Posted in: Comics, Review, Titan | Tagged: dystopia, elgo, factory, sci-fi, Titan comics

First Impressions: Factory is Relentlessly Esoteric but Intriguing [#3 Review]

I'm not excited to already move the goal post on a review format I just began two days ago now, but Factory #3 is the end of a "cycle" and…well, downright impenetrable as a comic.

I meant to check this one out when it started, but I missed the boat. #2 came and went, but I decided to check out this issue anyway. I liked the premise: factories in a dystopian landscape essentially providing everything the local populace needs to survive.

This issue focuses on a lot of things. Gucco's people continue to experiment with telepathy. The townsfolk gather around a mysterious messianic figure named Quaid and attack Gucco's factory. There are pig people.

Despite the presence of named characters, Factory #3 centers around events. The panel framings highlight this by preferring sky views that show multiple characters as opposed to zooming in on people when outside of Gucco's compound.

This has an alienating effect, and that's not inherently bad. You don't feel attached to any one character or even a group of characters. You feel like a voyeur watching all of this go down from inside and outside the factory.

It's still intimidating as a first-time reader, because you will have the vaguest grasp on what the specifics and context of these events are.

Elgo's artwork is unique. Eyes are drawn to be somewhat alien in themselves. Characters are dumpy or rail-thin. The world is grotesque and only finds new ways to show that fact to you. The style is also oddly appealing in its grotesqueness. Plus, that warped and alien field matches the story. The color work centers around browns, yellows, reds, and other shades in that range, reinforcing that dirty and alien feeling.

Factory #3 is a unique experience. While I do not recommend checking this issue out as your first, as it will leave you feeling incredibly lost, I do suggest checking out the series. It gives you a unique feeling of a distant watcher observing strange and unsettling events go down in a ugly and alienating world.

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