By d. emerson eddy — There are a number of stories out there that operate on some kind of premise of “what if superheroes were real?” from works like Watchmen through The Authority. There's often a level of absurdity inherent in the exploration, from realizing that the world state in the former is patently ridiculous to the team in the latter being patently ridiculous. Largely because when you think of super-powered supreme beings in real world settings with real world rules, things start to slide towards the absurd and the extreme. Into this discussion comes a work that pushes it further to the extreme, The Ten-Seconders created by Rob Williams, Mark Harrison, and Ellie De Ville.

Although it was pitched by Williams originally as “2000 AD vs. American superheroes”, it tackles the superhero problem from the premise of “what if they weren't inherently good?” That their benevolence and heroic actions were more or less an act and they quickly turn humanity on its ear, first under pretense of a “greater good” and then just through lust for control. Basically showing us what might happen if not only were the gods real, but that they're all completely insane. Enter the 2000 AD heroes, who are flawed but fairly ordinary people, utilizing technology and sheer gumption in order to try to save the world. Including an Welshman that seems to have walked in from a Garth Ennis comic.

The book is split into three segments, with those being: “The American Dream”, “Make Believe”, and “Godsend”, as well as a kind of epilogue in “Harris's Quest for the Perfect Christmas Pint”. All of these selections somewhat vary in their tones and with their approaches, as well as with their changes in artwork, as the story continues to progress. Of these pieces, “The American Dream” from Williams, Harrison, and De Ville probably fulfills the initial remit of Williams' pitch the most, pitting that rag tag group of soldiers against the analogues to the powerful American superheroes. In this book, we've got a Mister Fantastic, a Superman, The Flash, Hulk, and Angel or Hawkman archetypes, all figuring prominently into the tale. This has the overall effect of going on to emphasize just how depraved and how disturbing their actions upon the planet can be.

Harrison's art in this initial segment is what helps really set this apart from similar “real life superheroes” in the North American market. His style is fine-lined and squiggly, akin more to someone like Alberto Ponticelli, with choices of singular color washes for many panels. The character designs are incredible, across a world that has been utterly brought to ruin by the “gods”. It feels rightly more like post-apocalyptic sci-fi than what you're used to with superhero tales. De Ville nicely plays up the strange nature of the gods with their own unique dialogue balloons.

The story takes more major turns in the next two parts, with shifts in the artwork to match, more superhero analogues, and a hard look at how humanity itself is pretty much just as corrupt when it comes down to it as these gods. Coming to a kind of thematic conclusion that perhaps it is power itself, especially ultimate cosmic power, that drives finite otherwise mortal minds insane.

Overall, The Ten-Seconders by Williams, Harrison, Reardon, Thomas, Oliver, Bagwell, Wellisher, Ryder, De Ville, and Bowland is both a thought-provoking take on the “god problem” of superheroes and an outright terrifying sci-fi horror tale in its own right. Definitely worth being discussed alongside the other luminaries on the subject, with a fascinating and original take on “real life” superheroes.

Classic Comic of the Week: The Ten-Seconders

The Ten-Seconders: Complete Digital Edition
Writer: Rob Williams
Artists: Mark Harrison, Dom Reardon, Shaun Thomas, Ben Oliver, Edmund Bagwell, & Ben Wellisher
Colorist: Abigail Ryder
Letterers: Ellie De Ville & Simon Bowland
Publisher: Rebellion
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Price: $9.99
More Info: The Ten-Seconders

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.