The noose begins to tighten.
Creative Staff:
Story: Donny Cates, Eliot Rahal
Art: Geoff Shaw
Colors: Lauren Affe
What They Say:
Everyone’s favorite superhero repo squad finally confront the shadowy organization that’s been offing bankrupt heroes, and they work out their differences with poise and civility. No, actually, they fight. But one of the Paybacks is fed up with the life of indentured servitude and decides it’s time to default . . . no matter the cost!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Paybacks had some fun in the last issue with the attack that got underway and more of the truth revealed about the mystery organization that’s causing so much trouble for the Paybacks. The reveal of multiple people in one costume operating and that there is teleportation technology involved as well ups the ante with what’s going on and it certainly changed the nature of the fight. What we got was something that quickly turned into a disaster though because of what’s involved and the Paybacks found themselves definitely under the gun with what they’re facing. That makes for a fun way to kick off this installment as they’re just getting overwhelmed and looking for as much help as they can get.
While I haven’t really connected with any of the characters since it’s been fairly chaotic, I do enjoy the way the book hits up the action. A lot of it reminds me of the kind of craziness friends and I used to come up with in our Villains & Vigilantes game way too many years ago. So seeing the way the two sides fight throughout much of the issue works well, especially once Driver essentially crashes into the location with the van to try and help them out. While he hasn’t gotten hugely involved before, it makes sense since things are turning as bad as they are. It’s enough to turn the tide for at least a while, though the other side does get pretty interested in trying to grab the van as well since there’s obviously a lot of potential with it.
The fallout from the fight is fairly layered depending on what part you’re interested in. I really liked seeing Skisquatch looking for his way out of everything once he realizes that the tracking/monitoring device that’s on him is broken and he hopes to just wander off amid the chaos. It’s well done in showing not only how he’s hopeful about escaping but also just how far the boss of the Paybacks will go to ensure loyalty. With the explosion in the distance that does happen, it reminds the others as they see it just how easily they can all be tossed away. Similarly, I really liked seeing the new twist with Miss Adventure come to light in the recovery phase as she reveals her true nature while taking down Doctor Blaqk, at least for the moment. It’s a great moment, albeit one that I think would have resonated a whole lot more had there been a dozen issues more in the series. Things move at such a breakneck pace and without any time to really digest it all that as fun as it is it lacks the kind of resonance it needs.
In Summary:
The Paybacks continues to be a very fun series that plays out in a great way with the action, the quick twists, and the overall concept that it’s working with. It’s so compressed and missing a lot of what it needs to really come together. It’s not exactly a Cliff’s Notes series, but I keep feeling like it could be a whole lot more if it was able to slow down and flesh itself – and especially its characters – a lot more. This is a fun issue and I really think that those who trade-wait will get even more out of the book when it’s read in one sitting like that. The team has the right ideas here and it deserves a wider audience to be sure.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: December 23rd, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
