V Wars is insane this month. I have to admit that I keep wanting to give up on this comic, but the story keeps drawing me back. It isn’t a story I would normally like. With all the gore and the apocalyptic setting, I wouldn’t pick up a comic like this. But issue three blew me away. Let me say that the issue is pretty slow this week. Actually all of the V Wars’ issues have been slower. The comic isn’t about the setting, but about the story. Each week we are following someone different. I wasn’t fond of this setup, but I am getting into the swing of things as the months go by. This week we follow Taurus. He works for the United States Armed Forces. It seems like he is always on a mission to hunt down some vampires or Bloods. After surviving a surprise raid from the vampires, the US employs Taurus making him an officer in V-8. This is a special vampire unit. The weird thing about Taurus is that he isn’t your typical army brute. He has a heart. And wants some resolve between the Bloods and Beats, the humans.
Luther, working for the V-8 as an advisor now, takes a liking to Taurus. I completely understand their friendship because Luther has some issues with this war but does what he can in order to bring some good. Taurus is the same. Although some workers tell Luther not to befriend Taurus because they don’t want Luther to get attached to someone in such danger. Understandable since this guy has lost his family. Probably going to be a foreshadowing.
The issue entirely focuses on Luther. He even narrates the issue and Taurus’ story. The whole comic reads as the past, but you can’t really tell. I like how Luther narrates it and is very impartial on his views as well. It makes for a perfect fit. It looks like the comic is going to jump around on their characters. It also looks like they will be giving a lot of different sides on the issue, but they all pretty much are for a resolve. Yet nothing is happening. I almost wish we could see the radical sides of each. The vampires would be hard since their radical side literally involves beasts not be able to communicate, but there has to be some vampires that want all the humans to be changed. What would really be cool is if the comic could reason out the Beats side of things.
I am sure there is some interesting history behind it all too. I doubt the comic will touch on this since its focus seems to be the characters reactions instead of the actual issue. This is what makes the comic unique. When we usually have a setting like this we focus so much on the setting that we don’t get to know the characters. V Wars does the opposite. Besides for the blood being sucked, the comic could be dealing with any world crisis and people would have the same reaction.
If you haven’t jumped on this series yet from IDW, check this issue out. It isn’t a coincidence that Taurus has that name. It represents his character. You will see a big reveal this week, and although we will jump around characters, I think we have finally found a solid goal to go after.
Score: 4/5
Writer: Jonathan Maberry Artist: Alan Robinson Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 6/18/14 Format: Ongoing, Print/Digital