Originally released as a three part miniseries, done in a flipbook style (which Ellis also did with Tokyo Storm Warning / Red) the two short stories Reload and Mek show a simplified version of what makes Warren Ellis' stories great.
The story of Reload begins with the assassination of the President of the United States and continues to get more intense. The assassin is incredibly well trained, and someone in the government seems to be covering for her. (And it's not the reason you think.) One secret service agent is stuck between stopping the assassin, who continues to attack government agencies, and the government he's trying to save.
Despite the short length of the story, Ellis manages to drop clues as to where he's going, and gives enough characterization that you care about the people involved.
Mek is a story about people augmenting their bodies with mechancial enhancements. Some Mek is used only for physical enhancements, on the level of tattoos or piercings, and some Mek is used for augmentation, such as enhanced eye-sight, or having a cell phone in your head. But then there's Bad Mek, military enhancements like guns, which are being obtained illegally and the results are violent wars between gangs and organized crime.
Enter Sarissa Leon, who helped start the Mek movement as a way of enhancing culture. She moved to Washinton D.C. to continue to lobby for the rights of Mek users, but the violent death of her ex-boyfriend has brought her back into a subculture which barely recognizes her.
The story is obviously intended, at least partly, to be a metaphor for the drug culture. What started as something that artists and hippies used to expand their minds has become a source of violent crime, drug abuse, and death.
Again the characterization is excellent, and despite the short space, Ellis manages to create a decent mystery.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the art work. On Reload Paul Gulacy and Jimmy Palmiotti illustrate thrilling action sequences. I can hear the gunfire and the explosions even though no onomatopoeia appears on the page. On Mek Steve Rolston and Al Gordon capture a wonderful techno-punk look for the characters, sort of goth cyborgs. And the cityscapes, while simple, are excellent, with varied sizes and shapes to the buildings, something sorely lacking in most comic book artists' repotoires.
This book shows all of Warren Ellis' strengths. His ability tell a good story, his characterization, his counter-culture ideals.
I read this book in one sitting, but I'm definately going to go back and read it again.