I was a big fan of the opening Deus Ex comic that hit stands in February. Not so of the Rage comic that arrived today in retail stores.
Where Deus Ex was smart, violent and edgy, Rage seems just violent.. and really there's not that much of that in this first 22-page issue. The comic spends a lot of time setting the scene for a short run that only has room to improve.
Most of the comic seems dedicated to Dr. Cadence, a recently awoken scientist who finds herself working for a military force fending off a world of mutants and wastelanders. This fist comic spends so much time trying to move the story along it forgets to spend any panels developing Cadence's character or any sense of fluidity in the plot. With only two more issues to go, I don't have a lot of hope for this series.
The issue does feature a nice cover by Glenn Fabry, who wowed us with his work on Hellblazer and Preacher.
The original miniseries is written by Arvid Nelson, the creator of Rex Mundi, and penciled by Andrea Mutti (DMZ). The game is due out on the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 on Oct. 4.