Writer: Mark Millar
Artists: Frank Quitely, Karl Kerschl, Travis Charest,
Olivier Coipel, Matteo Buffagni & Matteo Scalera
Colorists: Frank Quietly, Vincent MG Deighan, Michele
Assarasakorn, Dave Stewart, Giovanna Niro & Lee Loughridge
Letterer: Clem Robins
Cover Artist: Frank Quitely
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Price: $49.99
Release Date: December 25, 2024
While countries like China and Russia carve up Antarctica,
someone builds a technological marvel on Earth’s southernmost continent. Those
who stumble across it awaken far away, unable to recall their discovery. What
is happening in this city of the future on the continent dedicated to
scientific research? And how will advancements made there benefit our world?
Let’s pull on our Lycra suits, leap into The Ambassadors Library Edition HC,
and find out!
Story
Dr Choon-He Chung is serving a life sentence in the Cheongju
Women's Correctional Institution. She wants to change that. Aided by Oksana
Petrov, the South Korean scientist unlocks the Human condition. While building
her Antarctic city, she develops a range of superpowers she can draw on. Now,
all she lacks is freedom. That's where her knowledge of artificial intelligence
comes in handy.
In The Ambassadors Library Edition HC, Choon-He Chung
downloads her consciousness into a lookalike android. Then she announces a
competition. Choon-He wants to share her discoveries with people around the
world. She doesn't insist that they be bastions of morality. What matters most is
a desire to help others and a willingness to represent their respective
countries. Some work in lowly positions in society. Others profit from hurting
others but vow to turn over a new leaf. Each of Dr Chung’s superheroes will
enjoy health and long life. While doing good, they can borrow up to three
superpowers at a time, relayed from Dr Chung's Antarctic stronghold.
Dr Chung’s actions threaten the countries that dominate our
world. Her handful of superheroes can take on the armies of the superpowers,
end wars, and protect countries from natural disasters. In Mark Millar's story,
Choon-He's greatest threat is her ex-husband. Jin-Sung never loved her.
Instead, he waited for the opportunity to capitalize on her discoveries by
falsifying the evidence that imprisoned her.
While Dr Chung builds her superpowered version of Jeff
Tracy’s International Rescue Corps, her ex-husband builds a team of
billionaires. Jin-Sung’s recipients control the internet and the world media.
After amassing fortunes, ruling the workforce, and influencing the masses,
Jin-Sung’s billionaires want to further their legacies by living forever in The
Ambassadors Library Edition HC.
Art
Mark Millar teamed with artists Frank Quitely, Karl Kerschl,
Travis Charest, Olivier Coipel, Matteo Buffagni, and Matteo Scalera to capture
panoramic shots like a plane flying over a domed city and a ship entering a
Junk-filled Chinese harbor. Choon-He hovers above a stage while her assistant
hobbles using a cane. Superheroes climb onto pogo stick-like supports to
descend into a secret lair before roaring onto the streets in an exotic
sportscar. Choon-He marvels as she watches orange and yellow-green fire streak
through the evening sky, knowing the man flying like a bird (or a plane) used
to need an oxygen tank to breathe.
Frank Quietly, Vincent MG Deighan, Michele Assarasakorn,
Dave Stewart, Giovanna Niro & Lee Loughridge wield loaded palettes to
convey gang wars in Rio De Janeiro, a rescue on a snow-covered mountain, and a
man flying above a burning Australian village. They contrast these with scenes
painted with limited colors in The Ambassadors Library Edition HC. People watch
a red, blue, and yellow superhero on a screen in a grayscale viewing room. An
organic gray spiral elevates glowing red letters circling a globe. Gray, beige,
and tan fill the Oval Office as the President worries about the threats to the
United States multiplying.
Clem Robins fills dialogue balloons and narrative boxes with
uppercase black lettering that grows bold for inflection and enlarges for
volume. Sound effects help us hear soldiers mowing down the opposition,
villains making their bones, and an aggrieved ex-husband shattering furniture
with a single blow. As superheroes bond over capturing a gang of thieves, we
glimpse their takedowns through giant, colored sound effects. Biff! Pow! Smash!
Thanks to Dark Horse Comics, Millarworld, and Netflix for providing a copy for
review.
Final Thoughts
Should people who accomplish much win the most substantial
prizes? Or are those who selflessly help others most worthy of power? One of
history's prominent influencers claimed that those who doubled their
investments (or talents) were most worthy of being entrusted with more. Then,
he granted his followers eternal life regardless of their social status,
wealth, or business acumen. The Ambassadors Library Edition HC ponders people's
worthiness of receiving superpowers, the responsibility to represent their countries,
and freedom from the limitations of age and disease.
Rating 9.8/10
To preview interior art see my review at Comic Book Dispatch.
