Either characters develop depth in a story or they stay flat. Our collective Pantheon of historical bit characters is enormous; these characters stand out because they are overwhelming representations of a single idea or feeling and in small roles that specialization is striking. Over a longer stretch of time, or say through a multi issue comic series, a flat character will eventually fizzle, and so will the interest of the reader. Issue #3 of Adam.3 is where the story’s cast is exposed for their flatness, and it didn’t hit me right away. It was on my second read through, the part where us fortunate readers get to meet Adam’s ex and baby-Beo mama Riva, that it all occurred to me. The story was feeling slow but I honestly couldn’t peg what it was. Meeting the almost silly stereotype Riva the second time through opened my eyes, and I cast that same look at the other main characters and it all made sense. None of these characters were any different than they were in the very beginning (complete with the family melodrama that dominated the first issue).

I could even be taken a step further! I’ve commented before about the quality and attention shown to each and every animal drawn in the book while also remarking about the ho-hum human character models. Well issue #3 continues in that vein (gotta appreciate consistency) but is scarce on the animal eye candy, outside of a couple specific diseased animal panels.

This issue feels like a regression in most every way, from the arrival and introduction of Riva to the continued odd usage of the fictional colloquial dialogue to the suddenly shallow plot (I had high hopes) to just the general lack of polish of all of these elements together. The outcome is a book that seems stale. It’s disappointing, there’s a chance for a large finish in the next book but I’m not holding my breath. It feels like Issue #3 is where the momentum of the story puttered out.

Score: 2/5

Adam.3 #3 Writer/Artist: Scott Kolins Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Price: $3.99 Release Date: 10/7/15 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital