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U.S. WAR MACHINE #3
Recommended (8/10)
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Marvel Comics/MAX Comics
Writer: Chuck Austen
Artist: Chuck Austen, Wild and Wooly Press, and NIC Entertainment
Layouts: Victor Lopez
Editor: Ralph Macchio
Price: $1.50 US |
From reading other reactions
to the book, this seems to be a "love it or hate it" book and I seem to be in
the minority, because I love it. While the artwork is a tad stiff, I'm finding
Austen's take on SHIELD and Rhodey Rhodes to be incredibly interesting, and this
issue dives right into the heart of that. We finally get the concept for the
series delivered in this third issue, and it's a nifty idea, combining special
operations with super-hero battle armor. There's also a disturbing and violent
introduction of new villains, some fun "locker room" style interaction between
Rhodes, Parnell and Nick Fury and the continuing questions about race and
racism, all of which combine to make this a compelling and fun read.
Last issue we closed with a shot of the
Helicarrier, in one of the more impressive shots we've ever seen of it. Austen
maintains that feel throughout this issue, with shots in the background of
planes landing on the deck or a sense of the enormity of this flying carrier
that the characters are on. Being a member of SHIELD is pretty cool, lots of
neat toys, and Austen definitely gets this across, whether it's the stuff in the
background like a HYDRA emblem football helmet or the big showy splashes like
the War Machine "display" room.
In addition, there are some interesting
relationships between Rhodes and other characters here. His relationship with
Parnell has traces of friendship, but is clearly tainted by heavy betrayals past
and present. The relationship with Fury is more of a friendly professional one,
with Rhodes laughing at "the shit you know" or goofing around with the guys
about how he was going to pick his date up in the War Machine armor.
The introduction of the big concept comes
this issue, and it's one I'm very interested in. A special forces unit, with War
Machine playing Delta to SHIELD's basic Army, could be very enjoyable if done
right. Austen gets the concept across quickly and immediately sets my mind to
the possibilities inherent therein. He also gives a reasonable excuse as to why
Parnell would be allowed in, given his history with the last suit.
Finally, Austen closes with some rather
horrifying stuff. He implies the horror through off-screen dialogue and does it
quite well, and sets up another solid cliffhanger ending for the book. The
reason this has been put in the mature line is more for violence than language
or sex, and Austen isn't flinching when it comes to showing the terrible things
that humankind is capable of.
Email Randy Lander comments about this review. |
