By: Rob Williams (writer), Alessandro Vitti (art), Cris Peter and Rachelle Rosenberg (colors)
The Story: A romance for psychopaths.
The Review: This is going to be a short review. I picked up Daken: Dark Wolverine #20 because it’s a slow week for my pull list, and the last time that happened, I reviewed another book about one of Wolverine’s progeny that was slated for cancellation, X-23 #18. I liked that issue, though I felt I was not the target audience. I get the feeling that Daken #20 was not aimed at me either, but this time, I just cannot find anything to like.
We open on Daken preparing to assassinate the “Kingpin” of LA with a sniper rifle Daken seems to have stolen out of a Rob Liefeld book. Daken believes that by killing this guy, he’ll be able to take over LA. Not the best supervillain scheme I’ve ever heard, but I can work with it. He never get’s an opportunity for a clear shot, so he decides to try again later. The book moves on to FBI Agent Donna Kiel sitting alone in a dinner, waiting for Daken to join her. She and Daken have been through a lot together recently, and she’s kinda at the end of her rope. When a stranger flirts with her, she pulls out a gun, and puts it to her own head to let him know she isn’t interested.
Once Daken joins her, the rest of the issue deals with the pair trying to reconcile the attraction they have for each other with the repulsion they feel toward that attraction. To be fair to the creators, this issue is well done. Rob Williams provides a tight story which does great job of exploring Daken and Kiel’s romantic and violent insecurities. The pacing is great, the characters are well developed, and this really functions well as a one-shot. Aside from the over-sized gun I mentioned earlier, I have no complaints about the art, handled by Allessandro Vitti. The issue is dynamically drawn, shows our two antiheroes for the damaged goods they are, and matches the desperate tone of the script. I also want to applaud Vitti for actually drawing the characters so they look like real people instead of supermodels, and particularly for drawing Kiel in clothes that don’t appear to have been sprayed onto her body.
But I don’t see the appeal here. These two are very disturbed individuals, and we only watch them do more damage to each other. There is not one redemptive or gratifying moment in this issue. Now, I don’t mind creators going to dark and violent places. But this issue is so soaked in anger I can taste bile at the back of my mouth. Had this been an issue in the middle of an arc, I suppose I might want to keep reading just to see that things turn out well. But one-shots tend to encapsulate the tone of series, so I doubt there is any happy ending in store for Daken.
Conclusion: This is well-crafted issue that tells a miserable story. I cannot recommend either its purchase or its avoidance, as there are likely those who will enjoy this issue for the very reason that I do not. I’m afraid you will have to use your own judgment for this issue.
Jumping one point?: I jumped on here, and had no difficulty understanding everything.
Grade: D+ (Though mostly for personal preference.)
-Jim Middleton
Filed under: Marvel Comics, Reviews Tagged: | Alessandro Vitti, Comic Book Reviews, Cris Peter, Daken, Daken: Dark Wolverine, DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE #20, DAKEN: DARK WOLVERINE #20 review, Jim Middleton, Marvel Comics, Rachelle Rosenberg, Rob Williams, WCBR, Weekly Comic Book Review, X-23
