Sometimes predictability isn’t bad.
Creative Staff:
Story: Frank J. Barbiere
Art: Crizam Cristhian Zamora
Colors: Dinei Ribeiro
What They Say:
The explosive finale is here! With the Big City under siege, Mort has to face the one enemy he never expected – Jo! Will the rivalry between them come to a deadly conclusion, or will Mort be able to free her from the clutches of evil? Find out the fate of our heroes in The Precinct #5 from Frank J. Barbiere and Crizam Zamora!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The fifth and final issue of The Precinct is something that I could (and mostly did) see from the first issue with how it would end. That’s not a slam on the book or what’s done here in any way, just an admittance that the structure works a tried and true one. The series is one that handled itself well because it blended familiar things in a familiar way but did it well, making it engaging and fun. I’m typically not a fan of the steampunk genre for a number of reasons but Barbiere and Zamora pulled it together well all while working with template characters. The crusty old cop, the hot and gifted young woman alchemist, a sprawling city ripe for a change under the wrong hands. It’s all there and they pretty much nailed it.
With the archduke having made his play, the Big City is pretty much in a state of chaos with the small flying mechanics all over the place while he uses his two main enforcers with him. It’s all very big in scale yet personal in a good way since everything is happening through the force of the archduke. It’s old school villainy where he’s intent on changing the world since everyone else is too weak to do so and he can see the future. To make matters worse is that he’s completely controlling Jo at this point so she and her gifts are being used in a pretty malicious way that our standard cops can’t deal with. It’s a solid opening with the setting and Mort’s narration about it that ties into how he always dealt with bullies, even if Jo really isn’t a bully here. His headlong push to do the right thing is played well as it fits his personality and the way he’s willing to sacrifice himself for his city.
Most of the book is your standard slugfest when you get down to it and once Mort gets Jo back on the side of right they just go at it. There are plenty of little back and forth moments between them with humor and even a little tension, but it never feels like it devolves to sexual tension, which is a big plus. The action itself dominates as Jo takes a better stand with her powers and gets some help from the acolytes and it’s whole lot of fun seeing Mort taking over one of the mechanized units for himself all while the archduke rails about how the world should be. Again, there are no surprises here and it’s all largely telegraphed early on for anyone who has watched TV shows or movies that work this kind of structure. But Barbiere and Zamora execute it well with a very satisfying element about it that works because they embrace it.
In Summary:
The Precinct plays well with what it wants to do and it definitely enjoys itself throughout with the concept, the characters, and the little bits of nuance with steampunk and alchemy. There are opportunities to be more subversive with things here, to provide more commentary and agenda, but this (first?) miniseries is about the fun of the pairing, the setting, and the action. And it succeeds on that pretty well. This book was one that I definitely enjoyed month to month for a range of reasons even if it never became a breakout book. It’s the kind of series that has plenty of potential if it can be sorted out and taken to the next level but it’s one that can just be enjoyed for what it is as well.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: April 20th, 2016
MSRP: $3.99
