The generic nature of this comic's title did little to catch my interest, but the talent lineup was a different story. When I saw Rick Remender's name listed as the writer in the August edition of Previews, it piqued my interest. And then when I saw that Battle Pope and Walking Dead artist Tony Moore provided the pencils, I was sold. Remender's manic sensibilities are always a lot of fun, and Moore's detailed, action-packed and over-the-top style is a perfect fit. There's just one problem: the end result, while entertaining, comes off as somewhat generic and quite predictable. This Raiders of the Lost Ark in space riff is fun, but it needs more to set it apart.
Heath Huston is the last of his kind. He was once one of many Fear Agents, men and women who eliminated unwantd alien infestations throughout the galaxy, but now he's the only one left. He's on a job that's proving to be a major pain in the ass, and what's worse is that he has no whiskey to take the edge off. It should have been an easy job, getting some Neanderthal brutes to leave the more intelligent human colonists nearby alone, but the primitive beasts aren't behaving normally. Instead, they've been stealing technology and actually using it, and they're giving ol' Heath Huston a run for his money (if he had any money, the lack of which explains him taking on the job in the first place).
Moore offers a nice mix of modern detail and grit with a slightly more innocent, irreverent tone that's reminiscent of campy sci-fi storytelling of the 1950s and '60s. I like that Heath's suit and weaponry is rather clunky and dirty, instead of sleek and gleaming like a lot of science-fiction elements we see on TV, in movies and in other comics today. I found myself wishing the colors weren't always so dark and muted; the coloring job makes this book seem dark and dire, when really it's morbidly light in tone.
This book is all about the action. Forget about the plot. Though what's going on is intriguing, this is all about watching Huston beat the odds, batter the bad guys and blow up evrything in his path. On that level, it's fun. Furthermore, the references to Huston's life outside of this one job we witness makes me want to see more of it and to meet his supporting cast.
Heath Huston is an eminently likeable rogue, and the story is easier to swallow because the dialogue acknowledges the impossibility of the hero catching break and break to save his skin. In a way, Remender pokes fun at pulp-adventure cliffhangers. Still, in the end, we've seen Heath Huston in different incarnations over and over again in the past, and there really doesn't seem to much different about the rogue hero archetype to be found here. 6/10
