Hardware: Season One #1

Hardware: Season One #1 puts a modern-day spin on Milestone's armored antihero and features the return of one of his co-creators. If you enjoyed Static: Season One or are looking to get more into Milestone comics, this series is a great starting point. Read Full Review

All in all, like Icon, Hardware's debut issue wasn't too different from the original run back in the day, but I'm sure as things really get going, things will take a few unexpected turns. I know I'm here for the ride. Read Full Review

Metcalf has the power and even in this first issue the opportunity to end Alpha every single act of violence. Instead, Metcalf attacks Alva's finances. He plans to destroy the vaunted reputation and wealth of the biggest global playmaker in the game. This is a story of revenge in a changing landscape of a country and a world. It's a slow burn that will consume all it touches and leave behind only the fertile soil made better for seeds to grow. Read Full Review

Cowan does brilliant work with the art in this issue. There is a gritty, dark element to the art that perfectly matches the story and draws you in visually with the action and danger. Read Full Review

Hardware pairs a new creative writer with the title's original artist. This new creative pairing retains a hero as relevant and meaningful as when it was created. That is a sign of a lasting superhero. Read Full Review

Hardware: Season One #1 is another solid start for the Milestone line. The issue nails its tone and delivers a frenetic opening that has the reader along for the ride. Even when the art is a bit confusing, it's still engaging with a beautiful style that nails the issue's tone and narrative. Milestone is quickly shaping up to be everything we'd hope and this is a prime example of what that is. Read Full Review

Starting its tech-hero off with the whole world hunting him down is an intriguing start, but the stakes are high and this first issue is a strong start all-around. Read Full Review

Despite a rocky beginning, Hardwares creative team knows what theyre doing and are aiming to tell an excellent story of revenge and redemption. Brandon Thomas, Denys Cowan, Bill Sinkiewicz, Chris Sotomayor and Rob Leigh have come together to continue the upward mobility of Milestones new titles. Read Full Review

A poignant and energetic return, Hardware Season One #1 is a mixture of righteous fury and a hunt for justice in comic form. Read Full Review

Hardware Season One is a good start that feels like an homage if you've read the original but introduces new readers to the character in a meaningful way. Like any adaptation, this book does things a little differently, which should satisfy purists who want something a bit new, but loved the original. Read Full Review

As before, this wonderful work frames the Milestone universe in its best possible light and does the impossible: presents a new direction from an older story, done with modern dynamism. Read Full Review

Once Thomas gets a better handle on the script and explains the concepts more, Hardware is going to join the other Milestone titles as monthly must-read books. Read Full Review

The story and plot itself isn't anything to write home about just quite yet, another street-level superhero trying to take a one-percenter. Read Full Review

Toonstrack

Aug 12, 2021

These new Milestone books are already proving to be some of the most promising stuff DC is putting on the shelf. I was only originally going to go for Static but now its clear I'll need to consider following that, Icon and Rocket, and this. This starts from very much the same place Static did, the big band which erupted out of a civil rights protest. The book wastes no time getting us to the action. Curtis Metcalf has been framed, betrayed by the man who was once his mentor.... and now with nothing left ot lose he operates as a wanted man, endlessly pursued by the feds. The action sequences are hard hitting and the story is very easy to follow. The characters abilities are well displayed. The narrative is deceptively simply, making sure to explore the dynamics of his betrayal by a powerful white man and his choices as he has to navigate being labeled a criminal, even a terrorist by the public. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission. Penciller Denys Cowan is a living legend, and inker Bill Sienkewicz is one of the best to ever do it and one of my personal favs. This pair was fantastic on the Question black label book about a year ago, and they haven't lost a beat. Sienkewicz' extensively textured and deliberate inks lain over Cowan's impactful, detailed figure work and faces give this book a gritty, intense aesthetic perfect for the character. Sotomayor on colors brings great vibrance to the work with heavy use of warm oranges, vibrant reds and yellows for the character and his backdrops, as well as the many explosions we see. Overall there's a lot to like about this opener. It sets up a personal in a compelling way and looks good doing it. Do yourself a favor and get a copy. I want this Milestone thing around for the long haul. more

maljoss

Dec 17, 2021

This was great. They nailed the voice of the character, and the look - well, it's Denys Cowan. What more needs saying. Of all the Milestone books, this was the one I was most looking forward to. I was not disappointed. Looking forward to seeing where this goes.

