Gears of War #9

So that's why there aren't any lady-Gears of War. It seems that in the race to provide soldiers to fight the Locust, women have been rounded up into birthing camps to provide the next generation of soldiers. It's a pretty rough take on the future in an already depressing world, but even worse, it makes the good guys lose a lot of credibility. Michael Capps and Joshua Ortega are building the official world of Gears here, so having what is blatantly described as a "rape-camp" as a known factor for the good-guys makes them considerably less "good." Again, it makes sense in the dark world we've gotten from the games, but I still don't like it.

The new lady Gear is Alex, who is as tough, smart, and daring as any of the other Gears we've met so far. She, Baird, and the Cole-train are re-assigned to Delta to check out possible survivors back at the old camp where Alex had spent her childhood. Her flashbacks are quite upsetting, and take up most of the issue. The issue closes with Delta facing off against what seems to be a bunch more survivors, tough gals who seem to have turned bad in their years since COG left them behind (think Mad Max or Doomsday for their design). We only get two types of Locust in this one, tickers and drones, but damn if I don't still get a kick out of seeing this great game-world expanded and explored.

Liam Sharp's art is still perfect for this. His brutal pencilling style works well in combat and his penchant for drawing hulking, muscled dudes couldn't be put to better use. Everyone looks on-model from the game too.

Fair