Marvel Comics 2020
Written by Matthew Rosenberg
Illustrated by Juanan Ramirez & Roberto Di Salvo
Coloured by Federico Blee
Lettered by VC's Travis Lanham
War Machine, U.S.Agent, Mockingbird and Quake have joined forces to fight against the robots for human survival as Force Works! But when the team finds themselves infected by Deathlok technology and turned into robots themselves, will that prime directive stand? Or will they find themselves turning coat and bringing about humanity’s end?!
I was a huge fan of the first run of Force Works and with this story arc it only reinforces what a great idea for a team book this really is. Mockingbird I am all for as I have been a fan of hers since her introduction and marriage to Clint. This is my introduction to Quake and so far I definitely like what I am seeing. Oh U.S. Agent, hell even Rhodey make this is a dream team and granted I think the only person really missing is Julia Carpenter, though I wouldn't mind seeing Anya and/or Wonder Man on the team. See I am seeing this and thinking okay once this mishegas is over this has to be a new ongoing team book. This and Strikeforce are the types of book I want to read, so-called B-Listers and below working together and making a difference while everyone else is off doing those tragic company “event” which no one wants any more.
I love the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold and how the reader learns information is exceptionally well done. I mean when U.S. Agent knows the answer to something and the others are stunned this is the kind of thing that reminds us that he's more than just an angry man who likes to hit things. The character development we see is extraordinary and of course the mix of personalities and how things progress make for some entertaining reading. The pacing is great and as it takes us through the pages revealing the twists and turns along the way it works with everything else to create the books ebb & flow.
That I am so engaged in this series is due in part to the fact that Matthew is writing this extremely well, part of it is that we don't need to read the other parts of this to enjoy it and finally it's really dependent upon this particular mix of characters. That and the surprise guest star on the last page.
The interiors here are really nice to see as well. The linework is fantastic and how we see the varying weights being utilised to bring us this attention is phenomenal. That panel with the footprints is one that is exceptionally well rendered and it demonstrates a nice skill level not to mention how it makes the reader tug at the memories of film. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a marvellous eye for storytelling. As for the backgrounds they are a double edged sword, when you establish the cage and then don't utilise it in every panel it goes from cage to arena and doesn't give off that enclosed feeling. They do work within the composition in the panels to create some nice depth perception, scale and the overall sense of size and scope for the book. The colour work is nice as well. The way that hues and tones within the colours create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rendered well.
I do like that these people look like Deathlocks but act like the Borg and consider people to be nothing more than replaceable parts. This feels like the start of something and to utilise these characters who otherwise languish in limbo well that's just all the better to me. Whether this is intended to gauge the response for an ongoing series or not it's lit a fire for more and I hope we'll see it.