I Review Comics

Feb 02, 2022

Hardware: Season One: #1 - Not Just a Black Iron Man Writer: Brandon Thomas | Pencils: Denys Cowan | Publisher Milestone/DC Comics Review: I didn’t read many Milestone comics in the ’90s. During the Milestone heyday I had limited income and except for Static none of the character designs stood out to me and the diversity of the cast of heroes wasn’t enough to pull me away from X-Men or Daredevil. I’m older now with a little more disposable income and figured I’d check out the 2021 incarnation of Milestone. First impressions can make or break a title and although the Black Iron Man tag fits Hardware, the character isn’t a reskin or ripoff. Curtis Metcalf is a prodigy with a humble upbringing. This catches the attent ion of Edwin Alva, who gives him all of the resources necessary to succeed in life. He also sees Curtis as an investment, which eventually bears fruit as he introduces tech innovations that could potentially change the world. The book flashes forward to the present as Curtis has been framed for initiating the ”Big Bang”. The event which creates the Dakotaverse. The rest of the comic pits Hardware against Alva and his forces. Brandon Thomas does a great job setting up this series. I have a nice understanding of what Hardware can do in a fight. The motivations of lead characters are also laid bare in this issue. I appreciate that the creative team didn’t drag the setup for the series out several issues for a trade. This is almost unheard of in the current landscape of mainstream titles. The design of Hardware is a unique, powerful, and imposing figure among modern superheroes. The character design isn’t my favorite but it works and Denys Cowan’s frenetic style makes blends perfectly with the script which is already engaging in its own right. The only knock I have for the issue is how race is used in the issue. The race of the leads is pointed out several times in the story. My problem is that the racial element is obvious. Comics are a visual medium and the power dynamic between Metcalf and Alva is obvious. The narrative would be even stronger if readers were able to come to these conclusions for themselves, sometimes less is more. The racial angle also feels out of place because both characters acknowledge the Surrogate Father/Son relationship between the two. As a father in a blended family, I’d never look at my child as my “White” kid in any serious way. The material would work better if the rift was a break in between Father and Son. Aside from the current year gripes, Hardware: Season One #1 is a solid introduction to Milestone and this character. The issue is a lot of fun and I’m excited to see where this story goes. There is a lot of interesting material here and the action is top-notch. You can do a lot worse. This is a lot more interesting elevator pitch of a Black Iron Man story. In Short: Hardware Season One: #1 delivers a lot of action and intensity. giving us a new take on an Iron-Clad classic. more

Fracadactyl

Aug 11, 2021

Full disclosure, Curtis wasn't what drew me to this title the most, it was Alva as a villain. Alva is someone with the discipline(?) and resources to believe his own lies. Unlike the original Milestone comics, this version can't distinguish family from business and genuinely believed in Curtis like a wayward son. But it's those polar opposites in treating one like the other that he's able to pull off his schemes. One where instead of firing or humiliating Curtis, he has plausible deniability in hiding the fact he was a bad boss and is trying to make a return on his investment with Curtis. It also adds another layer to the Big Bang. It was started not just because of police mishandling their equipment but as a petty feud between people who would never see eye-to-eye. And a lot of people got caught in the crossfire because of Alva. Makes crossover potential all the more higher. more

Raging Rainbow

Aug 19, 2021

Reviewing the first issue of the new Hardware series. As with the other series we've seen from the Milestone Returns effort from DC, this is the return of a character from the original line of heroes. Hardware is a bit of a mix between Batman and Iron Man while not adhering to closely to the trope either has made popular. This first issue was not perfect, but it definitely helped the reader understand what's going in the Milestone books as a whole a little better. https://youtu.be/qY8QEhhhqAI

Simon DelMonte

Aug 10, 2021

Bringing back Cowan is a great idea, since the energy of the original - my favorite Milestone book - is there. Even if the storytelling feels a bit rote after just the one issue.

Psycamorean

Aug 16, 2021

I wish I could say I liked this more, as the two other Milestone books have been pretty good so far, but this fell a little flat for me. I think it went on too long, and wasn't well structured. Like, I wasn't sure which side is telling the truth regarding what went down between Metcalf and Alva, and I'm not sure if that's intentional or not.