The plot is the first issue. The bad guy wants to make the world better, maybe through tyranny, but that’s never quite set up. Instead the rebels are thrown in there and start shooting up the joint. We’re never really shown why this world is so bad. If anything without that, the rebels are the bad guys for all we know. So the conflict itself is pretty weak.
Next up is the writing. Kirkman’s writing is just bad. The macho, tough guy statements you’d expect from an 80s movie are there and thrown around like the bullets the wiz all over in the first three issues. Such greats as “That’s what we do best – we improvise” and “If I die here today — I’m taking every last one of you with me!” are what you get peppered through the gun shots and action poses. If I didn’t see his name on the comic, no way I’d ever have thought this was Kirkman’s writing.
The final straw for me is Liefeld’s work. The jokes are all there, lack of feet, lots of pouches, huge guns, but it’s the inconsistency that gets me. The characters at times look like they’re Sloth from The Goonies with misshapen heads. Each issue seems to have a different fetish, the first being heads exploding and further ones including gritting of teeth. Finally there’s inconsistency in the character design. Count how many different ways the “bad guys” forehead design is drawn in the first issue. It may rival the exploding heads, large guns and pouches.
The series so far is exactly what you’d expect from Image in the 90s. Not a good thing in my opinion. Writers have shown that along with cool concepts and action, you can do solid characters, dialogue along with art. Kirkman himself does it every month in Invincible.
When reading the first three issues, I’m reminded of my tastes when I was younger and what I liked, which was those Image comics. But, having grown up, I’m looking for more than flash (of a gun), I want depth in my characters as well.
Writer: Robert Kirkman Art: Rob Liefeld Publisher: Image Comics and Skybound
Story: 6 Art: 5.5 Overall: 5.75 Recommendation: Pass
Image Comics provided Graphic Policy with FREE copies for review
