A crazy busy conclusion that moves us into the present.
Creative Staff:
Story: John Layman
Art: Joe Eisma
Colors: Celeste Woods
Letterer: Taylor Esposito
What They Say:
Decision time! What are you going to do, Angels? Save Charlie, or the President of the United States? ‘Cause you don’t have time to do both, and those evil, awful East German spies are gonna kill one if you rescue the other. So what’s it gonna be? Lose your boss, or the leader of the free world? Too bad there are only three Angels, and not six… right? The MIND SHATTERING conclusion of “The Devil You Know.”
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The Charlie’s Angels series has been a lot of fun even if some of it didn’t connect with me. I had grown up with the show but was too young to really “get it” and it doesn’t work for me watching it in the present. But that nostalgia is definitely there. John Layman captured a lot of what made the series what it was and goes a bit bigger here since you can in the comics medium. Joe Eisma was the perfect artist for this as he captures their dynamic elements really well while also definitely capturing the look of the time with the hair and clothes. Hopefully, he had fun doing the research for that since the payoff is solid with the results on the page.
With this being the finale it’s no surprise that it’s just all over the map with the action side of things. After rescuing the President the whole trick now is to keep him alive and safe, which means stealing some motorcycles to get away with and avoid the police. It’s a fun bit in seeing Carter in this forming trying to roll with the punches and understand what’s going on while also realizing keeping a low profile is for the best. I don’t think Eisma captured Carter well but there may be real reasons for that so I’m content to let that slide. With all of the Angels together and on the move there’s a lot to like in seeing how they handle it while trying to figure out their next move. And framing all of this with it being told from the present through the eyes of an Agent in the field at time the time allows for some good commentary.
The main problem is that the operatives in Los Angeles and Charlie and Ted and are going to kill them for their employer if they don’t hear about Carter being taken down within two hours. I like how they figure out the best approach for dealing with this in coming up with some help from Bosley to finesse the details But in the end, it all comes together well in a montage-like format as everything is wrapped up thanks to smart thinking and a look at the next generation of Angels that we know from the show getting to do some field work as a test. I also really like that the book moves everything into the present and we see our primary Angels now, forty years later, and how the organization has changed. While I’d love to see more tales from the past to play up the 70’s side well I’m really hoping for a modern take with this new Charlie as well.
In Summary:
Dynamite has been dealing with several 70’s era properties the last few years and this one worked pretty well for me. Workman captured the characters and their personalities well so that you could connect with them and their story while largely focusing on the adventure itself – though I’d love to see side stories into their normal lives. Joe Eisma did a great job of bringing that 70’s vibe to life here without going so detailed about it that it became a distraction. There’s a nice ease to it that really delivers the goods and I had a whole lot of fun with this series. Hopefully, there’s more to come both in this setting and the tease that we get at the end.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 31st, 2018
MSRP: $3.99
