So now Dylan’s going to take on the entire Russian mob. This should turn out well…
First Read Reactions
- Whenever a shady dude in this book is speaking without articles, you can pretty much assume that they’re Russian mobsters.
- Argh! These multiple flashbacks within flashbacks are killing me!
- That being said, I am now totally ready to ship Dylan and Kira (despite the inevitable tragedy that will almost certainly entail.
- Not sure what to do about the love of your life (and you) potentially being hunted by the Russian mafia? Go to a Russian strip club for answers, of course.
- …and now we’re back to where the issue started.
- …and now heads are getting blown off by shotguns.
- …and now we’re starting to see how the neurotic Dylan we started off with eventually turns into a stone cold killer.
The Verdict
Okay, I know I should be used to the non-linear storytelling of this title, but flashbacks within flashbacks within flashbacks is a little too Inception-y for my tastes.
That being said, I love the way Dylan is hurtling toward the badass vigilante we saw at the beginning of the series. Brubaker has done a superb job of believably guiding Dylan on a character arc that initially seemed nearly impossible.
I also like the fact that we are revisiting Dylan’s relationship with Kira in a way that doesn’t feel quite as parasitic as it did before. Unfortunately, the fact that these two really do seem to have genuine feelings for each other is likely setting us up for some horrific heartbreak down the road.
On the art side of things, I’m once again at a loss for a different way to describe just how beautiful Sean Phillips and Elizabeth Breitweisers’ work is. Their work on this title is a near perfect intersection of aesthetic and storytelling. Also, they do about one of the classiest looking shotgun executions you’ll ever see.
And speaking of shotgun executions, I have a feeling we’re about to start seeing Dylan use that particular weapon a lot more beginning next month…
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