I picked We3 as the best limited series of the year for 2004, and this final issue does nothing to make me waiver from that position. The uber-violence of this final chapter is mesmerizing, but what really stands out as the strongest material in the book are the quieter moments when the animal characters' personalities and sorrow really come out. Behind the gore, the science-fiction and the X-Files esque military conspiracies lies a story that's actually quite touching and even cute. The richly detailed interior artwork is awe-inspiring. Inventive panel layouts add to the richness of the art, which demands the reader look closely and look often in order to take in all of what Frank Quitely has to offer.
Damaged and weak from withdrawal from the drugs the military was pumping into them, cybernetic animal assassins 1, 2 and 3 try once again to hide from their former masters, who are now hunting them down. And once again, they realize that trying to hide is futile, and this time, they face a much more dangerous threat than a platoon of heavily armed soldiers. Unfortunately, now they face something more powerful -- one of their own, 4, a ferocious Rottweiler cyborg with nothing by killing on its mind.
Take a look at page five. It features the sort of thing that really made the artwork for this series stand out, and that's unconventional panels. Quitely tilts out several panels toward the reader, offering views of unimportant details. He brings the periphery of what's going on to the forefront, and it brings the confusing sensory experience of such circumstances to life. Given the detail and the nature of the panel layouts, I'm reminded a great deal of George (JLA/Avengers) Perez's style here. Jamie Grant's colors suit the desperate atmosphere that looms over the story and characters. The colors are a bit dull and sullen; bright tones are avoided almost completely, and it's an approach that strengthens the storytelling.
The story is ultimately about only one of the three title characters. The dog, AKA 1, AKA Bandit, gets the most character development, and it's his triumphs and failures around which the story revolves. His sadness and rage shines through incredibly well. Morrison manages to convey Bandit's basic feelings quite clearly, but he doesn't go too far or humanize him too much. None of the animal characters cross the line into anthropomorphic qualities. It's still a dog, a cat and a rabbit.
I'm also pleased that Morrison didn't put all three main characters on the same level. The dog is capable of conveying more emotion than the two lesser mammals. The cat is all about indulging its base desires, whereas 1 is looking for something more. The brain-damaged 3 is barely functioning here... which makes his utterance before the scat bomb work so well as a great gag and critical moment at the same time. 10/10
