WE3 Review: Grant Morrison’s Heartbreaking Sci-Fi
Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's brutal, beautiful animal-cyborg tragedy.
By Web Admin
Some comics take twelve issues to break your heart. WE3 does it in three. Written by Grant Morrison and drawn by Frank Quitely, this slim 2004 Vertigo miniseries follows a dog, a cat, and a rabbit — decommissioned military “animal weapons” — as they escape the lab that turned them into cyborgs and try to find their way home. It is one of the most technically daring comics ever published and, underneath the shrapnel and the chrome, one of the saddest. This is our full review of WE3: what it is, who made it, why it still stuns readers two decades on, and whether it’s for you.
Fair warning up front, because this one earns it: WE3 is extremely violent, and much of that violence is done to animals. If cruelty toward pets is a hard line for you, this is a book to approach carefully. Stick with us, though, and we’ll explain why the brutality is the point rather than the appeal.
What is WE3?
WE3 is a three-issue creator-driven miniseries published by DC’s Vertigo imprint in 2004, written by Grant Morrison (All-Star Superman, The Invisibles) and illustrated by Frank Quitely, with digital inks and color by Jamie Grant. The premise is deceptively simple: the US military has run a black program, “Animal Weapon 3,” that fits ordinary house pets into armored robotic suits and wires their brains for combat. When the program is scheduled to be decommissioned — meaning the animals will be destroyed — a sympathetic scientist sets them loose. What follows is a chase across the American countryside as three frightened, weaponized animals try to reach a place they only half-remember: home.
The three protagonists are Bandit (a dog, designated “1”), Tinker (a cat, “2”), and Pirate (a rabbit, “3”). Their cybernetics let them speak in broken, halting fragments — “GUD DOG?” “HOME. RUN NO STOP” — and those few words do more emotional damage than pages of dialogue could.
The story: a chase movie with a broken heart
Structurally, WE3 is a road-movie thriller. The military wants its assets back or destroyed; the animals just want to be safe. Morrison keeps the plot lean and propulsive, but every action beat is anchored to a single, aching question: what do we owe the creatures we use? Bandit, the dog, has been conditioned to crave approval, and his desperate need to be a “good dog” even while he’s tearing soldiers apart is the emotional engine of the whole book.
Because it’s only three issues — roughly 100 pages in most collected editions — nothing is wasted. There’s no filler, no subplot padding. It reads in a single sitting and then sits with you for weeks.
The art: why Frank Quitely’s layouts changed comics
If you only know one thing about WE3 going in, know this: the art is revolutionary. Frank Quitely uses the comics page to simulate the animals’ hyper-accelerated perception during combat. In the book’s most famous sequences, a single moment of violence explodes into dozens of tiny inset panels — a shattered, frame-by-frame view of speed and reflex that no film could reproduce. Your eye is forced to move the way a hunting animal’s attention moves.
Jamie Grant’s digital painting over Quitely’s pencils gives the whole thing a cold, metallic sheen that makes the rare quiet moments — a rabbit in the grass, a cat washing itself — feel almost unbearably tender by contrast. It is, plainly, some of the best sequential art of the 2000s, and it’s a huge part of why the book is studied in art schools.
The themes: technology, cruelty, and what we owe animals
Beneath the sci-fi surface, WE3 is an argument about the ethics of using living things as tools — a companion piece, in a way, to real debates about military animals, factory farming, and machine autonomy. Morrison never sermonizes. He simply shows you three creatures who were loved once, made into weapons, and then marked for disposal, and lets the horror of that speak for itself. The military characters aren’t cartoon villains; most are just following orders, which makes the whole apparatus feel more real and more damning.
Meet the cast
- Bandit (“1”) — the dog, pack leader, achingly loyal, desperate to be good.
- Tinker (“2”) — the cat, sardonic and self-interested, the pragmatist of the group.
- Pirate (“3”) — the rabbit, gentle and largely a support unit, whose fate is the book’s quietest devastation.
