REVIEW: Six-Gun Gorilla #3

What could be more awesome than a gorilla?  Why a gorilla with guns of course!  Six-Gun Gorilla has given us that and more with an original futuristic story.  Does this new issue continue to deliver the fun, funny and violent?  Continue on dear reader for your review!

SIX-GUN GORILLA #3
Writer: Simon Spurrier
Artist: Jeff Stokely
Letterer: Steve Wands
Colorist: Andre May
Editor: Eric Harburn
Publisher: Boom! Studios
Cover Price: $3.99

Previously in Six-Gun Gorilla: In the future the BlueTech-PV Corporation provides the convenient service of sending suicidal individuals into violent situations to die. Of course, they’re implanted with psychic TV cameras for a viewing audience. One such man, Blue, is caught in an extra-dimensional land having survived the battle and rescued by a gorilla with guns. Now, the rebels have captured Blue and things aren’t looking good.

IT’S SIX-GUN £$%&IN’ GORILLA!

Six-Gun Gorilla caught my attention with the first issue, giving me a serious story with an original concept I wasn’t expecting. Plus, the title character was insanely cool not just in looks but action as well. This issue expands the ideas and story, providing more background on the rebels and their war with Earth. Simon Spurrier does a great job of mixing humor with social commentary. When a child rebel says he’s been fighting four years all because he heard the Grayjackets started it, it’s not hard to see the statement being made. Plus, a corporation providing entertainment using those wanting to die is something I’m sure some evil suits would jump on given the chance. The way in which they acquire the tech for the psychic TV cameras is truly horrific. All the social statements are the best part of the book, examining what our entertainment obsessed culture has turned into. Spurrier has also done a wonderful job fleshing out Blue, turning him from a depressed individual to someone with a purpose, intellect and feelings. He introduces the notion of fiction to a Blister native as people have been fighting and wasting time watching other’s lives that no one has created any. All of these concepts and more hit the reader hard, but Spurrier delivers in a way that doesn’t feel forced as the surrounding action and humor entertains.

The one thing that is forced is the language. I’m not against cursing as I tend to curse like a sailor, but this book has been littered with it from the start. It occurs so much it feels excessive and at times distracting. The fact that it’s censored with the “$%@&” style doesn’t help as it creates a mad-libs reading experience. I would have preferred them be written or blacked out but even then it would be too much. Also, the title is Six-Gun Gorilla yet we’ve barely been introduced to him and it’s issue three of six. In fact, this issue the gun-toting ape appears in four pages. It’s such a great character and idea that I wish we’d see more of him.

ANIMATED BEAUTY

Jeff Stokely’s art is a joy to see. There’s so much motion and great design that it adds to the fun story. It’s a style I could see animated and appears so with the energy the images present. When action hits, it’s so spastic that the reader feels the chaos. As Blue tells his stories to Dora, the style changes, matching each one tonally. It was a great choice and added to the read. Everything feels as grand as the world, never confined or cramped. The coloring is done well too, giving the dry desert appearance when necessary and popping during the TV and fictional scenes. In fact, the art just may top the story, which is a feat in itself.

BOTTOM LINE: MORE THAN A £$%&IN’ GUN TOTING GORILLA

Six-Gun Gorilla continues to deliver a story more sophisticated than the title would have one believe. The ideas and statements made are stimulating and give the reader something to ponder about society. Stokely and Andre May’s artwork are the highlights, providing a fun, animated style. The cursing is excessive and our titular simian feels like a secondary character and barely seen. Still, Six-Gun Gorilla is giving much more than an ape shooting people and issue three continues to intrigue. Six-Gun Gorilla #3 earns 3.5 out of 5 stars.