Blackhawks #3
Written by Mike Costa
Pencils by Graham Nolan
Inks by Trevor McCarthy
Review by Bobby Shortle
There is something to be said for being able to admit when you are wrong. Last month I said that Blackhawks was a solid well made book that I just didn’t care about. Which is to say I praised it with one hand and shot it through the head with the other. This go-around I fully intended to stick the wanna-be G.I. JOE book under the guillotine and say goodbye to it forever. However, a funny thing happened in reading issue #3…
I kind of loved it.
I, myself, was stunned at this revelation. Yet, when I looked closer I wasn’t at all surprised to see that my emotions had shifted so rapidly. See much like in life we often look in the wrong places for the things we want. I have clung desperately to the hope that some of my so called “big books” would come through with consistent tone, skillful story telling, and memorable characters but most of those narratives are faltering. It took a week of especially weak reading to see I’ve been so busy being up my own ass about my “I just don’t care” critique of Blackhawks that I hadn’t realized it was doing all the things those others were not.
The world of our commandos, though over the top, feels real. I believe that their base exists and that each lever and switch has a function. The antagonists have complicated and varied personalities that match their expectation defying motivations. The book also achieves the most illusive of elements in the New 52 in that the team at work actually feels like a team. No other squad based book I’m reading has been able to hit this marker and its something that Blackhawks should be applauded for.
VERDICT
Buy It – It’s bombastic and over the top but it’s also expertly paced and finely written. Don’t come expecting deep thoughts but do come expecting kick ass fun.
