This first-ever HARDWARE collection introduces inventor/engineer Curt Metcalf, who begins his adventures by breaking free of his employer, businessman Edwin Alva, who refused to share the profits from Metcalf's many creations. Discovering that Alva is tied to organized crime, and learning that no law enforcement agency would touch him, Metcalf created the high tech Hardware armor that enabled him to work against Alva.
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Dwayne McDuffie is the co-creator of the Emmy Award winning television series STATIC SHOCK and of Milestone Media, the most successful black-owned comic book company in history. In television, he was a Writer/Producer for Warner Brothers' JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED and is currently the co-producer/story editor of Cartoon Network's BEN 10: ULTIMATE ALIEN. A leading proponent of multiculturalism in media, Dwayne has created dozens of characters for comics, television and videogames, notably, Marvel Comics DAMAGE CONTROL and DEATHLOK II, and Milestone Comics ICON and HARDWARE. Dwayne is a multiple Emmy and Eisner Award nominee, and is the winner of the 2003 Humanitas Prize.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
man in the machine,
By wayne richard (silver spring maryland) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Hardware: The Man in the Machine (Paperback)
Hardware in trade paperback?....finally. Its been a long wait but the"high tech dreadnought" gets his overdue solo spotlight. Yes,Icon was a great series with a unique hero.Yes,the wildly popular static was a refreshing character with laugh out loud humorous dialogue,but it was Hardware the resident "bad boy of Dakota" that arguably was the crown jewel of Milestone media comics.Hardware made its memorable debut in 1993 during the so called "big boom" period in comics.Like many comics of that era Hardware was brash and uncompromising. That's where the similarities end.The 90's comic book anti-heroes were mostly big guns,bigger attitudes,big muscles and big breasted heroines that lacked depth and insight.In contrast writer/creator Dwayne Mcduffie crafted a story that was thought provoking,complex,and engrossing to the highest degree.Somewhat ahead of its time,Hardware reads even more relevant today.Scan across current tv landscape and you will see bits of Mcduffie's masterpiece.Young prodigy secretly plotting against their larger than life mentor and boss?, those elements are the backbone of Fx's twisty legal drama Damages.Cranky genius who takes a big delight in displaying the huge gap between his intelligence and everyone around him?,look no further than the critically acclaimed medical drama House m.d.This does not suggest Hardware influenced these brilliant shows,it does show how timeless the themes that were explored during the series were. Hardware introduces readers to Curtis Metcalf a genius level scientist/inventor who is both cocky and brooding at the same time.It is very apparent early on Curtis Metcalf is cut from a different cloth than Marvel comics'Tony Starks.Curtis benefactor is world renowned inventor millionaire Edwin Alva. Alva spotted Curtis brilliance at an early age and pretty much raised and nurtured Curtis in father like fashion Curtis eventually becomes Alva's top earner and inventor at his company.Without giving plot points away, I will say certain events transpire that cause a major rift between the two men.Out of this confrontation comes Metcalfs greatest invention, a mind boggling suit of armor which he dons called Hardware.So would be king is denied keys to the kingdom so,he destroys the kingdom,end of story right? Not quite.The fact that Curtis Metcalf is black and Edwin Alva is white must mean Hardware is basically a story about an angry black man seeking revenge against white,corporate America right? Not quite.In fact,not even close.Mcduffie weaves a taut narrative that never goes in any predictable direction.This is one of many reasons why Hardware is such a great read.The hallmark of any great comic series is strong characters to interact with the central character.Edwin Alva,Barraki young,Deacon Stuart,and cracked mirror image villain Deathwish rounds out great ensemble.There is a little something for everyone.If you love great writing,Hardware has it.If you love good action in your comic tales,Hardware has it.If you love science fiction based stories,hardware has it.All of this is backed by the gritty outstanding art of Denys Cowen.I can't say enough about how much I enjoyed reading Hardware.My only complaint is that although some capable writers wrote Hardware none had handle on the character like Dwayne Mcduffie.Towards the latter stages of its run the character became mostly attitude and lacked the charm and sarcastic wit that was infused by Mcduffie.Particularly irritating was the back and forth banter between Hardware and Dobie,ala Deathlok.Hardware's strength was that it stressed the man in the machine both figuratively and literally.Some of the writers that followed lost sight of that.But I digress.This review is for the first eight issues that are now available in trade paperback.If the first 30 issues are classic than the first eight are near flawless. Hardware in trade paperback?....about time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Corporate capitalism versus an armored avenger,
By
This review is from: Hardware: The Man in the Machine (Paperback)
This classic Milestone tale introduces readers to Hardware, a man disaffected with corporate corruption who uses his vast intellectual and technical resources to construct a weapon of war. Donning the name of Hardware he wages a relentless war against security forces, super powered adversaries, armored villains, and scheming executives. McDuffie's writing and Denys Cowan's illustrations create a vibrant and compelling tale that remains engaging today. Moreover, McDuffie's attempts to create a complex, contemplative character in the form of Curtis Metcalf (Hardware's secret identity) is well executed, compelling the reader to share the passion of his explosive quest for justice.
