Hardware #1
Milestone/DC Comics
Avg. Cost: 25¢
The first issue, written by Dwayne McDuffie (recently fired from Justice League of America) with art by Denys Cowan, gets the Hardware’s origin out of the way so we can focus on all the cool action. Hardware is basically an analogue of Iron Man, except he wasn’t born into a rich white family. Oh, and Iron Man’s employer never treated him like a cog in the machine, which is exactly what Edwin Alva tells Hardware’s alter ego when asked about a receiving some royalties on his inventions. Sidenote: why can I remember the villain’s name, but not Hardware’s identity? Ugh. Stupid old-age…
Hardware’s done some digging, and it turns out Alva has his hands in a lot of illegal activities. At first, the mission is to blackmail Alva into releasing him from his contract, which stipulated he may never work for a competitor – ever. But the deeper Hardware digs, the more it becomes about bringing Alva down for good, and in this case, Hardware’s looking for blood. That’s right folks! This “Iron Man” has no problem killing or maiming anyone who stands in his way.
An encounter with a platonic female friend changes all that, when she tells him he’s being a selfish bastard, and “I don’t even know who you are.” What this one friend thinks about him seems to really matter, so he makes it a point to change his methods. The mission, however, remains the same: kill Edwin Alva.
The combination of Cowan’s pencils and Jimmy Palmiotti’s inks is a study in controlled chaos. Cowan’s pencils are clearly loose and wildly laid down on the board, but Palmiotti inks them in such a way that presents them cleanly without overpowering Cowan’s style.
The coloring, despite the yellowing of the paper, is nothing at all what you’d see in comics at the time. I’m not sure how the look was achieved, but it looks great.
Overall, the books look great, and they’re just a damn entertaining read. If you see these sitting in the bargain boxes at a show or con, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy.
