Leroy Douresseaux on RAGE #3

RAGE #3 (OF 3)
DARK HORSE BOOKS

SCRIPT: Arvid Nelson
PENCILS: Andrea Mutti
INKS: Pierluigi Baldassini
COLORS: Michael Atiyeh
LETTERS: Michael Heisler
COVER: Glenn Fabry
32pp, Color, $3.50

“After the Impact” Part 3 of 3

So Rage, Dark Horse’s comic book miniseries based upon RAGE, the upcoming first-person shooter game from id Software, has ended. I enjoyed it, but I was left wanting more post-apocalyptic shoot ‘em up. In some ways, this series is a bit thin.

This comic book series is written by Arvid Nelson (Rex Mundi) and drawn by Andrea Mutti. Entitled “After the Impact,” it is an original tale set in and an introduction to the world of Rage. I hope this duo returns if there is a second Rage comic book.

Rage takes place on an Earth that was struck by Asteroid 99942 – codename: Apophis – on April 13, 2037. Five billion people died within 24 hours, but a tiny fraction of the population survived the devastation by living in “burrowing cryo arks.” They emerged to find Earth a wasteland controlled by a global military dictatorship called the Authority. It is 2095 when scientist Dr. Elizabeth Cadence is revived. The Authority brings her to a research facility in a vast necropolis where she hopes to discover the full extent of the Authority’s deceptions.

As Rage #3 opens, Elizabeth has learned the Authority’s dirty secrets: that they murdered her husband and son and that they are responsible for the creation of the rampaging mutants. With her old colleague, Dr. Antonin Kvasir at her side, Elizabeth prepares for her final showdown with brutal Authority officer, Colonel James Casey.

If Rage the game is as fun to read as Rage the comic book, gamers will be quite satisfied. Writer Arvid Nelson’s tight script and Andrea Mutti perfect-match art should get them a second chance at returning us to the world of Rage. Overall, this is good military and monsters science fiction, although I wish there were more to this in terms of the length of the narrative.

I’m not into video games, but I enjoyed reading this video game adaptation in a way I never do when it comes to video game comic books. Are there any other good ones out there?

B+