WANTED

Wanted was written by Mark Millar, who also wrote Kick-ass, Skrull Kill Krew (5-issue miniseries (co-written with Grant Morrison!!!!!), and Superman: Red Son, among others.One of the best Graphic novels I’ve ever read. Let Me give you a little synopsis of the plot:

Wesley Gibson is a loser. His girlfriend is cheating on him, his boss ridicules him day after day, he works at a boring job going nowhere, and getting walked over is a daily part of life. This all changes when he discovers that his father is the deadliest hitman the world has ever seen and killing people is written on Wesley’s very DNA. To make matters worse, his father is dead and Wesley must take his place or go back to his pathetic life.

He's dragged into a world where supervillains have taken over, killing of every last superhero on earth. The villains call themselves "The Fraternity" and they control everything behind the scenes and can do whatever they wish because they have rewritten history to hide their presence from daily life and have all government organizations under their thumbs. Earth is divided up between five different villains, each leading their “house” in the manner they choose. There is dissention amongst the five houses though, as two of the houses, led by Mister Rictus and The Future want to go public and rule the world with fear and power. The other houses disagree, worried that the heroes of the multiverse will descend and attack what they have so carefully set up. Wesley Gibson, trains to take the mantle of his father, The Killer, and joins the ranks with The Professor, one of the villains who would prefer a more legitimized existence of villainhood.

When Mister Rictus shows his hand in a diabolical plot to take over, it’s up to Wesley and his father’s girlfriend, The Fox, to stop the villains. Wesley goes from being nothing to being Wanted. ( see what I did there?)

Wanted seems to be a parody of the superhero genre, there are a lot of nods to the superheroes of Marvel and DC. Hints to Superman, Batman, Watchmen, and many other comic characters abound in the series, mostly at their expense. You have to have a careful eye or you will miss many of the similarities, although I found myself finding more hints to the DC Universe than Marvel’s. I’ll give you a few examples:

* The Professor - Solomon Seltzer, mad scientist. A "Level 9" intelligence, the Professor's motivation for crime is to fund his scientific research similar to Lex Luthor. His former arch-enemy is shown in silhouette as an analogue to Superman.
 * The Doll-Master - Technological mastermind, specializing in toy weapons and robotics like Toyman; will kill innocents but won't swear in front of children. Keeps his criminal career a secret from his family.
* Fuckwit - A clone of a superhero. He is extremely strong and able to fly but has down-syndrome. A Bizzaro analogue.
* Shithead - Like Clayface. A creature made of the feces of six hundred and sixty six most evil people in the world, including Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer.
* Deadly Nightshade - A plant-manipulator just like Poison Ivy.
* The Puzzler - Has a costume designed to resemble a crossword puzzle. He is just like the Riddler.

I absolutely recommend reading Wanted.