Black Summer
| Black Summer | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Avatar Press |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Limited series |
| Genre | |
| Publication date(s) | May 2007 – July 2008 |
| No. of issues | 8 |
| Creative team | |
| Written by | Warren Ellis |
| Artist(s) | Juan Jose Ryp |
| Colorist(s) | Mark Sweeney |
| Editor(s) | William A. Christensen |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN |
| Softcover | ISBN |
Black Summer is a comic book limited series written by Warren Ellis, illustrated by Juan Jose Ryp, and published by Avatar Press starting in June 2007.
The plot revolves around the consequences of a superhero, John Horus, who kills the President of the United States and several of his advisers. The following seven issues detail the aftermath of the assassination.
Black Summer is regarded as the first series in Warren Ellis's Avatar-published "Superhuman Trilogy" dealing with the creation of superheroes. The subsequent series being No Hero, and Supergod. Prior to Supergod's release, Warren Ellis said in an interview that, "Black Summer was about superhumans who were too human. No Hero was about superhumans who were inhuman. Supergod is about superhumans who are no longer human at all, but something else. The third leg of a thematic trilogy if you like."
The Seven Guns, led by scientist-inventor Tom Noir, are a posthuman superhero team who have made a reputation for opposing corrupt political institutions. John Horus, the strongest member of the team, assassinates the President of the United States for his allegedly criminal policies, telling the nation that he was the only person in a position to stop him. As martial law is declared, Frank Blacksmith, once Tom's partner and the co-founder of the Seven Guns — having previously faked his death to work for the CIA — comes out of hiding to hunt down and eliminate Tom and the Guns.
The remaining Guns, all branded as fugitives by the government, try to cope with the aftermath of the assassination while trying to keep internal tensions from boiling over. After Tom is killed in a battle with the U.S. military, the Guns furiously massacre the soldiers and resolve to kill John Horus. Horus, having repelled attacks from fighter jets and a nuclear missile, threatens to destroy the country in retaliation for Tom's death. Frank Blacksmith is given approval to unleash his covert "Tactical Stream" of super soldiers, which engage the Guns at their old base.
The battle between the remaining Four Guns and Frank Blacksmith's Tactical Stream is underway. One of them strikes down Dom and kills him, saying "Frank Blacksmith says hello, you piece of shit". Meanwhile, John starts razing the base but the general stands down his troops in order both to save their lives and to get John talking. He convinces John that Tom had died by suicide and not at the hands of his troops. He and his troops are then killed in a massive surprise Tactical Stream attack on John which destroys even more of the city. Zoe, Kathryn and Angela have managed to dispose of their assailants and witness the mushroom cloud explosion of the attack on John.
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Wikipedia