- Dr. Roseanne Berry — the scientist who frees them, carrying the story’s conscience.
Content warning: read this before you buy
We want to be direct. WE3 contains intense, graphic violence, including violence inflicted on animals and violence committed by them. There is body horror in the imagery of pets fused with machinery. The emotional cruelty — animals bred for love and then discarded — is arguably harder to take than the gore. This is a book for adult readers with the stomach for a tragedy. It is not, under any circumstances, a book for children, despite starring pets.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Genuinely innovative, era-defining page layouts from Frank Quitely
- Enormous emotional impact in a very short read
- Tight, waste-free storytelling — perfect for a single sitting
- A great, low-commitment entry into “serious” Morrison
Cons
- Extremely violent, including harm to animals
- Deeply upsetting by design — not a comfort read
- Short; some readers wish it were longer
How WE3 compares to other short sci-fi comics
If you’re weighing WE3 against other bite-sized science-fiction reads, here’s how it stacks up on length, tone, and price.
| Book | Creators | Length | Approx. price | Tone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WE3 | Morrison & Quitely | ~100 pp | ~US$18 | Brutal, tragic |
| Planetary, Vol. 1 | Ellis & Cassaday | ~160 pp | ~US$20 | Wondrous, pulpy |
| Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1 | Vaughan & Guerra | ~128 pp | ~US$15 | Adventurous |
If Morrison-and-Quitely’s collaboration hooks you, the natural next stop is Warren Ellis’s genre-mashing epic — see our Planetary review — and the wider field of the best sci-fi graphic novels.
Which edition should you buy?
There are a few ways to read WE3, and because Quitely’s art rewards scale, the format genuinely matters.
| Edition | Collects | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard paperback | Issues #1–3 | ~US$13 | First-time readers |
| Deluxe Edition (HC) | #1–3 + extras | ~US$25 | Seeing the art at full size |
| Digital | #1–3 | ~US$10 | Convenience |
If you can, spring for the oversized deluxe hardcover — the exploded battle sequences are far easier to read at scale, and the behind-the-scenes material on Quitely’s process is fascinating.
AmazonCheck price on AmazonIs WE3 a good place to start with Grant Morrison?
Yes, with a caveat. Morrison’s longer work (The Invisibles, The Filth) can be dizzyingly dense, but WE3 is emotionally direct and self-contained, which makes it an excellent, low-commitment introduction — provided the subject matter doesn’t put you off. Because it’s a complete, one-and-done story, it’s also a perfect pick for readers who want great comics without an ongoing commitment; see our roundup of the best standalone graphic novels. When you’re ready for more creator-owned experiments, our Indie & Image hub is full of them.
The verdict
WE3 is a small book with a huge reputation, and it deserves every bit of it. In three issues, Morrison and Quitely deliver a formal experiment that genuinely advanced the medium and a story so emotionally precise it can leave readers in tears. It is not an easy read, and it is not for everyone — but for adult readers who can handle its cruelty, it is essential. It sits comfortably among the best sci-fi graphic novels we recommend, and it’s one of the finest short comics ever made.
Frequently asked questions
How long is WE3?
It’s a three-issue miniseries, roughly 100 pages in most collected editions, and reads comfortably in a single sitting.
Is WE3 too violent to read?
It’s very violent, including harm to animals, and it’s designed to be upsetting. It’s meant for adult readers who can handle a genuine tragedy. If cruelty to pets is a hard line for you, consider giving it a pass.
Do I need to read anything before WE3?
No. It’s a completely self-contained standalone story with no prior reading required — one of the reasons it’s such a clean entry point into Grant Morrison’s work.
Is there a WE3 movie?
A film adaptation has been discussed on and off for years, but as of now the comic remains the definitive version. Read the book — no adaptation is likely to reproduce Quitely’s page layouts.
Next, explore more genre-bending sci-fi in our Planetary review, or browse the whole Indie & Image hub for creator-owned gems.
