Review by Ian Keogh

Nemesis Reloaded featured what seemed to be indulgent background detail about the lead character’s past, at times distracting from the main event. It concerned the memoirs of a President the world had forgotten, and concluded with Nemesis meeting Wesley Gibson. You may remember him from Wanted. Turn a few more pages of Big Game and if you’ve been following Mark Millar’s career faithfully you’ll recognise many more folk. If not, check out some of the recommendations below, as otherwise you may find yourself lost with the amount of people thrown in.

Big Game is the Millarworld crossover. Wanted ended with the villains winning and rewriting collective memory so no-one ever remembered the old superheroes, and Millar’s conceit is that every superhero he’s introduced since occupies the same world. Gibson’s not happy at the recent arrival of so many threats, and he’s decided the time has come to deal with them.

There have been exceptions, but artists on Millar’s projects are generally from the clear and realistic school, which makes it a surprise that the style Pepe Larraz adopts for Big Game is the opposite, being shadowy and expressionistic. He’s also a fan of drawing the figure and surrounding it with a burst of colour. Considering the amount of people he eventually has to draw, that’s a wise choice, but it leaves Big Game not looking as impressive as it might be as drawn by any number of artists Millar’s collaborated with on other projects.

Beyond the big idea, it’s as if Millar’s set himself a challenge to include all his characters whether or not they’d generally fit the superhero world, and in the case of the Magic Order there’s a reason for their not sorting everything out even though they could. You may feel Millar’s forgotten some people, but you’d be an idiot. He created them all and knows how to use them, even if he seemingly displays a lack of sentimentality toward his creations. Smarter readers will figure out how both elements of the endgame arrive, and that’s unusual, as Millar’s usually figured out the easy option and how to avoid it. Kick-Ass’ part in prompting it, though, is great.

The spectacle is here, the swagger is here and the swearing is here, but Big Game works without ever greatly thrilling. A few moments here and there really hit the spot, and it certainly ticks a box for Millar’s biggest fans, but it’s far down the list of his achievements.

If you want a complete rise and fall arc between two covers, Dark Horse publish a hardback presenting both Wanted and Big Game.