4.0 out of 5 stars
the cog in the machine - from vengeance to justice,
By H. Bala "Me Too Can Read" (Just moved to posh Marina Del Rey, CA - where if you drop a quarter, why, you just keep on walking) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: Hardware: The Man in the Machine (Paperback)
It's pretty fantastic that DC Comics has decided to fold the groundbreaking Milestone characters into its universe proper, as seen in the still fairly recent JLA arc "When Worlds Collide." Here's some helpful 411: Back in 1993 a brace of African-American comic book writers and artists got together under the Milestone Media banner and launched a series of comic books that promoted superhero minorities. Nod if you've ever heard of the Shadow Cabinet and Xombi and Icon and Static. And Hardware may be the most anti-hero of the bunch, the very portrait of the angry black man. And the guy had cause to be cheesed.
HARDWARE: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE collects this series's first eight issues and (re)acquaints us with Curtis Metcalf, scientific prodigy and wrathful nighttime vigilante. Sponsored by the tycoon Edwin Alva from the time he was twelve, Curtis has regarded Alva as mentor and friend. In due time, Curtis's genius would make him an invaluable asset to Alva Technologies, his many inventions raking in huge profits for the company. But when Curtis decides he deserves a bigger share of the bounty, Edwin Alva unveils his true colors, reveals his punk side. "You are not respected, Curtis," Alva remarks dispassionately, "You are merely useful." An incensed Curtis then learns that he will never be allowed to work for anyone else, that all his past, present, and future inventions are contracted to Alva Technologies. There's no universe in which this sort of betrayal doesn't sting. Eventually realizing that the powerful Edwin Alva stands above the law, Curtis cobbles together a hi-tech exo-skeleton, its comprised bits and pieces appropriated from this and that project at work. In his alter ego of Hardware, Curtis sets out during nighttime to sabotage Alva Technologies, to bring down the man. It soothes Curtis's karma some that Edwin Alva turns out to be shadier than expected, what with his being Dakota City's secret crime boss. And Hardware's efforts are taking its toll on the big bad. The ten months he's spent shutting down Alva's nefarious enterprises have cost Alva millions of dollars. And so Edwin Alva, all livid, steps it up. HARDWARE, written by the great Dwayne McDuffie and illustrated with grimy, street-level panache by Denys Cowan, was the first comic published by Milestone Media and was one of its cornerstone books. I think it may also have been the longest-running. Hardware debuted as something of a shock. I remember marveling at how remorseless this cat was, so caught up in revenge that he never flinched at taking the lives of any in Alva Tech's employ. Hardware was hardcore and brutal and was different from his more milquetoast contemporaries. I actually felt let down when McDuffie toned him down in the latter issues of this trade. At first I didn't know what to make of the new and repentant Curtis Metcalf. I guess he's easier to sympathize with than the kill-happy Curtis. A bastardization of second-hand doodads and doohickeys, the Hardware suit isn't near as sleek as the Iron Man armor. The tech isn't as advanced. But there's something so gritty cool to Curtis's gadgets and arsenal, and Hardware always did look visually arresting. I dig the plasma whip and the omni-cannons and the retractable blade. And I love the concept of the inertia winder, a grafity-defying device which retards Curtis's routine leap from an elevator shaft long enough that he can pick and choose as to what weaponry to attach to his costume. My one dis to the suit is that impractical chain hanging off his backwaist. He's lucky that sucker's never gotten caught on something. In the course of this trade, Hardware's corporate war will have him clashing against an army of Alva Tech goons, as well as the likes of the self-replicating Reprise and the hi-tech armored Indigo Team Commander. He also finds some free time to get mixed up in a hunt for a serial killer, this putting him in the crosshairs of another vigilante named Deathwish (an even more perverted version of the Punisher). I'm waiting on further volumes collecting Hardware's exploits. Maybe then I can talk about S.Y.S.T.E.M. and other super-villains and, down the pipe, Edwin Alva's startling turnaround. But check out HARDWARE: THE MAN IN THE MACHINE. It still holds up amazingly well. I, for one, regret not appreciating Dwayne McDuffie more when he was alive. The guy could tell a story.
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