Download Union Jack : London Falling (Marvel Comics) eBook

Title: Union Jack: London Falling
Publisher: Marvel
Writer: Chris Gage
Artists: Mike Perkins (pencils), Andrew Hennesey (inks), Laura Villari (colors)
Collects: Union Jack: London Falling #1-4
Price: $10.99

I picked up this book off Amazon for two reasons: this book received a lot of positive attention and good reviews online, and it had a very cheap list price. With the normal Amazon discounts applied, this book came in at just nine clams - a good deal for even a mediocre TPB, which this wasn't.

Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about the title character. I had read his entry in the old OHOTMU many years ago, and I had seen him recently in the pages of Ed Brubaker's Captain America(Captain America Vol. 1: Winter Soldier, Book One,Captain America Vol. 2: Winter Soldier, Book Two). Despite this, the book was still very accessible and enjoyable. To sum up this character, he is basically England's version of Captain America, minus the Super Soldier Serum and the unbreakable shield. He's a well-trained guy that gives it his all and has a heart for his country and its citizens. His normal day job is not soldiering, it's painting homes! I can relate to that!

Gage spins a nice yarn, here, incorporating issues from the real world and current events of the large Marvel universe continuity into the story - something I really appreciate and would like more writers to do. I also really enjoyed the way Gage used lesser-known heroes as supporting cast and lesser-known villains as the antagonists of the plot. Some of these characters I had heard of, like Sabra, Arabian Knight, Boomerang, Jack O'Lantern, Crossfire, and Batroc. Others I was not familiar with, such as The Corruptor, Ecstasy, Jackhammer, Zaran, Machete, Bombshell, Shockwave, and Contessa Allegra Valentine De La Fontaine - a gal who apparently used to be the girlfriend of Nick Fury and Deputy Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. With a universe so rich in characters and history, it's nice to see some not-so-familiar faces put into play.

The crux of the story involves a plot by R.A.I.D. to unleash several WMDs in the London area, and Union Jack and his companions only have about 24 hours to stop them. Though this story is only a four-issue mini-series, it reads like a longer story, thanks to the non-stop action that the book provides. Gage even has time for a little character development in the characters of Sabra and Arabian Knight - two characters who are forced to team-up despite their differences in religion and culture. The end of the story leaves a losing side and a winning side, but no clear winner, as Union Jack is at odds with the political machinations of his supervisors - something many can relate with.

Art by Perkins is nicely done - nearly identical to the work he has produced in past issues of Captain America, and nicely suited to the story. Inks and colors are also up to par, keeping things a bit on the darker side, which is a good pairing for the tone of the story.

Overall, the book was definitely a nice surprise and well worth the cover price. Readers looking for something similar but a bit off the beaten path will likely enjoy it as much as I did, and fans of Captain America will enjoy seeing his foreign counterpart at work in his own country. I, thus, give the book a good recommendation.

Writing: 8/10
Artwork: 7/10
Cool Factor: 8/10
Overall: 7.6/10

If asked to mention Britain's preeminent superhero in the Marvel universe - if you're at all able to come up with someone - odds are, it's Captain Britain's name that'll be gracing your lips. Union Jack, he's very much a lesser known commodity, relegated to the lower ranks of costumed crimefighting. Jack doesn't have much going for him, power-wise. A reinforced suit, a gun, a knife, and silver bullets (which kills werewolves, not vampires, thank you very much). Mostly, it's sheer athleticism and a huge set of balls which carry him thru. But, after UNION JACK: LONDON FALLING, you might think more favorably of him. Fresh off his guest star stint from the pages of CAPTAIN AMERICA, Union Jack finishes off the last of London's vampires and becomes immediately embroiled in a desperate struggle to save London from super-powered terrorists. Marvel's 2006 4-issue limited series, loaded with non-stop action and working class heroics, makes for fast and fun reading.

