Among the titles I picked out during my last trip to the comics shop, WE3 might just be one of my favorites. But, before I get in to telling you all my other thoughts on the book, let me share something with you that no one shared with me before I had the book physically within my grasp: it’s short. WE3 was originally published as a 3-issue comic book series and the length of the story reflects that. This is a book you will read in one sitting (a one-sitter, if you will). Even baring this in mind, WE3 is worth your reading time (and money).
So what’s it all about? If you threw Homeward Bound into a blender with Robocop and added just a hint of Buffalo Soldiers for flavor, you’d end up with WE3.
Written by Grant Morrison and illustrated by Frank Quietly WE3 tells the story of three common household pets who have been mechanically enhanced to be the next generation of war machines. The animals are capable of extremely basic communication and have developed enough identity to name each other: The dog (formerly Bandit) is “1,” the cat (formerly Tinker) is “2,” and the rabbit (formerly Pirate) is “3″.
The story opens with the stealthy-turned-brutal dispatching of a group of men we assume to be criminals, though little evidence is provided within the panels. This is a training mission, a way for the research lab to determine the effectiveness of their current model. The success of the program draws a visit from a Washington congressman, all of which could mean fantastic funding opportunities for the lab.
However, this is not to be, the animals escape after they are slated to be terminated and thus begins their quest to find their way home. But this won’t be easy, knowing what these mech-animals are capable of, the government does its best to hunt them down, eventually unleashing an unstable fourth animal in an attempt to collar the Three. But they also face dissension from within, as 2 is happy to remain wild, thinking they will no longer fit in to the world from which they came. 1, however, is steadfast in his desire to return home.
For such a small book, there’s a lot going on here. The book raises questions about animal rights, post-war readjustment, warfare technology, and the value of life across species. So it’s even more impressive that Frank Quietly’s artwork nearly, if not completely, steals the show (until the end, that is…credit Morrison on that score).
Quietly mixes things up constantly using his panels as a method to enhance the story and make you feel a part of the action. Big turns in action, such as when the animals perceive a threat or bound into action, are given full page treatment. Other times smaller panels float around inside a larger one giving you multiple close up images of things occurring in the scene. During the escape scene, quietly ratchets up the tension by barely showing the animals at all; instead you are shown row after row of small panels representing the security camera images across the lab. Gradually you notice havoc in the panels and realize that they are quickly gaining on one of the few seemingly decent people in the book. Will she escape the building in time?
One final element that I appreciated, there is no traditional backstory provided for the animals. Instead, at the beginning of each chapter (or issue) you are given a full-page Missing Animal Poster featuring one of the Three. The pictures of the pets pre-mechanization and the loving pleas for their return (Pirate’s is co-written by two young sisters, Bandit and Tinker came from adults of indeterminate age) provide you with enough information to piece together your own backstory. After all, you know these animals; they’re your cat, or your friend’s dog, or the neighbor’s kids’ pet rabbit and their loss of innocence is apparent to you without having to be told.
Make no mistake, this isn’t a sappy story and at times it can be quite a violent one. WE3 is the kind of story that you can read in one sitting and think about all afternoon.
Download a free sneak peak, courtesy of DC/Vertigo Comics, by clicking here.
