Collecting issues 6 through 10, “ZERO” returns with its second trade paperback, “At The Heart Of It All”, which showcases that Ales Kot, Jordie Bellaire, Tom Muller and Vanesa R. Del Rey, Jorge Coelho, Tonci Zonjic and Micahel Gaydos are part of something that is continually pushing the boundaries of what comics can be. Check out our review of “ZERO Vol. 2: At The Heart Of It All” to see why you shouldn’t overlook this collection, even if you own these stories in singles.
Written by Ales Kot
Illustrated by Vanesa R. Del Rey, Matt Taylor, Jorge Coelho, Tonci Zonjic, Michael GaydosEdward Zero was the best spy the agency had – and now he stands at a crossroads.
From Switzerland and United Kingdom to Mexico and Iceland, and back in time to war-torn Bosnia, the lives of those who work for the Agency begin to unravel at fast speed.
“Theatre. This is theatre. All of this. We enter the present to create little plays and you fell right in the middle of one.”
It’s been said that we are living in a new golden age of comics: that the number of books being published versus the number of books that are actually good is at an all-time high; that we are seeing a medium transcending above its perceptions to become something truly unto art. I would tend to agree with that notion for the most part, and I would also say that “ZERO” is a major player in that change. Over its current ten issue run, the Ales Kot-written comic that features a new visual artist every issue has pushed more boundaries of the medium than any comic has in years. This week, the second collected volume of the series, “At The Heart Of It All”, was released containing the series’ most ambitious stories to date. With artists like Vanesa R. Del Rey, Tonci Zonjic and Michael Gaydos, this volume proves that Ales Kot and “ZERO” are not simply flukes, but revolutionaries promoting a better landscape for comics.
There are a number of influences swirling under the surface of Ales Kot’s writing in “ZERO”, but the one I keep picking up on is that of Metal Gear Solid. Across the storied video games series, creator and director Hideo Kojima uses characters in an ongoing war as figures to question the very nature of humanity (“Do you think love can bloom even on a battlefield?”) and to explore the player’s quest to embody the violence of soldiers (“You enjoy all the killing, that’s why.”) in a way that transcends the mediums limitations as a video game. Ales Kot does something very similar with “ZERO”. In the first volume, we were introduced to Edward Zero and saw how constant war has shaped and changed his life over the years. In this volume, Kot delves deeper into the mythology of the world, dredging up secrets of the past and bringing back familiar faces in new ways.
One of the key elements of “ZERO” is how each chapter exists as a stand alone story in both writing and artwork. With each issue, Kot works with a different artist to bring something new to each issue. The stories themselves stand alone while creating a persistent mythology through inter-weaving characters and narratives, and each artist brings a unique style to the issue emblematic of the story being told. In this collection, we see Vanesa R. Del Rey’s heavily inked and murky style of artwork herald the beginnings of Zero’s questioning of his command and his life while on a mission. We see Matt Taylor bring a very clean style, almost sterile and calculated in its placement of fine lines to build the world as Edward must commit an unspeakable act. Jorge Coelho, however, employs use of many frantic and crowded panels in an issue that is this collection’s action beat as we follow a woman hunted in the woods. Tonci Zonjic then brings us back in time to bring a sense of unnatural peace and civility in an era and place of war and atrocity. And to cap it off, Michael Gaydos’s style concludes the story with a very naturalistic and realistic depiction of a man hounded by his past struggling to find a way towards peace.
Continued belowWhile this use of artwork and varying artists to bring a different tone and texture to each issue is commendable when reading in singles, it doesn’t coalesce into this narrative woven throughout each unique style until read collected. Sure, you could achieve a similar effect by just reading each issue back to back, but there’s an effect created by this collection that has to be read to be believed. It is clear on the page that Ales Kot is confident in each of his collaborators that his writing allows each of them to tell the story. It could be easy for another writer to overcompensate on the changing artwork and overwrite the narrative. However, Kot allows each artist to speak for themselves and allow their storytelling style to drive the narrative of each issue. A lot of other comics could learn from this example in how to handle the balance of storytelling between writing and artwork.
However, it must be noted that “ZERO” isn’t just a creation of Ales Kot or the numerous artists working on the story. Jordie Bellaire colours each and every issue of the series, another factor that helps to weave the visual narrative through each issue. Something that is brought to the forefront in this collection that wasn’t quite noticeable in the single issues is Bellaire’s use of themeing colours. In the first collection, warm colours, notably orange, were primary themeing colours from the war-torn streets of the Gaza Strip to the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, from the auburn-toned flashback to Edward’s youth to the lavish decorations of a Shanghai hotel. Cool colours, notably blue, were a secondary themeing colour denoting Edward’s thoughts of insubordination and the other-wordly aspects of the portal and the flashforwards to Edward in 2038. In this second volume, those themeing colours are flipped. Cool colours become a primary themeing colour showing Edward’s slip away from the Agency and we only see a resurgence of warm, auburn colours during the two issues where Edward acts as the weapon he was crafted to be. It’s an excellent use of colour that adds another layer of storytelling to the series and shows just how good Jordie Bellaire is at her job. That Eisner was well deserved.
One other reason that makes this collection of “ZERO” stand out is the design. Tom Muller designs this collection as he did with the first one and each of the single issues and it is simply beautiful. While there is a downside to losing the self-contained, cover-to-cover design of each issue in having to collect them, Muller circumvents that by basing the design on the idea of literally cramming the issues together. The cover design is a static-y mash-up of the covers for each of the issue collected inside, while each chapter begins and ends with a page that represents the design of the issue when it was printed individually. It’s that attention to detail that makes this collection just bleed aesthetic. This is a comic that knows exactly what it is and is not ashamed of that, and it contains some of the best work of everyone involved.
If you haven’t read “ZERO” yet, immediately go out and buy this collection along with the first. For $9.99 and $14.99 each, you are getting much more than your money’s worth. Even if you have read “ZERO”, it might be worth your while checking out the collection as well. While each issue is a masterpiece in how to craft stand-alone stories, the care and work put into building a narrative through artistic styles and colour theory doesn’t really stand out until read collected. There is truly something here for everyone and this collection is proof that “ZERO” isn’t a fluke of luck or chance, but that it is a well-crafted and immaculately told story that cuts deep to expose very raw emotions in its exploration of human nature.
Final Verdict: 9.5 – Seriously, there is no reason not to get this collection, not even already owning the issues.
