[Comic Book Review] S.W.O.R.D.

S.W.O.R.D.

Written by Kieron Gillen
Art by Steven Sanders
$2.99
Marvel Comics

I hoped that the recent Marvel/Disney merger would keep some of Marvel's lesser-selling titles (READ: better) off the chopping block. Apparently, it's still too early to rescue S.W.O.R.D. from that black hole. This week, news came down that S.W.O.R.D. was being pulled. That's a real testicle-popper, kids, 'cause S.W.O.R.D. was one of the few X-related titles that wasn't muddled in crossovers.
The book (which is scheduled to get ganked at issue #5) was a spin-off of the characters introduced in Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men run. The idea is that S.W.O.R.D. (which stood for "Sentient World Observation and Response Department") handled all the crazy alien-$#!+ that floated above the Marvel Universe. After the events of Tie-In Invasion, S.W.O.R..D. gained criticism from the world's government for not doing their job. Green-haired bad @$$ and director of S.W.O.R.D, Abigail Brand now has to share leadership with government lapdog and long-time X-Men foil Henry Peter Gyrich. Beast from the X-Men makes frequent appearances (remember, Brand and him hooked up at the end of Astonishing) as well as a growing cast of hilarious and/or mysterious extra-terrestrials.
S.W.O.R.D. may sound too geeky for anybody who hasn't read a Marvel book in the last 3 years, but the series sustains you by complementing intrigue with satire (very Whedon-esque). It also has the luxury of being disconnected from the core Marvel Universe, yet also a byproduct of it. This means that the series can allow new readers to sample what's going on around the book in small doses, and simultaneously welcome you to it's pages with little confusion.
To me, titles like S.W.O.R.D. (with Wisdom, Nextwave, Alias, and Captain Britain & MI-13) keep these ridiculously bloated comic book universe together. They re-establish C-list characters and address neglected plot points that crossovers have no time for (in this case, the fate of Kitty Pryde). Also, S.W.O.R.D. served as a better follow-up to Joss Whedon's Astonishing X-Men than the existing Warren Ellis run.
If something like Spider-Girl can resurface from cancellation every 6 months, then their is no reason Brand and her motley crew of space freaks can't either. Nerdery Blog, with the support of the books creators (Kieron Gillen and Steven Sanders) and Bleedingcool.com, are queuing up a campaign to get S.W.O.R.D. to continue. If you're a Joss Whedon fan (because, let's face it, quite a few of these characters we're created by him) then summon your Firefly-resurrecting powers and join the cause @ NerderyBlog.com.
Remember: In space...Marvel can hear you scream!