Hardware #1: Man in the Machine

This Milestone Relaunch is on an absolute roll.

While Hardware is the hero that Milestone truly began with, I feel as though he didn’t really catch on in popularity as much as Static, Icon, or even the entire Blood Syndicate did. I know that he was an integral part of the Dakotaverse originally, but the other heroes had just taken a bigger spotlight. I never read many issues of his original series outside of doing some research for this review, but I can honestly say that this book more than lives up to the character and showcases in just one issue what a technological genius and prodigy Curtis Metcalf, aka. Hardware, truly is. 

Brandon Thomas had already been making a name for himself as the writer of fantastic series such as Horizon, Excellence and Noble and his skills only continue to grow with Hardware. Through Curtis Metcalf, Thomas captures the justifiable anger of a black man that has seen and been a victim of systemic racism since he was a child. Metcalf’s relationship with his mentor Edwin Alva was initially one of mutual gain until Metcalf saw his worth and wanted to be more than just Alva’s prized inventor. As is normally the case, the rich, white man did what he could to tear down the man he saw as a “son,” thinking that Metcalf “should be happy” with what he’s been given and not complain or want more.

While the issue begins very suddenly, assuming that readers have read Milestone Returns #0, the book does a good job of filling in the background between Curtis and Alva, thus pulling you into their conflict. As with the rest of the Milestone books up to this point, there’s no supplemental reading required to enjoy it.

Original Hardware artist and founder of Milestone Media, Denys Cowan, returns to the character he co-created with Dwayne McDuffie and shows that he hasn’t lost a step at all. Cowan has always had something of a grimy and darker style compared to some of the other Milestone titles and that has always suited Hardware and the anger that becomes him. Cowan’s faces are amazingly expressive, showing the rage and betrayal that Metcalf feels and the absolute callousness of Edwin Alva in the wake of his actions. On top of that, during action scenes, he draws Hardware with a sense of graceful brutality as he cuts right through a helicopter and then artfully dodges missiles aimed at him.

There’s also not enough that can be said for how he has an amazing eye for sequential art, showing how each panel and action flows into the next and showcasing Hardware’s ability to take down much bigger foes than he – his skills also extend to big dramatic shots, such as when helicopters explode or when Hardware crashes right into the Earth after his jetpack is blasted away where he utilizes giant plumes of fire and smoke or rain falling on top of Metcalf as he ponders the past while lying on his back in pain.

Bill Sienkiewicz on inks was a great choice for this book as he helps in keeping the tone dark and gritty. He makes sure that the shadows are dark, but still allow for the colors around them to pop. He also makes sure to give everything distinct outlines and detail by thickening Cowans line art. These two have done some fantastic work together recently such as on DC’s The Question book for Black Label and seeing them reunite here is such an artistic joy in every aspect.

Of course, major props have to go to Chris Sotomayor for excellent use of colors throughout the entire book. Sotomayor ensures that every time Hardware is on the page, his reds and silvers stand out amongst the greenish night sky. He also has a way of making readers feel the heat coming off of the explosions within the book by utilizing some very warm and bright oranges and yellows. 

Without a doubt, no comic is truly complete without an outstanding letterer to convey the thoughts, voices and emotions of the characters on the page and Rob Leigh provides all of that and more. Leigh’s inner monologue placement is excellent; making use of of empty space, differentiating between thoughts and Hardware’s AI telling him of what weapons he’s using, utilizing colors to tell who’s monologue we’re meant to be following with Curtis’s being black and red and Alva’s being black and yellow. I couldn’t even begin to heap enough praise on his use of sound effects like tiny “SPAK’s” that show bullets and debris deflecting off of hardware’s armor, WHAKOOMs that arc down the panel as a helicopter explodes and giant red letters for Hardware’s dialogue as he uses a device to talk to Alva through a window.