Smiles

We3 was an interesting transition from the Cyber-Spaced theme novel of Nueromancer and the comic still kept in the ever fascinating structure of futuristic designs. Mecha’s(robots & androids)  and cyber-space seem to go along well when comparing the two terms, but I’m getting ahead of myself, so I’ll bring the main question forward. A single page from We3 that stuck out to me was page 25. There were two significant parts that drew my attention. The first would be the second panel where the screwdriver headed rat is about the skewer the frightened other rat. The picture of the frightened rodent dropping the nail almost evokes somewhat of a human reaction. Not to mention the follow-up results of the fourth panel which details the dying spasms of a human. I’m not sure if you have read any other comics and/or mangas(Japanese comics), but there scenes when a person is stabbed or impaled, instead of showing the bloody details (blame censorship), they show an off sketch of the person’s hand stretching out and a mist of blood spurting forth. The droplets of blood are also unique because the art style of the blood drops are layered and different from a usual sheet of blood featured in many other comics.

Also on the same page, of the third panel you see a pan up sketch of the man controlling the screwdriver rat while smiling with his teeth glistening.  This shows an almost feral nature and the teeth and crazy smile alone tells you that the controller is having too much fun. Ironically enough, humans are known to revel in war and carnage. Our long history of war can attribute to that, but back to the feral instincts of the smile marks the man as more of an animal. This similar scene s repeated over the span of the comic especially near the end, but this page marks the beginning of it. Later in the comic, there are multiple points that touch upon the fact that We3 are showing more human qualities while the humans are portrayed like rabid dogs on a suicidal hunt. Even when the scientists point out that We3 will soon become obsolete if they don’t take regular medications, the majority fail to see reason, much like a untamed animal. One last thing to add to the role swap of human and animals is that the smile is incredibly creepy, along with the unkempt facial hair that adds to the ferocity of a wild animal.

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