WE3

Kinda between 3 and 4 stars. Because - Lordie, is there carnage. Expect carnage front to back, panel by panel. Not a single page goes by that blood and guts aren't spewing around. It also threatens to turn very dark, very fast - and I won't spoil the ending. Oh, and this is definitely my cat. I don't think I can look at my cat in the same way anymore. Put my cat in a suit of armor, and, yeah, I guess she'd murder us all.

Basic: three pets - a cat, a dog, a rabbit - are mutilated into Borg-type super-soldiers by those hyper-shady, hyper-cynical versions of the military we oft see in comix or sci-fi B movies. After the animals break loose, so does all hell. Including super secret supersoldier Animal Weapon 4 - I won't spoil what animal it is. But it's not a cow. And if there's one animal that - should we choose to Borgify it into a killing machine - would really rip us to shreds on a mighty path of vengeance, it'd be the cow. Or maybe a chicken or pig. Anyway. Please consider donating to Farm Sanctuary to avert this terrible revenge.

Anyway, this gets really gross, really fast, and stays gross. For this reason, and for the general animal rights despair, I've always had trouble getting past page 3 of this comix. I've had it for YEARS. Today I managed, and it's a fast, sharp, good read. The paneling is really elegant. So much is told visually; kudos to the authors and no wonder this always makes the “top 10 graphic novels” list. It's very well-done.

Just don't eat before you read this.

And don't expect to NOT feel weird around your (non-killing machine) pet after you read this.