WE3

by Grant Morrison

Other authorsFrank Quitely (Illustrator)
Paperback, 2014

Status

Available

Call number

741.5973

Publication

Vertigo (2014), Paperback, 144 pages

Description

Morrison and Quitely deliver the emotional journey of WE3-three house pets weaponized for lethal combat by the government-as they search for 'home' and attempt to ward off the shadowy agency that created them. With nervous systems amplified to match their terrifying mechanical exoskeletons, the members of Animal Weapon 3 (We3) have the firepower of a battalion between them. But they are just the program's prototypes, and now that their testing is complete, they're slated to be permanently decommissioned, causing them to seize their one chance to make a desperate run for freedom. Relentlessly pursued by their makers, the We3 team must navigate a frightening and confusing world where their instincts and heightened abilities make them as much a threat as those hunting them.… (more)

Media reviews

Publisher's Weekly
Morrison, perhaps the greatest writer in comics today, endows his animals with synthesized cyborg speech in which they express their most basic desires for warmth, food and love, as well as their attempts to process their unnatural capacities for violence. "Bad dog," Bandit repeatedly scolds
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himself after taking down yet another soldier. Quitely's art consists of lucid images of mayhem and sweetness that, in the most impressive spreads, fractalize to express the way these animals "experience time and motion differently." It's a groundbreaking and bravura performance. This is Morrison's most accessible tale ever, and one that is destined to be a classic.
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1 more
Grant Morrison is sometimes criticized for favoring crazy ideas over storytelling, or for being confusing. This book, with neither of those flaws, is thus his best introduction for a new reader.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Stevil2001
We3 is an odd little comic. It's about a government project to abduct three pets (a dog, a cat, and a rabbit) and wire them into killing machines so you can have a living soldier on the battlefield without it being a human being.  The project gets shut down, and the scientist ordered to terminate
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the animals actually releases them, forcing the government to come after them, all guns blazing.

There are some great things about this book.  Most of that is due to Frank Quitely's art.  The absolute best page is where we see a man being torn apart by a hail of bullets, and we are positioned on the opposite side of his body from the shooter, all the bullets coming right at us after having passed through him.  It is the most beautiful image of a man being torn apart by bullets that I have ever seen.  Indeed, the whole book is filled with oddly beautiful images of violence, which cause you to reevaluate what you think of violence more than any number of gruesome images ever will.  In fact, the beautiful images that are not overtly violent are still only possible because of violence, such as the three animals' star-filled escape.  Sure, it's gorgeous, and sure, it's a two-page splash emerging from a cramped grid of panels-- but a page earlier those animals murdered a bunch of people.

The notes at the end by Morrison and Quitely indicate that they think they're doing something innovative, and I don't fully buy it, but they're almost there.  At first I rejected the tiny inset panels, though a great technique unique to comics, as having been done by Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1985 (and though I like George Pérez, he's not exactly avant garde), but I realized that these are different. While Pérez's images show a number of moments all happening simultaneously to each other, Quitely juxtaposes multiple moments that don't actually take place simultaneously, but come on top of each other so quickly that they seem to. But I can't come up with an effect caused by the 3D panels that comics couldn't do before already.

The story itself is kinda obvious-- it really is any old "escaped animal" story but with violence and cyborgs.   The characters are mostly types, especially the human beings (but maybe that's the point).  We3 is formalistically complex, but not married to a story that makes full use of that complexity.
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LibraryThing member malundy
We3 is a graphic novel written by Grant Morrison with artwork by Frank Quitely. The story will remind you of The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams. Here, a dog, a cat, and a rabbit, formerly household pets, are "augmented" to turn them into super weapons or biorgs. There bodies are encased in heavily
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weaponized armour.Their intelligence has been increased and they are capable of rudimentary speech. The dog, W1 a brown Labrador formally known as Bandit, is basically a tank, the cat, W2, a ginger tabby known as Tinker in his former life, is a stealth assassin, and the rabbit, W3 aka Pirate, is trained to deliver mine and poison gas. They are the prototype animal weapons and are slated to be "decommissioned." The doctor, Roseanne Berry, who helped create and train them, helps them to escape. The dog, decides that they should "go home." The military gives chase - you can't have three lethal cyborg animals loose in the world. Much blood is shed before the story comes to a mostly satisfactory conclusion.

W3 ranks at the top of my list of favorite graphic novels. The artwork is done in a style somewhat like manga. Morrison and Quitely do a great job personalizing the animals. The dog still has the basic instinct to serve, to be a "gud dog." W1 is also poignantly despondent wen it thinks it had been a bad dog. The cat, W2, is not at all happy, is more than a little spiteful given the circumstances, and says things such as " Mmmen Stink! Bosss! Stink! Hungry" - think of a death-dealing Bucky Cat from the comic strip Get Fuzzy. The rabbit, would like some grass to eat.

