Creative Staff:
Story: Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing
Art: Neil Googe
Colors: Tony Avina
Letterer: Wes Abbott
What They Say:
Kendra Blackhawk hears the Garage’s call for help, but she’ll have to make a hard decision about where home is.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With some good stories for established characters in the mix that brought in new ones along the way, Gotham City Garage has handled the current piece of sending the riders to the four corners to prepare for what’s to come. That’s given Kelly and Lanzing the chance to explore more of the world, introduce some new things, dig into the past, and really run with some interesting ideas – even if I do my best to ignore any kind of timelines to figure any of it out. This installment is focused essentially on a new addition that’s in the works and Neil Googe has stepped in for the art duties. Googe handles it really well as there’s a range of things to deal with, from mechanical to character, and it’s given a good look – especially thanks to Avina’s color work with the skies and the general surroundings.
The focus on this one definitely hits a sweet spot for me as I’m one of those hard to find Blackhawk fans. The characters/concept doesn’t get much love for a lot of reasons but shows up in these alternate world series fairly regularly and that always delights me. The bulk of the issue focuses on Kendra, a girl who lost everything in the burn that was caused by Luthor and only survived for long because the Blackhawks found her. And once with them, she ended up learning everything and training for years and years with them until she became a formal member of them. It’s a solid kind of montage piece with the commander of the group providing the narration for it as we see Kendra grow and really lean hard into it all so that she can be a fully functional part of this group made up of military survivors from around the world. They’ve got a base and gear and while they’re definitely aging along the way, the people included, they’ve got a solidified position.
Getting to learn about Kendra along the way and seeing a previous encounter with Natasha some time ago that showed that the two consider themselves similarly aligned with different methods does a really good job of making her and the group likable. So it’s no surprise that when the call goes out for help that Kendra is ready to stand by her allies, nor is it a surprise that the more seasoned members won’t engage in a war they can’t win. Luthor’s reputation and his involvement in the burn are big marks combined with the overwhelming firepower he has but there’s also the fact that most of these older members remember actual war, and the final war itself, and that makes them wary of doing much beyond the small skirmishes they likely get into. Kendra goes rogue? No surprise either but it sets the stage for a good reunification later.
In Summary:
I can say that I didn’t expect to see the Blackhawks in these pages since they tend to be a bit more airborne in general but there’s a whole lot to like here. The use of Kendra is solid as it gives us a good character to understand their world with and to keep the frustration point for her in not being able to understand why their actions don’t match up with their words and teachings. It’s not heavy on action but there are some good bits of backstory that firms up things a bit more and we get a really good meeting with Kendra and Natasha that lets Kendra be fully decked out in her outfit, which just made me grin. Good stuff all around.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: DC Comics via ComiXology
Release Date: January 3rd, 2018
MSRP: $0.99
