler)] ["br"...

I'm not a big reader of espionage plots, but the summary of this graphic novel intrigued me, so I decided to give it a try. Ironically, the plot wasn't what made me dislike it so much. Everything else about the story was pretty much a disaster. The drawings looked more like sketches than final works. There was a part of the story printed to look broken up, but it was so rubbed off that I couldn't even read it. In one chapter, one female is insulted by her co-worker, and in the next scene she is

2018: A soldier, who belongs neither to the Palestinian or the Israeli side, infiltrates the Gaza Strip with a classified mission.2000: A child is educated and molded to kill under the motto "Existence is a perpetual state of war.”2019, January: A James Bond lookalike is having a drink in Shanghai at an event organized by and for high caliber terrorists.2019, October: In Rio de Janeiro a young man announces to an older one: “I’m here to kill you.”2038: An old man sitting in front of a cliff in D...

Ales Kot's heart is in the right place, and his politics are admirable, but this is not a good volume of comics. The best parts are so-so imitations of Ed Brubaker and Garth Ennis, and the worst parts are bad imitations of Alan Moore. And while I agree with Kot's sentiments, "maybe creating dehumanized super soliders and perpetuating global war for profit...is a bad thing" is not a novel or interesting enough theme to base an entire series on, especially when your central character is by definit...

I read this monthly and in the span of 5 issues it has quickly become one of my favorite books. Kot has masterfully crafted a world of espionage and secret government operations where everything is not exactly as it seems. The book employs a unique narrative structure where each issue is a standalone story about the titular character, Edward Zero, yet is part of an overarching narrative about his life and career as a veritable super spy for the Agency. As each issue is essentially a one shot, th...

3.5 stars

Zero has gained a lot of buzz during the last several months. It’s typically described as a spy story with ruthless violence and a cold, detached protagonist. Its main claim to fame is that it features a different artist with each new issue.I’ll be honest. I’m not much for spy stories, but the book has garnered such acclaim, I figured I should give it a shot.I’m glad I did.First of all, yes, this is a spy story … sort of. I would actually tell you that it is a spy story with a heavy dose of subt...

An OK action-adventure story.The spywork (and wetwork) is actually the weakest part of the volume. It's quite standard without a lot of variance from what I'd expect. The brutality is somewhat refreshing (though less surprising than it was a decade or two ago), but some of these action sequences go on way too long.Fortunately, the book has other strengths. To start with, there's Edward Zero himself. It's obvious that this story is mainly about him changing, and we see that starting in this volum...

It's a bit difficult to follow the story in this comic. There's a different artist every issue so the different drawings confused me and sometimes I didn't know who was who. Also, the art quiality goes from very good (issue 1) to not my cup of tea at all (issue 2).I like the spy genre and I want to know more.

I got this book purely based on hype. The praise... is justified. 'Zero' is stellar. At first the plot seems pretty straight-forward: we see Zero as an old man, who wants to get his life story off his chest before he gets a bullet in it. Every issue is a flashback that shows us a chapter in the life of this super spy: his training, covert missions, debriefings, ... Slowly we learn what's going on behind the curtain and that's when it gets more interesting. At first this seems like a pure hard-bo...

The first collection of Ales Kot's Zero feels like it's reaching for something so specific to say and when it doesn't get there, spits out every one of its ideas in one mad breath. It's an action spy thriller with pretensions of geopolitical intrigue, technocratic paranoia, lost love, and transhuman futurism. Almost too much to take in at once.Edward Zero grows up in a clandestine government school for spies and assasins, affection and empathy weaned out by the handlers as the children grow up.