Not surprisingly, the government does not come out looking all that good in this story and your sympathies are with the animals as they fight to survive and to reach the dimly remembered happy place, home. Animal lovers might find themselves a bit teary-eyed by the end.

W3 is definitely for mature readers.
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LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
I read this and it made me bawl and then I waited a decade and it made me bawl again. My son is two, and in that sense is waaaay too much like a talking animal for this not to shock and sicken afresh, and reinscribe the vegetarianism I've found again since he was born (and make me so happy he
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doesn't eat amials but also to worry about how it's gonna be for him when he finds out his grandpa does and the cute kitten downstairs and what's wrong with those fish in the monger's window). In that sense my reaction to this is probably on the soppy saddo side of the spectrum, but I just--they're a cat and a dog and a rabbit who have been made into killing machines with limited language skills due to brainial implants, right, and it's like an ultraloyal, ultraviolent Incredible Journey or Milo and Otis, and of course the government sends out a monster made of a bull mastiff to destroy them, and I think of it crunching the rabbit's superhelmet and skull and the rabbit going fix--tt- fi- *k, and how much like Emmett that is when he falls and scrapes his knee and sees it and wails "FIX! FIIIIIIIIIX!" and, ah, we're all just scared animals and it doesn't bear thinking about too much. Just eschew flesh, calm the jitters, and maybe read this again in a decade or so--it's too prettily coloured a comic book for me to want to have it in the house with a toddler, given the way Quitely turns everything that crosses his pen into mangled meat inside, but when he's 12 maybe I'll give him this one and check in with him after.
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LibraryThing member thebookmagpie
CRYING ALL THE TEARS.

This is just the saddest-happiest thing ever. I already knew the dog lived before I started (I made my boyfriend read it before me because I refuse to read anything in which a dog dies because it is JUST TOO SAD) but that didn't make it any less heartbreaking. Favourite thing
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about it was the balance of the characters - the humans weren't caricature bad guys, the animals did some pretty scary shit. I just... I loved this. The art is absolutely gorgeous as well, if a little graphic in parts (in particular, the second issue has some panels that made me feel a little nauseous). The cat was pretty excellent, thought it seemed quite true to what I imagine cats to think (I don't like cats much generally). And the poor bunny seemed to have everything bad happen to it.

Well worth a look if you like intelligent comics. Is gud comic.
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LibraryThing member RoC
Didn't really like this, though I have to say I'm not a huge grant morrisson fan and I don't really get the interesting visual tricks (Yeah, I know, I shouldn't be reading comics). Good way to occupy a rainy bank holiday though
LibraryThing member Magus_Manders
This is a great little book. It won't take you more than half an hour to read, but it will be an intense and heartfelt 30 minutes. The main characters are animals that have been turned into cyborg war machines, meaning that most of the dialog is in a sort of broken techno-English, but it manages to
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characterize these characters and their plight magnificently. It's highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member dr_zirk
WE3 is uninhibited comic book fun that is intelligent and thoroughly well-executed, further establishing Grant Morrison as one of the leading lights of the field. And Frank Quitely is no slouch either - his illustrations are fully worthy of Morrison's compelling story, and some of the visuals in
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WE3 are truly stunning. Quitely's ability to evoke both motion and emotion reveal an unusual level of talent that has been given free rein in WE3. There are some full-page and double-page panels in WE3 that rank with the best of the medium, and simply qualify as great art, regardless of the particular medium for which they were originally created. As with Morrison's Seaguy, WE3 succeeds by reveling in the joy of comic art, and being fun, exciting, intelligent, and visually stunning all at the same time - great stuff all around.
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LibraryThing member Emidawg
This was recommended to me for a "beginner" graphic novel. It was very visually detailed as the characters, cyborg animals, don't do a lot of speaking. The end was very touching and made me a bit teary. I second this as a good starter for getting into graphic novels, they aren't all just for kids!
LibraryThing member kristenn
Waited for the trade on this, and even went back and forth on whether to read it at all. I knew it would be depressing as heck. I also knew that although Morrison is an excellent writer, his stories are not always my cup of tea, and I like Quitely almost never (although he's also very talented).
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But I did enjoy this. A lot. It wasn't as relentlessly dark as I expected, and Quitely draws animals much better (or at least more realistically) than he draws people. Considering the fantastical subject matter, the animals' personalities are also remarkably realistic. Not as much anthropomorphism as you usually see in this sort of story. It's still a very emotional read, but well worth it. Much shorter than it could have been, for no obvious reason.
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LibraryThing member providencia
This was recommended to me by a great comic store owner. He left me with the warning, "You're going to ask for the next one and there isn't one. This is it.". I really wanted another issue after reading We3. Just as We3 learned that your life isn't always what you want it to be but, if you
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persevere and get lucky, life is what you get.