When MI5 hears that a terrorist cell has employed mercenary supervillains and is about to launch multiple strikes in the heart of London, Union Jack explodes into action. Thru the course of one long, exhausting day Britain's flag-wearing superhero fends off assault after assault. But Union Jack is not alone. With the Crown's few superheroes already assigned to other missions and with the Fantastic Four and the Avengers unavailable ("They're off on one of their secret infinity wars or whatever it is they do."), England's allies have sent backup in the contentious forms of Israel's Sabra, Saudi Arabia's the new Arabian Knight, and the Yanks' S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison the Contessa Allegra Valentina de la Fontaine (or Val). With deep seated hostilities threatening to sabotage this make-shift task force, Union Jack now not only has to stave off acts of terrorism, he also has to play peacekeeper. Blimey.

This'll come out of left field, but Union Jack reminds me of 24's Jack Bauer, and it's not only because all the action takes place in one nerve-wracking day. Union Jack, like Bauer, is intense, no-nonsense, and very willing to inflict harm on the enemies of the state. As he tires and accumulates various hurts and aches and becomes progressively more shellshocked, his resolve yet remains undettered.

Union Jack's alter ego is Joe Chapman, and, as the third man to assume the mantle of Union Jack, he strays quite a ways from the aristocratic lineage borne by the previous wearers of the costume. In civilian life, Joe is very much of common stock, a lowly painter of houses who dwells in a cockroach-infested flat. Joe's driving force, his sense of purpose, is directly linked to his concern for the working classes. And even though one instance of his championing of this cause results in even more fatal casualties, London still comes to rally around him. Because Jack may falter but he doesn't ever ever give up. He presses on, he and his temporary teammates. And, when he brings down a dreadnought with the Union Jack flag itself, well, it's a thing of beauty.

Not to forget about Union Jack's cohorts as Sabra, the Countess, and the Arabian Knight do make hefty contributions. Even MI5's slimy Deputy Director comes thru with valuable intel. It's just that Jack is so overwhelmingly the heart and soul of this group that he tends to overshadow everyone else. In these four issues, writer Christos Gage makes Union Jack an exciting and relevant character and, with regards to Captain Britain's claim of highest profiled superhero, Jack now gives that bloke a run for his money. The writer never lets up, sticking to his highly charged, accelerated pace. Heavy exposition falls on the wayside, and isn't much missed. On the minus, Gage does indulge in some heavy-handed commentary involving international politics and relations (Sabra and Navid, the Arabian Knight, obviously don't get on famously), and that soon wears thin.

The artwork by Mike Perkins is very good. The action is boldly depicted, with Perkins lending a helter skelter feel to the pages. But he also does well with the momentary lulls. The background is filled with interesting details and justice is done to the famous British landmarks (my favorite is the splash page of London Tower Bridge in issue #2). And Union Jack, at the center of attention and despite not being overly muscular, comes off looking very heroic.

Captain Britain? Who's that, mate?

If you have enjoyed Ed Brubaker's take on Captain America, you'll enjoy what writer Christos Gage does here with Union Jack, a British working-class spin on the Captain America character concept. Underneath brilliant colors and some wonderfully slick-yet-realistic artwork is one of the most underrated superhero adventures of the last couple years. There is nothing earth-shaking or universe-altering about London Falling, and therein lies its brilliant simplicity: a handful of fairly obscure Marvel heroes whose very identities are thematically tied to their nations of origin must stop a terrorist scheme involving a series of bombs and a small army of Marvel's mercenary supervillains. Without being overwrought or depressing, Union Jack: London Falling combines two-fisted heroics with a dash of realism, illustrating just how costumed adventurers might fit into a post-9/11 world if such heroes truly existed.

Union Jack versus super-terrorists in London is a decent enough idea, and London Falling is a solid piece of work. But it's not the sort of tour-de-force that the previous Union Jack limited series (and trade paperback) were.

Because while Jack is indeed a scrappy superhero of the people -- and just crying out for a live action version staring Jason Statham -- seeing him take on guys who are, for the most part, in his weight class is a lot less exciting than seeing him in way over his head fighting vampires who, by all rights, can mop up the floor with him.

This is the sort of story I'd expect to see in a Union Jack ongoing, where every issue can't be about smashing vampires, but as a limited series, this just doesn't feel that special.

I was expecting a TPB, but it was an issue #1. Not too big a deal it's a great book.