Maxo
Sigurdson is a free agent militant under contract to the Union of
Northern Arcologies. In his mech, along with his two raccoon-engineer
companions, he is responsible for the safety of
Arcology
#15, protecting it from whatever danger may come its way. But when a
call comes from Union headquarters for him to head over to Arcology
#13 to protect a cargo convoy he has no choice but to go. Maxo must
make his way to Arcology #13 to save the poorly defended 'noids
(robots) from the attacking pirates. The convoy is already under
heavy assault, but has little hope for survival, until he arrives.
The only question is, why was the convoy so poorly defended?
Marc
Beau Champ. has put together a solid introduction to the
Mechalibre
universe in this first volume. We're given a very minimal and short
introduction to Maxo, but it's more than enough because it explains
the essentials about the character within the first page. Maxo's
raccoon-engineer companions are a little bit more of a mystery. Why
they work on his mech, and can talk, is a little beyond me, but we
find that there are other talking animals within the
Mechalibre
universe,
so that's fine.
 |
| Raccoons |
The
majority of
Vol.
1
surrounds
the battle between Maxo and the pirates, so it's a good thing that it
was all well presented. I got a really good sense of where everyone
was during the battle, and its start, middle and finish, as well as
the “battle atmosphere”. The battle also gives a great insight
into Maxo's personality while in his mech. He exudes confidence
while, simultaneously, keeping constant watch for any damage
happening to the mech, making sure the raccoons are on top of things.
As a character, he appears quite aware of his environment. He may be
stuck in a poor contract job, but he's no fool.
The
story itself is quite short. Broken down, it's just an introduction,
the battle and then shoots straight to the close, but it works well.
Beau Champ's panel flow contributes to this, as the art and text lead
us through, page by page. The book also ends with an ever-important
cliffhanger, making sure we'll want to know what happens in the next
issue. His art however, could use some work. Certain portions of
Vol.
1
have a very cool look to them, sometimes whole pages, sometimes just
panels, but the majority of the art is lack luster. It's not that I'd
be able to say “I could do that,” because I couldn't, but it
leaves a lot to be desired. I think Beau Champ would really benefit
by taking on a partner to do the art for the coming issues.
 |
| Cool panel flow. Not so cool artwork. |
At
$6, even with no advertising, it's tough to say if
Mechalibre
Vol. 1
should be picked up. With better art, it would be a sure yes, but
with the quality it's at now, this is not something I would have
picked up off of the shelf.
6.5/10
Mechalibre and
Beau Champ's other works can be found at www.astrobase5.com.