Be thankful for this story. It's not to be missed.
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LibraryThing member danconsiglio
Vicious look at at the responsibility of weapon makers over the damage that their creations can cause. I don't trust my cat anymore. Seriously gruesome violence with some neat little visual tricks.
LibraryThing member ACGalaga
I think my friend stole this from me. I want to read it again!
LibraryThing member ragwaine
This was way too short. Cool idea, great art but I think the whole thing could be gotten through in less than 20 minutes.

Very graphic, kinda gross. Definitely touching if you're an animal lover (I am). But I think to have a real impact it should have ended differently.
LibraryThing member clfisha
Stunning graphics and eye popping layout, combined with a short hard hitting, visceral story of animal rights and dastardly military experimentation this is a slim comic collection worth seeking. Slightly silly premise at 1st of household pets (a rabbit, cat & dog) enhanced, wrapped in exoskeletons
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and weaponised to the extreme, when they are decommissioned they seek to escape but are relentlessly pursued by a terrified military; think what the media could do with a story like that.

This is not an anthropomorphic tale, refreshingly even though trained to speak they are animalistic. Much more interesting and provides more of an emotional punch in what is very much an action comic. A good comic but what made it a great one are the gorgeous and eye popping "3D" graphics; as the super fast characters break out of panels and scatter-shot detail overlays gunfights capturing the fast, bloody chaotic detail of battle. There are quite a few techniques here and its absolutely fascinating eye candy, especially since it was very new to me.

Recommended to comics fans.
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LibraryThing member AlCracka
If anyone starts banging on about how Alan Moore is the greatest comic writer who ever lived and no one else can touch him, Grant Morrison is how you shut him up. This is (very arguably) Grant Morrison's best work. Certainly the best introduction to him, as it's self-contained and not
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incomprehensibly weird.

Be warned: there are adorable kitties and bunnies doing terrible things. I loaned this to a friend of mine and she wouldn't talk to me for a week because she was too traumatized by it. Seriously, she was actually angry with me.

Someone named Eva (below) called this "The Incredible Journey meets Robocop," and that's such a perfect description that I had to rip it off. Yes, Eva: that's what this is.
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LibraryThing member Carl_Hayes
Yes, I'm very late to this one. Liked the art a lot and the general story idea. Thought it was pretty silly at times, especially considering how graphic the war violence was. The ending was totally Hollywood. Where was John Wayne? It deserved a more tragic, brutal ending. Again, loved the art. My
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cat used to kick ass like that.
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LibraryThing member blake.rosser
I happened to be in the library a day after this got randomly recommended to me, so on a whim I decided to see if they carried it. Surprisingly they did, which is a coincidence perhaps stranger than the strange timing of my library visit in the first place, at least in relation to the
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recommendation (I usually only go every couple months or so). So I took it out, going to check it out, but seeing how thin it was I decided to read it right there, and it was worth it.

I have to admit that when I checked the book description on goodreads the premise just seemed ridiculous and I had little desire to read it. So probably the strongest praise I can give the book is that it works. Indeed it worked so well that I wanted more, which is my chief complaint. It's really a short story of a graphic novel, and like most good short stories there are parts so intriguing that you wish they could have been fleshed out more. I could have stood for the whole thing to be fleshed out more.

But the simple story was good and gripping, and the drawings were wonderful. I'm a graphic novel novice so I don't really know what I'm talking about, but one thing that stood out to me was the snapshot quality of the pictures. Not in the sense that they were so clear and realistic, but rather that they depicted mere moments in the proceedings, each building onto the last, as if you were flipping through a photo album. I don't think I'm doing a very good job describing it so I'll stop, but suffice it to say that it was captivating and unique. And gory, quite gory.

I would definitely recommend this to people with odd taste in movies and literature. It's not necessarily a go-out-and-buy-me type book, but it's a great library read, or maybe if you're stuck in a mall and have a half hour or so to spare while you're waiting for a movie to start, or waiting for your table at the restaurant, or something else like that.
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LibraryThing member All_Hail_Grimlock
Grim little story
3:32 pm 22 October 2015
We3 - Frank Quitely, Grant Morrison
This is a grim little story about animal testing, taken to the extreme. Morrison made me weep for these three animals - the titular WE3 - more than once. It's a thoughtful examination of what man will do in his own name, and
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in the name of war.

