A lot of questions are raised here, but not a lot of answers are given in what ultimately feels like nothing but setup.
Creative Staff
Writer/Artist: Shirow Masamune
Translation/Adaptation: Dana Lewis and Toren Smith with Duane Johnson
What They Say
Life seems ideal within the utopian confines of Olympus, a shining beacon in a post-World War III wasteland, but perfection is always an illusion. Stalking the ruins of New York City is Artemis, a renegade, flesh-eating bioroid (enhanced artificial human) carrying data critical to the future of Olympus. The elite ESWAT is sent in to tranq her and bring her in, but when Artemis recovers during transit the powerful combat bioroid brings down the transport ship and escapes into Olympus! ESWAT agents Deunan and Briareos are dispatched to bring in the feral Artemis, but will they emerge as heroes . . . or lunch?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the threat of Gaia in the past, Deunan and Briarios settle into their new lives in ESWAT. When a combat bioroid captured in the ruins of New York escapes and begins tearing up Olympus, they swing into action, only to fail at bringing her in when Brioarios is injured and Deunan is held up by FBI. As such, the bioroid escapes into the night. But in the confusion, a microchip is planted on Deunan, and she becomes the target of a spy who wants the microchip back.
After, Deunan and Briarios are headhunted for a special ops mission in France, ostensibly to shut down a major drug ring, but really to crush a terrorist organization. But while Deunan shows her mettle, her reliability is called into question as she continues to act on impulses and goes against her orders, frustrating Briarios and raising the possibility that she would be better suited back in her old unit in the police force.
In Summary
I have always liked what I have seen and read of Appleseed. And while this volume is no different, I will admit my interest flagging a bit. There are a few reasons for this. For starters, the whole issue with the combat bioroid did not do a whole lot for me. The opening gambit about it was fine as far as it went, but I found myself just wanting to flip through it when we returned to it at the end of the volume. This is in part because, at least at this point, Deunan has nothing really to do with it. She is the protagonist of this series, but there is an almost 30 page stretch there where she is completely absent from this volume. It is not as interesting when she and Briarios aren’t around.
Another problem was how text heavy this volume was. For as much as I am enjoying Appleseed, I like it much better when it is heavy on the action. This volume had plenty of that, but there seemed to be a lot more discussion about political ramifications of actions here. It does not help that three volumes in, I only have a vague idea of the political realities in this post-World War III world. I have a general sense of the makeup, but the subtle intricacies are escaping me. That is fine when the specifics are not necessary to follow the story, but here that knowledge becomes necessary. As such, all this discussion of consequences did not mean much to me.
But ultimately, this big problem is that this volume really just feels like nothing more than setup for what is to come later on. Volume one was this way, but it was still a fun read. This volume felt like a chore at times. For the most part, I enjoyed it, but it just did not hold me in comparison to everything else Appleseed.
Content Grade: B
Art Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B
Text/Translation Grade: A
Age Rating: 14+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: August 27th, 2008
MSRP: $14.95
