By: James Tynion IV & Scott Snyder (story), Juan Jose Ryp (pencils), Vicente Cifuentes (inks), Tomev Morey (colors)
The Story: Truly, this is the Mount Everest for dedicated kleptomaniacs.
The Review: I couldn’t help but be amused by the additional stamp on this issue’s cover: “From the pages of Batman.” Along with the obligatory credit with Scott Snyder, it seems no one working on this book has the dignity to even try to separate Talon from the series it spun off from. I guess I can’t fault a legitimate marketing tactic, but it does seem to invite you to look at it as a bonus from a popular story rather than a quality book in its own right.
Still, you can see Tynion making some big efforts towards originality. Better yet, some of it even works. This issue establishes the dynamic between Calvin Rose and Sebastian Clark as one between crusty old man and brash younger one, and also of shot-caller and muscle. It’s clear Sebastian has a very specific plan in bringing down the Court, but he will have to defer to Calvin’s expertise in the practical side of things. At the same time, Calvin can’t operate just by instinct against the Court’s massive operations; he must give weight to Sebastian’s direction.
All this will require mutual trust and Tynion makes sure that particular goal will be long in coming. It’s hard to look at Sebastian’s gaunt, wrinkled face and not take an instant suspicion to him, but even if he’s completely honest about his motives, they don’t mesh at all with those of his new partner. Tynion smartly sets things up so that neither man really has the high ground in this conflict.
Even so, Calvin is our lead and it’s easiest to take his side in the fight, although it seems like he’s purposely blinding himself to the fact that not dealing with the Court will ultimately threaten a lot more than the mother and daughter under his protection. Besides, Sebastian proves in this issue that whether he genuinely wants to topple the Court or perhaps supplant them, his means-ends mindset is pretty brutal.
I also like the steps Tynion takes to show us the inside workings of the Court. Despite taking a pretty hard blow from Batman, life goes on for DC’s favorite secret society. It’s too bad they choose to rely on yet another Talon for their next step against Calvin; as he semi-cockily mentions, he’s taken down three of these guys and it’s getting a bit repetitive, no matter what murderous degree each happens to have.
Tynion definitely has a habit of overwriting. Calvin and Sebastian tread over many of the same talking-points in their arguments, and nearly every page gets engulfed with text. Tynion also irks me by using one of my least favorite tricks of fiction: the sob story in the middle of a fight. I don’t know why I can accept the idea of resurrected assassins so easily and yet find a scene where one of those assassins tells his entire back-history as he engages in swordplay so lame and unconvincing, but there it is. Tynion needs to take some inspiration from his mentor and find a new way of getting all that exposition across without burdening the action scenes.
It’s even more important that Tynion cuts back on his script because he’s only doing a disservice to impressive artists like Ryp. I really liked the lavish showing Ryp gave us on Batman: The Dark Knight #0, and if anything, he goes even bigger here. Secret societies thrive on absurd grandiosity, and Ryp definitely gives us that in Eden, the Court’s exclusive store. As much as a spectacle seeing rows of rare paintings, ancient artifacts, and priceless baubles is, it’s even better blown up, and Ryp captures every flying piece of rubble with gusto. The one thing he doesn’t portray as well is the puzzle in R.H. Orchard’s personal office; what exactly did Calvin do and where did the mask come out from? Morey’s colors sometimes tends on the overly whitish side, but overall, he graces Ryp’s organic style of art quite well.
Conclusion: Some superb art and a small lift in the writing equals a solid issue, even if it is just a hopeless spin-off. Definitely one for Night of the Owls fans.
Grade: B
– Minhquan Nguyen
Some Musings: – In the grand scheme of awful things humans can do, does taxidermy of endangered species really rise to the level of “disgusting”? Well, yes, but is that really the worst thing the Court has ever done?
– I must say, the sonic gun that “can throw a helpful sound effect hundreds of feet away” is quite ingenious. I agree with Calvin’s assessment: “Simple, but effective.”
Grade
Conclusion