A play in four acts: Act One: destruction. Act 2: domination. Act 3: defense. Act 4: delirium. In between are handy pieces of exposition to remind the reader of the complex mechanism Warren Ellis has created. It’s morally gray in varying shades, and sometimes it can be hard to keep up.

I don’t object to the complexity. No doubt from Ellis’ perspective it’s all pretty clear. It would be when you can see the entire picture all at once. But for the end-user, receiving pieces every 30 days, it’s a much greater challenge. Hence, the handy exposition.

The layout is classic comic book style. No open panels, nothing bleeds off the page. Just boxes of pictures. I somehow get the impression that if there were an audio component to comic books, this title would have no soundtrack to it other than dialogue. No music, no background noise to create atmosphere.

To be honest, it’s not really my cup of tea. But that doesn’t mean it’s poorly written or a victim of bad storytelling. I realize that’s damning it with faint praise, but I suggest you check it out for yourself. Just be sure to read a healthy  sampling of the title. A single issue won’t help you at all.

Rating: 5/10