Broken Pieces #3
Publisher: Aspen
Writer: Mark Roslan
Artist: Cory Smith
Colors: Beth Sotelo
After the previous two issues, we know that two scientists, a man and his wife, were trying to use a process to regenerate cells to combat cancer. There was an explosion in the lab where they were about to use their experimental process on a man that was basically the ultimate physical specimen. The woman, Gabriella, was outside of the chamber when the accident occurred, but her husband, Richard, was not so lucky. Before this issue, we didn’t see what exactly happened to him, but in this issue we see that he used the equipment to transfer his consciousness into the body of the specimen, and also used the cell regeneration process. This is how he survived the explosion and is now the ultimate warrior. He fights off a horde of soldiers from the company, and then meets a young girl who is part of a resistance group the company is trying to snuff out. The young girl, Sophie, proves to be an Achilles’ heel for his hard attitude, though. Just as he is beginning to remember everything about his past, the company finds his location and sends in a battalion of men along with a few robots to finish him off!
Where to start! Roslan has a good thing going with this book for sure. He really has you in knots with Richard and Gabriella. I won’t spoil the end of this issue, but now there is another heart wrenching angle to deal with. This is definitely the strong point of the book, even though there is plenty of action, too. The scientific aspect of the book is something to make note of, as well, for the simple reason that it seems very thought out, and not just a bunch of poppycock. It very well may be, though, because I’m no scientist, but it certainly sounds believable, and that is huge, because too many books don’t get that right.
Smith and Sotelo do a fine job with the artwork. I love the way they portray Richard and his half zombie state. He recovers quickly from wounds, but he still looks wounded a lot of the time. The new characters that are from the resistance group are drawn well, too, but especially Sophie. The young girl tries to look tough, but her innocent looking face gives her away for the young and inexperienced girl she really is. I really enjoyed her in this issue, as she was a welcome addition to a cast that was mostly tough nuts. Overall, another good issue, and it seems like the pacing is right on target for the last two issues. Rating 4/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
