Written by: Joshua Williamson
Art by: Leomacs
Colors by: Jason Wordie
Letters by: Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
Cover art by: Sam Wolfe Connelly
Cover price: $6.99
Release date: July 12, 2022
Rogues #3 finds Snart under Gorilla City police interrogation when he's offered a deal he can't refuse. When the Rogues' greatest heist finally begins, everything goes according to plan until it doesn't, and when things go wrong, they go spectacularly wrong.
Is It Good?
Holy #%&$! If you're going to a DC Black Label book, this is how you do a DC Black Label book. Nothing about this story makes sense in current continuity, but it all makes sense in one possible future where the Rogues decide to go in for one last score that will set them up for life or end their lives.
The bright spot of this issue is everything surrounding the plot and the character work by Williamson. in several ways, this feels like a crime drama ripped from a Tarantino or Scorsese film. The dialog is excellent, and the twists and turns of the story are impactful and dramatic. And when the heist goes bad, you get one shock moment after the next to grab your attention like a gorilla's vice grip.
The bright spot of this issue is everything surrounding the plot and the character work by Williamson. in several ways, this feels like a crime drama ripped from a Tarantino or Scorsese film. The dialog is excellent, and the twists and turns of the story are impactful and dramatic. And when the heist goes bad, you get one shock moment after the next to grab your attention like a gorilla's vice grip.
When last we left Snart, he was arrested by Sam, an old gorilla acquaintance and a jaded detective on the Gorilla City police force. Snart doesn't cooperate, but he has enough history with Snart and the Rogue's to figure out why they're there, and he makes a deal that could be a win-win for Snart.
Later, the heist commences, and the Rogues have a much better chance of success thanks to Snart's mysterious acquisition of security codes to the bank vault. On the one hand, Williamson does a masterful job of getting readers on the Rogues' side because you want to see them get away with the robbery. On the other hand, Grodd is no saint, so villains robbing other villains is a perfect way to get readers to root for the bad guys.
When the heist falls apart, bodies start dropping, and each death is meaningful to the story for different reasons. Some deaths are deserved, and you get a sense of karmic justice. Others are tragic, and you can feel the emotional weight of the characters' reactions to the deceased.
Before the issue ends, the situation deteriorates from bad to crazy bananas as we learn more about the source of Grodd's wealth, Trickster makes an inferior choice, and the Rogues are forced to make a risky play.
The one downside of this issue is the art. It's not terrible, but the linework is very low-fidelity and almost sketch-like in a few spots. Wordie's watercolor coloring style enhances the artwork enough to keep it serviceable, but the art generally hinders the book from achieving top marks.
Make sure to listen to our Weekly DC Comics Recap and Review Podcast to hear us talk more about this book. Just look up "Weird Science DC Comics" anywhere you listen to podcasts or click here for podcast links and more: https://campsite.bio/weirdsciencecomics
About The Reviewer: Gabriel Hernandez is the Publisher & EIC of ComicalOpinions.com, a comics review site dedicated to indie, small, and mid-sized publishers.
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Bits and Pieces:
Rogues #3 is an all-out, crazy, bank-heist-gone-wrong adventure that keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish. The dialog, plotting, and pacing are reminiscent of something out of a Michael Mann film, and the spiraling events get crazier with each page. Unfortunately, however, the sketchy linework is no match for the writing and is the only thing holding this comic back from achieving a top score.
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