The wrong approach.
Creative Staff:
Story: Christos Gage
Art: Raffaele Ienco
Colors: Guy Major
Letterer: Josh Reed
What They Say:
Bruce Wayne digs into the truth about Deadshot’s family history. But Deadshot may be about to set up Wayne for a fall.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With a good bit of Floyd’s history behind us with a kind of mixed lesson given previously, Christos Gage now has the task of pushing both men forward. I’ve definitely been enjoying this interpretation overall of the mythos with all of its changes and, in some case, oddities that provide for new motivations and design to characterization. It’s been the same when it comes to the artwork as I like Raffael Ienco’s style but it hasn’t felt like it fits with the property, though it’s become a lot more engaging and interesting as I settled into the run. The mix of both of these elements makes for a book that’s both conventional and unconventional, leaving it in a weird space.
The first half of this book works the war of words that’s going on with the two men as Bruce sidesteps coming out and clearly saying things but Floyd is smart enough to practically say it for him so that they’re on the same page. It’s an amusing dance that they go through and one that shows a Bruce that we don’t see too often with the way he’s so outwardly confrontational. It fits considering the strain he’s under and the age but it’s an interesting mix. Particularly since Bruce lays out so many accusations and what he’s put into figuring it all out. He’s attempting to get Floyd to confess for his own reasons but it’s just problematic in general, and only serves to further set off Floyd who gets the upper hand in the end here by getting Bruce tossed out.
And the way that happens with the path to getting there only makes things worse. The more Bruce goes on, the more he pushes Floyd in an attempt to get him to confess or go a step too far, it breaks badly in two directions. The first is his getting thrown out and having the cops show up at the same time, making Bruce look even more unhinged. The other is that it sets Floyd/Deadshot on the larger path even more of dealing with a range of targets. Bruce’s attempts at diverting the attention to himself went so badly that even he recognizes that he’s made everything worse. It’s an interesting dance that the two go through over the course of the issue as there’s no action per se but the confrontational aspects definitely ramps up the intensity.
In Summary:
I’m a fan of purely dialogue-driven issues because that digs into characters in a way that I enjoy a whole lot. This one does some good stuff in giving us a clearer look at who both Bruce and Floyd are in this incarnation of the characters. The back and forth and the prodding by Bruce is spot on and I like that it doesn’t go as it should and it makes things worse. It’s a solid issue for Ienco as well as there are a lot of good layouts and angles that are utilized here that makes the dialogue pretty engaging along with some really fun expressions that add to the moments. I’m still feeling wary of the book overall for a few reasons but it continues to be an interesting change of pace from the usual.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: May 16th, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
