But by no means is all lost. The book redeems itself by blending these rather insipid messages into a tasty, unique and extremely well crafted dish. Army@Love is one of those rare creations that improves with each read, and this is due to two major factors: Veitch's thoroughness and originality. Many elements in the book are well-researched - technologically, psychologically, graphically - but also given a certain twist. For instance, Roy the Robot is, basically, a bomb-disposal robot enhanced with weapons and surveillance equipment, and Veitch based him both on existing platforms and designs for future models. But the way he communicates is all Veitch - flat computer-talk with painful attempts to sound human ("I am sorry to inform you that I am not at liberty to disclose that information at the moment"), adding neat emoticons at the end of paragraphs. There's something bizarrely familiar about this, while it's also absurd to the extreme. Delicious.
But this is just a taste of what, rather unexpectedly, turns out to be the book's real forte: the characters. They are the most believable I've encountered in a long while in any medium - Switzer both doesn't care about her husband and loves him deeply; Loman will swindle his own sister but risk his life to try and save a half-stranger; Stelaphane is optimistic and patriotic, and also destroys people almost absent-mindedly. These complex, beautifully human, characters are presented to us in stages and through their actions, and Veitch resorts to direct exposition only once, and even then, presenting it in the text-balloons while unique, aesthetic, combat action is taking place in the background.
And this is the final reason why Army@Love turns out to be such a good read: Veitch knows his craft. The layouts, backgrounds, pencils, word-balloons, pacing - all are top-notch, serving the artist's intent and his relationship with the reader rather than just demonstrating ability. Combined with Erskine's fleshy colors, Veitch has created a full-bodied, lush, reality - which it is a delight to sink into.
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