The unhinged steampunk epic Automatic Reload showcases a violent world of mayhem, love and redemption.
Soldier Mat Webb suffers from intense PTSD after shooting a child and losing an arm in a bomb blast during his last deployment. Rather than curl up in a ball and hide, he severs his remaining limbs and replaces them with the latest in military weaponry. His arms and legs become grenade and rocket launchers, and his reflexes become lightning quick. Mat hires himself out as a mercenary, accepting only righteous jobs. But fighting bad guys requires expensive and constant upgrades to his technical enhancement, and funds are low.
When a trusted friend coerces Mat into accepting a quick gig paying $3 million to supervise a team of cyborgs transferring a freight container to a transport vehicle, Mat readily agrees. He just can't look inside the container. But he and the team are attacked during the handoff, and Mat hears cries for help from inside the container. Mat looks inside and finds Silvia, a genetically altered human, shackled to an operating table. Mat rescues her and discovers the group behind Silvia's transfer is a sentient computer conglomerate desperate to replace humanity. Suddenly everyone involved points their weapons at Mat and Silvia, who must now destroy them all--or be destroyed themselves.
Ferrett Steinmetz's pacing and visceral action sequences scream for the attention of graphic novel fans. But the most striking element is what's at the heart of the story: two emotionally damaged people find enough commonality and strength in their weaknesses to fall in love. --Paul Dinh-McCrillis, freelance reviewer