A hard and fast conclusion to the opening arc.
Creative Staff:
Story: Duane Swierczynski
Art: Michael Gaydos
What They Say:
“Bullet’s Kiss, Part 5”:The Black Hood finally corners the mysterious “Connection” on the abandoned seventh floor of City Hall. No cops, no witness — just the two of them, ready to throw down. But when the Connection finally reveals his identity, Greg realizes the game was rigged from the beginning. And it’s going to take all of the Black Hood’s strength to walk out of this building alive…
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With my last experience with the character of The Black Hood being back in the 90’s in the Impact! Comics days, it’s certainly been an adjustment going to the hard, grimy and gritty version here. There’s easily the sense that this could be done as a serialized TV screenplay and that’s not a bad thing. But what we get is something very real world and that can be disconcerting to read at times as you find a man pushed past the edge and doing the unspeakable things that many people would want to do in order to try and correct society. With the final act of the opening storyline here, Greg again is facing those choices and makes the hard decisions.
It’s been interesting watching some of his decision making since things started going south on him recently with who was figuring him out, but I really welcomed his talking to Jessie and bringing her into his circle of trust. He’s had nobody and that can make for a very difficult life for someone that just piles it all on top of themselves. With Greg wearing the mask and going for more names by trying to deal with those that set him up, she acts as the getaway driver for the moment – though she’s certainly not pleased about it and is hoping that things draw down soon. What it does offer Greg beyond the escape is a chance to talk things out loud without looking like he’s crazy. That gives him the chance to work through who is pulling the strings that’s trying to set him up, which leads him to the deputy mayor.
When it comes to concluding the first arc of the series, it largely does it well because the deputy mayor has been sprinkled throughout the arc and given some darker tones early on. He’s not a Master Villain or some such, but just someone who figured out a way to really run a criminal racket while operating in office. Greg does bring it down to fisticuffs, but that was expected with a book like this. It’s a chaotic fight that plays out, all too briefly in the end, but it deals more with just bringing the arc to a close and focusing more on the impact on Greg himself. As good as the arc closing is, it’s the epilogue that wins me over with seeing what happens to him next and how that’s dealt with. It’s unclear if we’ll see Greg in the title role come October when the book comes back, but I’ll admit that I’d love to see the book rotate the man behind the mask each arc.
In Summary:
I wasn’t sure what to expect going into this series at first because the covers were grim and gritty, but I avoided looking at interior artwork so I could sink my teeth into its design. This storyline is one that I imagine would read very well as a trade in one sitting as it tells a complete tale. That leaves you wondering what’s next since the potential for more could cut some of the emotional impact of what we get here, as well as some of the real world resolution to events. That said, this book hits the right marks with what it does, even if it barrels towards its conclusion, and you definitely like the way most of the character arcs we deal with here are resolved. I’ll certainly be back for more of this series in the fall.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dark Circle Comics
Release Date: June 24th, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
