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traitor. Another prophesy states that one soldier will die, which seemingly comes to
pass when Shilo Norman, Mister Miracle, sacrifi ces himself to defeat the villain who
unleashed the Sheeda on humanity, Darkside. Th e series’ fi nal image, however, is of
Norman’s hands bursting from his grave, indicating that the world’s greatest escape
artist found a way to cheat death.
Despite complaints of lateness in the publication of individual issues, Seven Soldiers
was a commercial success, due in part to Morrison’s popularity and the consistently
high quality of art. Th e maxi-series was also critically well-received, winning the Eisner
Awa rd for Best Finite/Limited Series in 2006. Although not Morrison’s strongest or
most incisive work, Seven Soldiers is nevertheless a considerable accomplishment, espe-
cially as an experiment in the possibilities of comic book storytelling. For example, the
mosaic structure and unusual publication format allow for a variety of reading expe-
riences. Moreover, the patterned structure highlights Morrison’s desire to move away
from cinematic comics and the increasingly popular screenplay style of comics writing.
Seven Soldiers expands the borders of the superhero genre by incorporating disparate
infl uences, such as speculative architecture, Celtic mythology, “Goth” subcultures, DC
continuity, the occult, and hip-hop, among others.
As with much of Morrison’s work, some critics have charged that—at least
occasionally—Seven Soldiers borders on incomprehensibility, yet much of the appeal
of the series lies in its zaniness and frenetic energy. In fact, the inevitable confusion
one encounters when reading Seven Soldiers is one of its charms, as it replicates the
disorientation a new comics reader faces when confronted with decades of complicated
continuity. Unlike many writers of mainstream superhero comics, whose inclinations
are to sieve and streamline continuity in order to make it as accessible and continu-
ous as possible, Morrison (as exemplifi ed by Seven Soldiers) embraces convolution and
outlandishness as sources of unique storytelling opportunities.
Jackson Ayres
SEVERIN, JOHN (1922–). In a career that has spanned over 60 years, John Severin has
demonstrated that he is one of the very best artists to ever work in war/military and
We s t e r n comic books. He has always had a tremendous passion for his subject mat-
ter and has illustrated countless stories in an exquisite, fi ne lined, realistic style. Not
only is Severin an accomplished penciller and inker, but he is a talented humorist and
caricaturist as well.
Th ough he began drawing cartoons professionally at the age of 10, Severin was not
a fan of comic books and had only purchased a single comic as a boy. After graduating
from New York’s High School of Music and Art, he began to work with Harvey Kurtz-
man and Will Elder. After learning how much Kurtzman got paid for such work, he
entered the fi eld and published his fi rst comic book story in 1947. Th e job was for Joe
Simon and Jack Kirby and the story was published in Crestwood’s American Eagle.
Severin penciled it and Will Elder inked it. Th e two would collaborate for many years
and become one of the great teams in comic book history.
