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CBG SATELLITES
The ADD Blog by Alan David Doane
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Grant Morrison has done it again. In We3, the second of his
three pop comics has pushed the actual storytelling of action comics
far into the future after what seemed a lengthy stagnation. Morrison,
for all he and his fellow mainstream writers talk of something new, is
one of the few who actually delivers on a consistent basis, and with
Quitely, his favorite collaborator and the one best suited for such
experimentation, has given us a new benchmark.
The story is part fairy tale, adventure story, and sci-fi metaphor.
Three animals are turned into cybernetic weapons by the U.S government
and, after a show of their deadly abilities, escape the lab and run
amok, trying to find their way "home," which is more of a primitive
ideal in their minds than an actual, physical place. The animals, as
well as being heavily armed and armored, are able to speak, but do so
in a garbled and primitive English that seems like it would be painful
to listen to; a disturbing take on talking animal books. This is a
relatively simple concept, but the excitement lies in the
execution.
Quitely's art is perfectly suited for this violent tale. His art is
that of a stylized cartoonist doing a twisted impression of a
"realistic" mainstream super hero artist. His wiggly lines let the
drawings flow, bounce and emote like cartoons, yet never seem to go
beyond the real world, and the effect is disturbing and strangely
beautiful. And this is no more evident than in the shoes that litter
the pages of We3. Often told from inhuman perspectives, the
story features an awful lot of shoes, especially soldiers' boots, and
they are gorgeous. I'm not usually one for feet, but here, Quitely
gives them a true presence and character and grace, more so than some
of his faces. The very first panel is of shoes, the faceless soldiers
are often represented by shoes, and the footwear gives the reader
certain insights into minor characters, defining them as people even
though there isn't enough time to properly know them within the
story.
The main appeal of this book is the unparalleled action sequences.
Each one is unique, and as far as I know, totally original (except
one, which may have been inspired by a scene in the hugely underrated
Elektra Lives Again by Frank Miller). Each issue of We3
made my jaw physically drop. The violence is extremely graphic, but in
a stylish, inherently comic book way; sheer terror balanced with
endless bullets and candy colored blood. The pacing of the action
scenes is stunning and elegant, and sometimes explode into dozens of
tiny panels that bring the reader into the energy and confusion of the
attack.
But best of all is the substance to the story. Although not nearly as
narratively dense as Morrison's other work, (which he more than
makes up for in his recent JLA Classified run), he tells a relatively
simple tale that is an allegory for war. In an interesting bit of
storytelling, the covers clue us in on an important fact that might be
taken for granted; the three animals, a dog, a cat, and a rabbit, were
for some reason stolen from children who loved them to become weapons
for the government, echoing a national military draft, and the
metaphor continues throughout the story. The animals are
uncomfortable, confused, and unable to tell where they stop and the
weaponry begins. There is a frightening scene in which the dog,
rescues a civilian man caught up in the battle that perfectly
demonstrates the limited understanding the three possess over their
situation. The final fate of these draftees is bittersweet for the
animals, but tragically reminiscent of the real lives that many
soldiers come back to. We3 is an absolutely heartbreaking and
impressive book, both for its finesse and craft as well as its social
commentary and human characters.
-- Jef Harmatz
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We3 #1-3