Scan barcode
booksmellers's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
colindalaska's review against another edition
1.0
Terrible
A put upon worker builds an Iron Man suit and battles the mean old boss he works for. The man's an absolute a-hole (the only redeeming factor is someone calls him out on it) - another case of it's ok to murder people if you are fairly sure that they are bad guys.
A put upon worker builds an Iron Man suit and battles the mean old boss he works for. The man's an absolute a-hole (the only redeeming factor is someone calls him out on it) - another case of it's ok to murder people if you are fairly sure that they are bad guys.
murphyc1's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 *s
I believe this was one of the best superhero introduction arcs I've ever read. While there were some elements of both the art and storytelling that date this comic to 1993 (for which I have deducted half a star), these are minor and generally more charming than aggravating.
I had a couple Milestone back issues as a comics-reading kid, but I didn't get them. I recall thinking that Static and Icon were cool, but that's about the extent of the impact they made on me. I see now that, at least in the case of Hardware, these characters and their stories were perhaps too complex and socially conscious for a ten-year-old whose reading at the time consisted mostly of Harvey comics and coverless Silver Age DC comics and reprints. However, if I couldn't appreciate my few Milestone comics back then, I certainly do now.
Dwayne McDuffie aimed for the fences with this one, shattered his bat to splinters, and hit someone's car out in the parking lot with the ball. McDuffie expertly plays with comic book superhero tropes, using a few in novel ways, disregarding several others, ultimately presenting the discerning fan a satisfying, thrilling, and (most importantly) a new experience.
I loved Hardware: The Man in the Machine, and I'm excited now to have a largely unfamiliar world of characters to explore more fully in the future!
I believe this was one of the best superhero introduction arcs I've ever read. While there were some elements of both the art and storytelling that date this comic to 1993 (for which I have deducted half a star), these are minor and generally more charming than aggravating.
I had a couple Milestone back issues as a comics-reading kid, but I didn't get them. I recall thinking that Static and Icon were cool, but that's about the extent of the impact they made on me. I see now that, at least in the case of Hardware, these characters and their stories were perhaps too complex and socially conscious for a ten-year-old whose reading at the time consisted mostly of Harvey comics and coverless Silver Age DC comics and reprints. However, if I couldn't appreciate my few Milestone comics back then, I certainly do now.
Dwayne McDuffie aimed for the fences with this one, shattered his bat to splinters, and hit someone's car out in the parking lot with the ball. McDuffie expertly plays with comic book superhero tropes, using a few in novel ways, disregarding several others, ultimately presenting the discerning fan a satisfying, thrilling, and (most importantly) a new experience.
I loved Hardware: The Man in the Machine, and I'm excited now to have a largely unfamiliar world of characters to explore more fully in the future!
matt4hire's review against another edition
4.0
Good, good stuff. I haven't read a ton of the Milestone line, but I'm working on it, and what I've read is excellent. Just great.
housedominic's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
philippmk's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gun violence, Child death, Violence, Rape, and Murder
hypops's review
5.0
A criminally under-appreciated superhero comic by a criminally under-appreciated creative team for a criminally under-appreciated publishing imprint.
More than any prior attempts by the big two comics publishers to develop books about non-white characters by non-white creators, Hardware and its peers at Milestone Media (Icon, Static, etc.) set a new standard for how mainstream comics tell stories and who they’re about.
The first issue is one of the strongest (if not *the* strongest outright) first issues of any superhero book I have read. The character of Hardware/Curtis Metcalf blends Batman, Iron Man, and African-American coming-of-age fiction. The art similarly blends the spectacle of superhero stories with the aesthetic touches of art cinema and literary fiction. The combination makes for one of the sharpest revisionist takes on superhero comics, one that has had an arguably bigger and more pervasive impact on present-day superhero comics than any of the higher-profile revisionist superhero books (Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, The Man of Steel, etc.).
Needless to say, I was super stoked to find this out-of-print trade collection of the first eight issues at a local shop. The full run is long overdue for trade reprints.
More than any prior attempts by the big two comics publishers to develop books about non-white characters by non-white creators, Hardware and its peers at Milestone Media (Icon, Static, etc.) set a new standard for how mainstream comics tell stories and who they’re about.
The first issue is one of the strongest (if not *the* strongest outright) first issues of any superhero book I have read. The character of Hardware/Curtis Metcalf blends Batman, Iron Man, and African-American coming-of-age fiction. The art similarly blends the spectacle of superhero stories with the aesthetic touches of art cinema and literary fiction. The combination makes for one of the sharpest revisionist takes on superhero comics, one that has had an arguably bigger and more pervasive impact on present-day superhero comics than any of the higher-profile revisionist superhero books (Watchmen, The Dark Knight Returns, The Man of Steel, etc.).
Needless to say, I was super stoked to find this out-of-print trade collection of the first eight issues at a local shop. The full run is long overdue for trade reprints.
More...