We're closing in on the end of Livewires, and I'm hoping that despite low sales, Marvel will take notice of what the creative team has done here and either put Warren on one of Marvel's big books to cut loose or give Livewires a second mini (or ongoing). This issue has the same mixture of technobabble, humorous dialogue and big ideas and action that the others have had, as the Livewires team goes up against a huge, high tech threat that could only exist in a superhero universe and find themselves in the kind of dire danger that only non-protected, non-licensed out new characters could. That is to say, Warren isn't shy about offing them if the story calls for it, but it's got a lot more resonance than the "back in six months" deaths of a big Marvel character, and is a hell of a lot more heroic than the lame shock deaths Marvel and DC both have served up in their events of late.
I find myself feeling about Livewires the way I had about Runaways when it first started, as I think it simultaneously the most underappreciated books Marvel has and one of the best books they have. Like Runaways, Livewires mixes a concept and characters that are new with a clear personal vision on the part of the creator and, while remaining new and fresh, is inextricably tied to the Marvel Universe. Sure, the notion of a set of teen robot commandoes is the kind of thing that Warren could have done anywhere, but mixing their origins with Life Model Decoy and Mannite technology and pitting them against A.I.M. and decommissioned SHIELD hardware really gives the book an extra bit of flavor for this Marvel fan. One foot in the old, one in the new, Livewires is great fun for almost any comic-book reader, no matter what else you're liking.
Half the fun of Livewires is in the characters, and that's mostly down to the interaction that Warren writes for them. I love the conceit that these mecha talk to one another over an intranet, which amounts to a mixture of caption-based narration and telepathy, a couple of stock superhero elements given a new twist. The back-and-forth between the characters is both development for all of their personalities and a vehicle through which Warren can deliver some really fun dialogue. I love the little "IM" style icons that distinguish each speaker, a cool visual cue that helps to set the style of communication apart as well as clue-ing the reader in as to who is speaking, a lesser consideration when you realize that Warren has given these characters very recognizable speech patterns and characterization.
I am well aware that some folks just plain don't like "manga-styled" artwork, and that Mays and Martin are doing work that falls into that category in a lot of folks' minds. Believe me, I get it, it's not a style that works on everything, but the work that Mays, Martin and GuruEFX are doing here is spectacular and perfectly suited to the book. If I wasn't already sold by their work on the characters, which gives them a genial, friendly vibe that runs comically counter to their programmed missions of destruction, then I would have been when I saw the amazing work on a revamped SHIELD Helicarrier that serves as the home of the "White Whale" that they're hunting down. These guys are great at character relations, action and the crazy future tech that Warren's script calls for, and the book looks gorgeous.
There are any number of things that I love about Livewires, from little things like using the old school A.I.M. uniforms (and making them look reasonably cool) to the big ideas with nanotechnology that feel like a modern-day extrapolation of Stan Lee's fascination with nuclear tech, but if I had to pick out one thing, it's that the book just feels new. Warren is brimming over with enthusiasm and new ideas, and Mays and Martin are giving the book a visual flair that is just as fresh and imaginative. 10/10
