I love Rucka's storytelling, and the unusual 3D artwork of Scott Sava really impressed me on his self-published effort The Lab. So why the low rating for this one? It all comes down to one thing, and that is incompatibility. Sava's art style is vivid and unusual, but mostly it has a tinge of goofiness that I associate with cartoons, while Rucka is writing a fairly serious script about corporate malfeasance and irresponsibility. To say that the artwork doesn't fit the tone is an understatement.
Sava's artwork is something completely different from everything else out there, using three-dimensional computer modelling rather than traditional pen and ink techniques. The result is a very three-dimensional and rounded look, as well as some simply stunning backgrounds. The look reminds me a great deal of the same type of experimentation that was used on a Simpsons "Treehouse of Horror" episode, and it has much the same effect, looking at traditionally two-dimensional characters in ways that makes them look familiar but yet completely different.
Unfortunately, much as with the Simpsons, the style of art is really the gimmick unto itself, and it isn't used to any great effect. There's no reason why this story would look so odd, and so what we get is artwork that just looks out of place when melded into a fairly typical Spider-Man story. It's very bizarre to see Peter Parker looking so young, or Doctor Octopus so cartoonishly manic, or the Lizard so completely unreal. I can appreciate the detail and the work that went into it, but every single page just reminds me that I'm reading a computer-aided work of art, rather than drawing me into a story.
Rucka has crafted an interesting story here, one in which the Lizard is more anti-hero than villain, and one that plays up one of Rucka's strengths, an aware and active social conscience. Corporations are a traditional villain in super-hero comics, but they generally are known for funding super-villain teams and other such overt villainous activities. Playing up the more subtle aspects of corporate crime, the ones that emphasize not a cackling evil but a more subtle evil of selfishness, is an interesting approach seen in other media, but not often in super-hero comics. It's interesting that the Lizard, one of the more pure evil villains in Spidey's rogues' gallery, seems almost heroic when compared to this kind of villainous behavior.
In the end, though, this sort of serious examination of corporate culture clashes with the somewhat goofy and unusual art style that Sava provides. The strengths of both creators turn out to be weaknesses for one another, and the result is a book that simply feels wrong throughout the entire read.
