Hotwire: Deep Cut #3 – Review

by Steve Pugh (writer, artist, and letterer)

The Story: Alice Hotwire races to save the city from an invasion of blue lights and the ignorance of the Bear Claw mercenaries.

Review:  As with any issue of Hotwire, it seems fitting to start with the art first.  If you’ve ever seen an issue of Hotwire, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting here.  That is, you’re getting what may very well be the best looking comic on the stands right now.  Steve Pugh’s artwork is so stunning that it defies description.  Hyper-realistic, immensely detailed, lushly painted, and with really cool high-tech, near-future designs, this comic is a feast for the eyes.  Pugh’s massive and ornate blue light ghosts are awe inspiring and I also rather enjoyed Alice’s combat outfit this month.  Pugh creates a very realized world with every issue of Hotwire, fusing science fiction with horror in the most epic manner possible.

But there are the little things as well.  Alice’s facial expressions are always a blast, making the character instantly likable.  Her little nuances of emotion are always conveyed perfectly.  I particularly enjoyed Pugh’s use of close-ups during moments of tension.  The bottom-line is that this comic looks like one of those books with a shit story but art so good that you end up recommending it anyway.

Of course, in this case, the story’s rocking too.  As a last issue, the action is explosive and there’s a constant sense of pandemonium, desperation, and chaos.  Pugh effectively manages to make the events of this issue truly feel city-wide, not just limited to our characters and what we actually see on the page.  It’s an exciting, gripping read that’ll have you flipping the pages unconsciously until you’ve reached the end.

Blue-light soldier Tom continues to shine this month, in a big way.  Regardless of his past, he comes across as a full-fledged hero this month.  It’s easy to sympathize with the guy, who manages to go from perpetual loser to hero in the span of a few pages.  Leave it to Pugh to have you ultimately rooting for the ghost of a murderer threatening the city with destruction.

Hotwire Deep Cut #2 – Review

by Steve Pugh (writer, artist, and letterer)

 

The Story: Alice has it out with her blue light ex while the hunted ghost soldier finds an unlikely comrade.

What’s Good: After Requiem for the Dead, Hotwire was quite easily Radical’s best property.  Deep Cut has only cemented that position, despite Radical’s larger roster of solid titles.

Let’s start with the artwork.  Deep Cut #2, like every other issue of Hotwire, goes beyond Radical’s trademark digitally painted style.  Quite simply, Hotwire is perhaps the best looking comic book coming out today.  On a technical level, this is outstanding, gorgeous stuff that defies description.  It’s incredibly realistic, vivid, and mind-blowingly detailed.  On a design level, Steve Pugh’s work is equally impressive; his blue lights are a perfect mix of horror and hard sci-fi, while Hotwire’s world in general is cyberpunk cool.

Pugh’s characters are similarly strong.  Alice Hotwire herself is more distinctive than ever this month in her facial expressions and body language, making her even more attractive than ever.  I also greatly enjoyed Pugh’s depiction of the blue lights’ perspective, which took on a dreamy, pastoral quality that greatly contrasted with the cold, polished futuristic world of reality.

Pugh’s script is fantastic as well.  In many ways, I think his writing of the series is stronger in Deep Cut than Requiem.  It’s clear that this arc is all about characterization.  This issue really let me feel like I was getting to know Alice, from her quirks to her demons, and it made her attractive, cool, vulnerable, and fully three dimensional as a character.  Pugh accomplishes this again through the use of Alice’s blue light ex-boyfriend.  Her struggle with him is a clear, but elegant and downright exciting, metaphor for her struggles with her own past.  At the conclusion of the fight, you end up feeling satisfied; Hotwire defeated a ghost, but also made a step forward in her life and as a character.

Given this, Alice is now fully established as an awesome lead character that could very well become Radical’s Hellboy.  She’s just incredibly likable.  Pugh’s writing of the dialogue only enhances this.  Alice’s voice is an incredibly unique one; she’s hilarious and snarky, but also socially awkward and abrasive.  Yet despite this, she absolutely adorable.  She’s basically the endlessly grumpy person that you can’t help wanting to hug.

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #3 – Review

by Warren Ellis (creator) and Steve Pugh (writer, art, and letters)

The Story: Hotwire visits the “maximum security cemetery” in the hopes of finding some answers about the “ghost bombs” and ends up dealing with a paranormal jailbreak.

The Good: The art in this issue is inexpressibly phenomenal. This is the best looking book yet in a series that is already quite possibly the best looking series in Radical’s line-up, which is no small feat. A good chunk of this month’s eye candy comes thanks to the “ghost bombs,” which allow Pugh to go wild with his insane “creature concepts.”  His giant metal ghost spider is a sight to behold. The jailbreak only takes the art up to another level, allowing Pugh to draw cataclysmic floods and storms of biblical proportions. Art-wise, this is a big issue and it looks amazing.  Almost every large frame in this book could easily be framed and put on a wall.

Hotwire #3 is without a doubt an action issue, and Pugh handles the mayhem well. Again thanks in no small part to his spectacular visuals. That said, in the midst of all the gorgeous explosions, glowing gribblies, and high-tech gizmos, it’s remarkable how much I’ve come to like Mobey and Hotwire in only three issues. I wasn’t particularly taken with any of the characters after issue one, but I really connected with Hotwire and Mobey in issue two, and this month, I liked them even more. Hotwire is just the right combination of sassy and outright weird, managing to be likable and engaging while avoiding cliches and remaining abrasive. Once again, her dynamic with Mobey also brings much needed comic relief.

Meanwhile, Pugh continues to do a great job in balancing the main plot with the ominous surrounding events of the riots.  It’s a really cool balancing act that adds more of a flavor to the comic while also fashioning a living, active, defined world for the story to take place in– not easy to accomplish in a four-part limited series.

I also have to commend Pugh’s handle of the ghost bombs, who really come across as genuinely disturbing. His ghosts thus far have certainly been written in an unsettling style, but he sets a new standard here.

The Not-so-Good: Hotwire #3 briskly moves the plot along and does what it does well, so there’s not a lot to complain about.  I was a little underwhelmed by Hotwire’s reveal at the issue’s end of who she was covering for, but considering this is a four-part series with few characters, I can’t really think of many other possibilities.  At least this really suited Hotwire’s character.

Conclusion: Great action, unbelievable art, and increasingly likable characters come together in a fantastic comic.  If you haven’t read Hotwire, you should.  This weird and yet oddly perfect hybrid of hard science fiction, cyberpunk, noir/detective fiction, and horror continues to be a real winner.

Grade: A-

-Alex Evans