Global Frequency, Volume 1: Planet Ablaze by Warren Ellis et. al.

Rating - 3.5: worth reading, parts worth re-reading (borrow or buy it)

This series is entirely episodic, so I will not have much to say.

You're on the global frequency. Miranda Zero has a network of 1,001 specialists around the world. If your phone rings, you are the right person for this job because of your skills and/or location. The fate of the world might be decided in the next hour. Go. This volume collects the first six issues of the twelve-issue series.

Each issue is a different story. The only two recurring characters are Miranda Zero, the leader, and Aleph, the communications hub. We get a new cast, a new problem, and maybe even a new type of story each issue. We have memetic alien invasions, a rampaging cyborg, and a parkour run across London. One issue is a running shoot-out while another has no action at all. This might be hit-or-miss for you, except that Warren Ellis is very good.

The character sketches, to the extent that they exist, are rather good. We have one issue to develop and resolve the story in addition to introducing the entire cast, often while including a briefing on the sci fi element of the month that motivates the story, so there is not a lot of time. Within that, characters manage to become distinctive and interesting. Given the length, we do not have time for characters to become terribly deep. They can be enigmatic in a way meant to suggest hidden depths, but the best characters come across as snarky fun. There might be other kinds of fun possible, but Warren Ellis's writing seems to tend that way.

Artists vary along with the issue, so there is no one thing to comment on there. I cannot tell to what extent the tone of the stories are set by their art, since I have no contrasting version. Perhaps some artists were chosen for particular stories. The styles seem strongly supportive, contributing well. The cyborg story has intensely detailed skin and faces, while the one in Scandinavian snow has thicker lines and a far less action-packed feel than the shoot-out. The art could be allowed to carry a bit more of the weight; even when it is doing the job, it is supported by text, although the shoot-out issue does a great job of advancing the story on two tracks, with the pictures working one and the text another.

Very worth reading. Also bite-sized for your occasional reading convenience.

Amazon link