Gears Of War: Hivebusters #1 - IDW Publishing

GEARS OF WAR: HIVEBUSTERS No. 1, March 2019

Packed full of more f-bombs than a Joe Pesci comedic sketch, and lacking any semblance of plot until its final third, Kurtis J. Wiebe’s opening instalment to this “five-part Gears of War comic series” must surely have disappointed both ardent fans of “the best-selling” video game franchise, as well as those readers new to the conflict between humanity and the reptilian Locust Horde. For whilst this twenty-two page periodical is undeniably packed full of pulse-pounding action as “a new fearless squad” successfully busts a Swarm hive on the remote island of Pahanu with as much excessive force as the trio can muster, little of the graphically-depicted gratuitous violence makes much sense until the team are eventually extracted from their “suicide” mission and subsequently debriefed by their wheelchair-bound commanding officer.

Up until this point, it’s arguably hard to ascertain specifically what is happening within this publication’s narrative and whether Mac’s gruelling gun-toting journey through the claustrophobically-tunnelled heart of a reptilian hominid Hive is actually real or simply part of this comic’s horrible, hallucinogenic opening sequence, where the red-headed warrior takes “what can only be described as a voyage to trip-out city.” Indeed, despite some significantly expletive-laden dialogue, which at least provides the fresh-faced trooper with a modicum of backstory involving his family settling down in “a decommissioned COG [Coalition of Ordered Governments] outpost built near the end of the Locust War”, the only point to this comic seems to be just how many different ways the GLAAD Media Award-winner can pen for the insectoid-influenced aliens to be killed; “No going back, boys! We’re surrounded on all sides!”

Curiously however, once the debatably monotonous combat does finally come to an end, and the swearing is at least somewhat curtailed, Issue One of “Gears Of War: Hivebusters” genuinely seems to become significantly more enjoyable, as each of the leading cast are unexpectedly given a little development time. Lahni in particular appears to prosper from this ‘spotlight’ and transforms from a foul-mouthed Vasquez clone to a surprisingly sentimental reinstated sergeant who is clearly determined to make up for her past misdemeanours and places her loyalty to her team-mates above all else.

The more sedentary nature of these latter sequences also provides Alan Quah with an opportunity to more clearly pencil the difference soldiers’ likenesses, without all the distraction of big guns, zinging bullets and bamboozling extra-terrestrial-based backgrounds. Admittedly, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the Malaysian artist’s sense-shattering panels showing the utter carnage and mutilation Hoffman’s heavily-armed people can cause, but the illustrator’s ability to imbue his figures with facially-recognisable emotion truly only comes to the fore with some of this book’s dialogue-driven close-ups.

Writer: Kurtis Wiebe, Artist: Alan Quah, and Colorist: Komikaki Studio Featuring Sean Lee