Customer Reviews

Fear Agent, Vol. 3: The Last Goodbye

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So I am new to the Fear Agent world by Rick Remender. I have the first 2 trades and to be quite honest I almost dropped the series. Wow were they confusing, good from what I got but confusing none the less. But this the Origins story of Huston is AWESOME! there is Love Loss and tons of action. Who knew that Huston had a heart, well everyone I guess but did you know he wasn't always a whiskey guzzeling Texan? He once had it all, until all most all of with the rest of civilization was taken away.

I do this with great honor:
Story ***** Art *****

FEAR AGENT Vol.3: The Last Goodbye is a Must Have for any Fan of Sci-Fi, Post Apocalyptic Love War Stories.

Seeing someone in a big jet pack shooting laser guns at aliens is always cool, but I like a bit of story with my sci-fi violence. I read the first volume of Fear Agent (Re-Ignition) at the recommendation of a friend, and when I finished it and put it down I thought: "So?" See, there was so little character development in volume one that I would have gotten as much depth out of staring at a 50's sci-fi poster. An excellently drawn, totally cool sci-fi poster mind you, but a poster none-the-less.

That seems to be all some people need, which is fine. To each his own. But I want a bit more.

Volume 2 gave us a bit more character development. And here, in volume 3, you get the origin of the Fear Agent. What is a Fear Agent? How did they come about? Why did Heath and his wife seperate? Why does he drink constatntly? And why does he wander the universe?

I'll give you a hint. There's aliens and laser guns and jet packs involved.

I read this volume in one sitting because I just wanted to keep reading. It gets intense at times, violent and bloody, but I couldn't turn away. Remender writes a great story with characters that feel real despite the fantasy setting. Tony Moore can draw pretty much anything, from the undercarriage of a big rig, to multiple and easily indistinguishable alien ships and species.

I normally don't like a to-be-continued flashback, because you already know how things are going to turn out. But in this case, while you know that Heath and his wife survive, you can't help but wonder about the rest of the human race. Plus, other than a very short intro and ending piece in Heath's "present" the flashback itself is nonstop, and it's easy to forget that it's all in Heath's memory.

I feel like this is the best Fear Agent so far, and I have to go back and read volume one now that I know who Heath really is.

How I found Fear Agent:

I had just fallen back into comic books due to Walking Dead and was looking for something else to collect so I wasn't just buying 1 issue of something a month. I found Scalped and Northlanders which kicked off around then and loved both and saw in one of these series an ad for a book called FEAR AGENT. It's cover was an homage of an old EC comic (forgive me if incorrect, I saw the original cover it was based on in my uncle's basement when I was 9) and immediately impressed upon me that it was gonna be old school sci fi based. That's a win for me personally. But I never found it anywhere. A few months later, the 1st issue of this trade came out. It cleary had "#1" marked on it, but it was not the cover I remembered. I asked the dude who worked at the store if it was a reprinting or a mini series. He said "They messed up the friggin numbering because it's a flashback or something. Where the Hell am I supposed to organize it? I hate when companies do this" and walked away.

Well, I thought, that isnt really a BAD review, right? I'll give it a shot and bought it anyway cause if it was #1, it couldnt be too damning to begin here, right?

It changed EVERYTHING! I read the issue 5 or 6 times, pouring over every panel and word. It was damn near as perfect a comic book as I'd ever read. The art was amazing. The writing was loose and quick but razor sharp when it caught you. I told all my friends who had dug or still bought comics and they all worshipped it as well. I went back and bought every single issue my store had and then hunted down the ridiculously rare issues #2 and #3 so that I would own the whole series. I've since bought every issue, trade and would grab the omnibus when it eventually comes out. I can't say enough about this book and could go on for pages but I'm trying to keep this short.

I've read negative reviews of the earlier books as not having much character development or personality. I have NEVER found that to be true with FA but I did start with the flashback so I'm a different case. On the other hand, I didnt know anything about Indiana Jones the first time I saw him but by the time he dodged that giant rolling boulder and came face to face with Bulloch, he was so cool I couldnt care less and I feel that's how I would've felt had I picked up the original #1.

Regardless, get this book. Buy it now. Right now. Get your freaking credit card or pay pal or whatever and have this priority mailed to your door step. NOW! Don't have books 1 or 2? Doesnt matter. If your reading this and dont own this book yet, you're a fool. Have a friend who can't read? The art alone is worth just starring at. You won't be dissapointed.

I was a bit disapointed with this TPB after the excellent first two. It goes back to the first invasion of the Earth and explains a lot of plot points; namely why Heath and his wife broke up and why he left Earth, mainly. It also shows where the orange jumpsuits, rock packs, and spaceship come from.

The thing is, I never asked those questions. I figured Heath's reasons for leaving his wife and Earth would be eventually explained in a short flashback and I took everything else for granted. There's so much old-school sci-fi technology and weird alien races that aren't fleshed out that I took it for granted.

Instead we get four long issues showing the minor details. It seems like Remender is throwing a bone to the fans that demand explanations for every mundane detail instead of just getting on with the story.

To be fair, there is plenty of action, some comedy, and lots and lots of glorious monsters. There's also a huge shock that explains Heath's drinking. Tony Moore is back drawings and the art is glorious.

I read the first 2 issues of the comic and loved it. Good old time Scifi like Flash Gordon. Then I picked up this trade paperback, thinking it would be good to read before I tackled anymore of the series, since it covers the origin of the character. I would have loved it if it was just a good scifi story and not a liberal political statement. First you get the obligatory Anti-Bush statement. That was bad enough, but I could deal with one jab. What I couldn't deal with was the huge Anti-Military statement at the end of the book that takes jabs at our presence in Iraq in a not too subtle way, but then goes on to say the human "freedom fighters" were looked at as terrorists by the invading aliens. Another not too subtle jab at the US and their fight against terrorism. It gets worse, but I think you get the point. This writer owes me my money back. I'm so sick of picking up a book, CD or movie and getting a political statement thrown in my face. Don't buy this series, don't put money in this guy's pocket!!