And while it was excellent, and I blew through this, I can't really write a long review. This whole damn thing was depressing. The ending was a bit uplifting, but I'm left with another wave of grief thinking over this story.

I'd definitely suggest it, but not if you can't stomach violence against animals.
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LibraryThing member BooksOn23rd
I held off writing this review as I was hoping that time would relieve some of the unpleasantness of my experience with We3. It didn't. Maybe all the hype about this graphic novel had me expecting something different. On the plus side, most of the artwork is well done, but I am disappointed
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overall. First, it is way too gory. Thanks, but I don't need to see every sinew. Second, I don't like the sections of tiny views where you can't really tell what you are looking at most of the time. The ending is strange and unsatisfying. We3 just doesn't work for me. Sorry, but I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.
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LibraryThing member rivkat
Mechanically and genetically enhanced dog, cat, and rabbit escape the military experiment that’s been running them and try to find home/peace in a world that just wants to kill them. I’m verbally oriented enough that this word-light version of the standard tale didn’t do it for me, especially
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with all the blown-apart limbs etc. involved in the military tech.
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LibraryThing member poppycock77
I loved this graphic novel, especially the language the animals use when they speak. My only complaint is that it was too short!
LibraryThing member roses7184
So... yeah. Let me premise why I picked this up in the first place, shall I? Somehow we got on the topic at work about animal cruelty. I don't remember how, to be completely honest. What I did remember, was that my comic loving co-worker mentioned that Grant Morrison had done a very brutal comic
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all about that topic. He warned me that it was sad, dark, and violent. Of course, being a curious person, I had to go and find out what he was talking about.

He was right.

This is a story about a secret project that turns common household pets into murderous, rampaging mech-monsters. From the very beginning, I knew that this book was going to hit me hard. If you have difficulty dealing with animal cruelty? Stay away from this book. It's bloody. It's violent. It's so, so very sad. I found myself completely wrapped up in the story of these three pets, of We3 and their devastatingly bleak existence. I wanted to stop reading, but I kept reading and hoping that the ending would work out for the best.

Whew. Anyone who says that comics can't be used to tell important stories, is dead wrong. What better way to make a point than to illustrate it in broad, vivid art?
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LibraryThing member Lucky-Loki
A superbly upsetting and yet oddly heartwarming tale of three experimented-on house pets turned killing machines. Infinitely creepy and horrid but somehow deeply touching. You have to have a strong stomach both for visual violence and (perhaps more importantly) brutal pyschological concepts to read
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this, but if you can handle it, I'd warmly recommend it being worth the journey.
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LibraryThing member devilwrites
The premise: ganked form BN.com: Available for the first time in a deluxe hardcover format, a powerful tale from the ALL-STAR SUPERMAN team of Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, packed with nearly 40 pages of bonus material!

Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely deliver the emotional journey
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of WE3 -- three house pets weaponized for lethal combat by the government -- as they search for “home” and ward off the shadowy agency that created them.

With nervous systems amplified to match their terrifying mechanical exoskeletons, the members of Animal Weapon 3 (WE3) have the firepower of a battalion between them. But they are just the program’s prototypes, and now that their testing is complete, they’re slated to be permanently “decommissioned,” causing them to seize their one chance to make a desperate run for freedom. Relentlessly pursued by their makers, the WE3 team must navigate a frightening and confusing world where their instincts and heightened abilities make them as much a threat as those hunting them -- but a world, nonetheless, in which somewhere there is something called “home.”

My Rating: Worth Reading, with Reservations

I feel like I need to read this again to really absorb the story and how the art impacts the story. When I originally finished, I was left wondering, "That's it?" I did quite like the ending, but I feel there were some holes in the story as well, holes that kept the story form being as strong as it could have been. Of course, stereotypical bad men doing bad science don't help that either. Still, it was interesting, but it was SHORT and hyper-violent, and if you're the kind of person who really gets torn up over cruelty done to (or by) animals, you may want to pass on this.

But it is an interesting story, one I'll probably read again, now that I now how it ends. Still though, I feel like I should've gotten more.

Spoilers, yay or nay?: Nay. It's a really short graphic novel (made up of three individual issues), so it seems a crime to spoil something this short. The full review may be found in my blog, which is linked below. As always, comments and discussion are most welcome.

REVIEW: Grant Morrison's WE3: THE DELUXE EDITION

Happy Reading!
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LibraryThing member runningbeardbooks
Wow. This packs a punch to the gut.

Language

Original publication date

2004-08-25 (issue #1)
2004-10-27 (issue #2)
2005-01-19 (issue #3)

Physical description

144 p.; 9.9 inches

ISBN

0019
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