It's been a long, long time since issue one, and Fused #2 really could have used a "What has gone before" page for that reason. Other than that complaint, though, I don't have much bad to say about this issue, as it takes the strong art and intriguing characterization from the first issue and marries it to a kickbutt action sequence. There are some twists and identity revelations, some espionage-style intrigue and plenty of robots fighting helicopters, which everybody has got to love.
I'm reminded to some degree of Dwayne McDuffie's vastly-unappreciated Deathlok with this book. Mark Haggerty is a regular guy, a scientist, with a loving wife who suddenly finds himself trapped inside a cybernetic killing machine. Not only does this add a fair amount of pathos to the guy, whose life has been relatively easy so far, but it sort of makes him the everyman in the midst of all the mad scientists and government agents who suddenly populate his life. Mark is an easy protagonist to relate to, and his confusion and anger is certainly sympathetic.
There's actually a pretty good job done on all of the characters. Emil Fard, while seemingly a bit disconnected from humanity in the way he acts and feels, certainly isn't a bad or a good man given the lack of thought he seems to have given to his actions. And Thorton Mortis, while definitely an evil agent archetype, does have understandable motivations in his chase after Fard and the Fused suit. I also enjoyed the back-and-forth between Mark and the CPU, which serves as both comic relief and as an indicator of what Mark has gotten himself into with the suit.
It was the art that really jumped out at me about Fused #1, and though I wasn't quite as wowed this time out, I still have to say that Paul Lee does a terrific job. I see similarities to Matt Wagner, Cliff Chiang and Guy Davis in his work, which features some of the most distinctive and easy to read human faces that I've seen in a while. I wasn't as blown away this issue by the detail, as the backgrounds sometimes seemed a bit sparse, but there are still some great detail moments, such as the shot of Mark inside the suit as it fuses to him.
Niles closes out the book with a brief look at "The Implementers," some sort of official government superteam. It's a brief but solid look at a new member that just barely hints at what the team is about, and I'm guessing from the back cover that we're basically being introduced to our antagonists for the next issue. Diego Jourdan is the artist on this one (and soon to be the artist on Fused, if the Diamond solicitations are any indicator) and it wouldn't surprise me to learn that he is a studiomate of Eduardo Risso and Leandro Fernandez. His artwork, especially with Escamilla's colors, really looks like an issue of 100 Bullets, with some terrific shadows and great character designs.
