Insurrection v3.6 #2 – Review and Preview

Welcome back to Sparta, where the Glomrat and Retsu are still battling for control of Sparta's valuable resources to further their respectable enterprises. After triggering a Retsu trap in a newly acquired mine, Hal and his Aut entourage fight their way out thanks to Tim, the most efficient Aut ever made. Once out of the mine the group tends to their wounds. Aut unit #6 has lost his leg and Hal has lost his right hand. Now in the medical bay, Hal is recovering with his freshly cloned right hand. By his side is Hal's wife and Director Goss.

In an act of generosity, Goss lets Hal and his family borrow one of his service Auts to help them look over their son. Meanwhile the damaged Aut series 6 is receiving a new leg so he'll be just in time to fight incoming Retsu attack. As the squad of Auts prepares, Tim shares his regret with another Aut about going into the mines in the first place and if it was the right thing to do. At that moment, the squad learns that six attack pods are inbound. As everyone prepares, Tim witness his fellow Aut stop to pray before heading out to battle.

Still getting used to his cloned hand, Hal is greeted by Director Goss's Aut-servent, Serene. She is the very same unit that Hal was captivated by on his first day on Sparta. Now prepared for a formal gathering, Hal and the rest of the Sparta bureaucrats dine and prepare to watch the battle on monitors as it takes place just miles away. At the battle Tim produces an on the fly tactical move that wins them the battle. Tim and his Auts are successful in thwarting the enemy attack and return to base. After the fight Aut #6 returns to his love, Aut-servent Serene, just in time to see a drunken Hal kissing her. At that very moment Hal's wife shows up creating a small scuffle. In the mess Aut #6 punches Hal's wife. Angry as hell, Hal wants the rouge #6 decommissioned, not only that he wants all Aut series 6 decommissioned and he wants Tim to pull the trigger.

Blake Masters and Michael Alan Nelson (28 Days Later, Hexed) continue their generic Sci-Fi tale laced heavily with an under lining social commentary. The real surprise in this book is how did it manage to make the narrative read more drier than the first. Tim is still as interesting as a rock in the road and Hal comes off more like an insane dictator than hard working family man hustling for some clout. Some panels have him repeatedly spouting how the Auts are tools and then others have him complaining about them. Yet he lusts after one. Okay, we get it you're the bad guy.

Another thing, there is no care or compassion towards the Auts as the reader. One prays, one has a girlfriend and one gets sad if his friend dies? They truly are more human than we. There needs to be a little more push to round these characters out. I wanna like Tim, but him just being the best of a bad thing doesn't make the reader want to cheer for him. Michael Penick (G.I. Joe Reloaded) does his part with the art but there is no way his shoulders are broad enough to carry this narrative on his own.

Well, drab and uninteresting story aside, it's the characters that are the real hindering force in Insurrection v3.6.  There's nothing to them. They all read more like stereotypes than people. The only part that was interesting was when Hal's wife nibbled on a knuckle sandwich from Aut #6. So perhaps that's what this series needs, less empathy for soulless androids and more people catching random haymakers.

Overall Score – 2.5/10
*Try it if you like Sci-fi* 

Here's the preview to try for yourself!