When you think about book reviews, the equation has one constant: a book, which ultimately contains language. It is hard to even consider a graphic novel a book, because of its limited use of language. Graphic novels tell their stories through not only text, but also pictures. "We3" is a graphic novel by Grant Morrison, which tells the story of three animals who were scooped up to become government experiments; to become war machines.
The animals in the graphic novel are illustrated to look like everyday, realistic house pets. It leaves the reader with a sinking feeling that these animals will drive the story in an emotional way. And the animals do just this.
Conceptually, the thought of a half-dog/half-robotic killing machine does not warrant any emotional response from me. But, Grant Morrison does an excellent job of forcing the reader to become invested in the creatures. One way that he does this is by including “copies” of the flyers looking for the pets. They remind the reader that these animals once belonged to people as pets.
Another way that Morrison makes the reader feel attached to the animals is through the characterization of them. The animals, even when they fully mechanized, always simply follow instructions. They are never malicious in their killing. Once they free themselves from the laboratory, they start on a “Homeward Bound”-style quest to find their homes. But, behind this cutesy voyage to find “home,” "We3" is a violent, graphic story. I think that is what makes the story so successful. It is not sugary, sweet, and cliche. It is a story of human neglect in the form of experimentation. The government used these animals as killing machines to clean the blood from human hands. There are without a doubt some nuances about animal cruelty hidden within the pages of "We3."
The illustrations often took the perspective of the animals, which allowed the readers to get a bird's eye view of the story. Part “Homeward Bound," part “Frankenstein,” this graphic novel pulls on the reader’s heartstrings and you feel for the animals. In general, I read to get an emotional response and I did not think that would be possible with a graphic novel. However, "We3" proved me wrong. Graphic novels can be just as tearjerking as a conventional novel.
