3 Guns is the sequel to 2 Guns (duh) that was released as a movie over the summer and starred Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg. During that release of the movie in August, Boom Studios announced that, 3 Guns would begin in August and run for limited time. The story has been aggressively moving forward to a conclusion and issue five is its latest, but not so much the greatest. I am still waiting to see things really “take off”. Don’t get me wrong, 3 Guns has action. It has betrayal. It has flip-flopping. It has trash talking. And, it has lots of “manly toughness” displayed by everyone in the comic, including our lady of the story (who is the third gun). Everyone here is just cool. So cool in fact, that it takes away from the already convoluted plot line which is a maze of underhanded deals, secret agents, traitorous behaviors, murders, captures, and escapes that it just feels like too much to me.
The crux of the story concerns a big arms deal that doesn’t go as planned and now money is missing, guns are missing, and everyone, good and bad want to know what happened and wants to make that person or persons responsible pay. Our two main characters encounter each other during the “deal” and things run from there. This takes place right after 2 Guns so they know each other well.
I was hoping that after reviewing issue four last month, that five would help to bring things into focus. Well, it did a little, but the best knowledge that I can take here is that you should keep your enemies close and your friends closer as they more than likely will become your enemies before all is said and done. It just seems that way as you read this book. I’m also being put off by the level of “coolness” portrayed here. These guys make James Bond look like he is on the sun. That’s how cool they are. Nothing seems to faze them. I have never seen two guys have guns pointed at their heads from people who could definitely shoot them, but they just stand there and talk smack. They have no loss of composure, no fear, no nothing. They are just cool. When they do show some emotion (as during a conversation phase between the “guns”), it is very basic and not very believable.
The art here is ample and even enjoyable for the issue. The bodies of all the characters are buff on the men and women and they seem to know it. Hey, they are cool. Even with all the danger around and millions of dollars at stake, the art has a smooth casualness that fits the coolness of the characters.
Steven Grant does pace the story very quickly and he has good ideas, but I think he just went too far in the “coolness” of the guys. I wish he would have dug a little deeper into the emotion department to make these three “guns” more believable.
It just isn’t my thing, but not everything is. If you are into hardcore adrenaline flowing testosterone filled action comics, then I recommend 3 Guns as it delivers on that side. If you are seeking a little deeper and emotional story to surround your heavy action story, then 3 Guns might not be what you are looking for. But there is another issue coming soon, so there is always the chance for some redemption here. I certainly hope so.
Score: 2/5
Writer/Creator: Steven Grant Artist: Emilio Laiso Publisher: Boom Studios Price: $3.99 Release Date: 12/11/2013