She Blinded Me with Silence!
Storytellers: Viktor Bogdanovic and Dan Abnett
Art by: Viktor Bogdanovic, Mike Spicer, and Tom NapolitanoCover Price: $2.99
Release Date: April 25, 2018
Romita is out, and Bogdanovic is in! I've been anticipating this issue for a while now since Viktor Bogdanovic is one of the best artists at DC. When I heard that Deathstroke would be appearing in this issue, I got even more excited! So is this issue worth all the hype that I made up? Let's find out.
In an effort to ignore whatever momentum the previous issue had with its ending, we get some entirely unnecessary flashback scenes involving Honor Guest and Talia al Ghul. These scenes are meant to establish Honor's final mission as well as her first encounter with Deathstroke which, again, I don't find entirely necessary. I was comfortable enough with Deathstroke simply showing up, with some hints as to some previous altercation they may have had in the past.
Spliced in between these flashbacks are some Honor home-life scenes where she struggles to fix a washing machine. She also visits Aftermarket, who may or may not have appeared in a previous issue. Honestly, I just don't know if John Romita Jr's take on the character differentiated him so much from Bogdanovic's interpretation, but I think he did indeed show up. She offers some advice that I think will become the crux of the series: in order for Honor to really live a peaceful life, she'll need to end the Leviathan power struggle. If this is the case, it's nice to see Dan Abnett plant some seeds for that eventual reveal. And I'll end story discussion here.
This was an alright issue. Obviously, I've been anticipating Bogdanovic's arrival for a while. I was hoping he would make a bigger splash, which disappointed me until the final few pages which were simply drop-dead gorgeous. Bogdanovic and Mike Spicer make a hell of a team, and I just can't wait to read the next issue based on what's teased at the end of this one.
I mentioned it previously, but the momentum the last issue established is more or less dead. I was excited for things to pick up but the introduction of the flashbacks made this story a tad more complicated than it needs to be, despite how amazingly beautiful it looks.
Bits and Pieces:
For the first time, I can finally see the long-term potential of this series. I'm happy as long as Viktor Bogdanovic gets to draw the whole thing because this issue is so great to look at. The story feels a bit more complicated now but I'll have to read the next one to see for sure.
7/10
I was liking JRJR's art in the first three issues, but Viktor Bogdanovic's art is even better. I was looking forward to seeing Deathstroke interact with Silencer in the present, but the flashbacks provided information I wasn't looking for but like having and knowing that Honor knocked off one of SLade's clients in the past amplifies the conflict.
ReplyDeleteIt's no secret that I love organizations and stories about how they work and deal with internal conflicts, though, so it doesn't surprise me that what I thought was awesome may be seen as an unnecessary detour to others.
In any event, I was pleased with this issue and continue to be a fan of the series. I'm looking forward to seeing what Honor ordered from Aftermarket and how she deals with Deathstroke this time. I have a feeling that things will not go well for her in the next battle. I'm starting to think that enhanced healing must be one of her undisclosed powers.
Meh , Victor and Capullo can't draw faces . Everyone looks the same . Admit it .
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting comic. Breaks away from the mainstream super stuff and the surreal, yes there are powers involved but they appear Marvel style.
ReplyDelete