
The Human Target #2
DC Comics Black Label 2021
Written by Tom King
Illustrated by Greg Smallwood
Lettered by Clayton Cowles
Christopher Chance now has 11 days to solve his own murder. With almost no leads, it would seem the case of his own death has gone cold…but it’s about to get a whole lot colder. Enter Ice, former member of Justice League International, arriving at Chance’s office with some unexpected information…and mysterious intentions.
There is something about the way that this is being told and how Ice is in his office makes this feel like an old noir inspired detective tale. The beautiful dame who’s nothing but trouble for the private dick, in this case Chance, it all sets this up to be an extraordinary tale right from the start. Tom can do no wrong when it comes to these stories and as he takes those who are forgotten and breathes new life into them we are fascinated and enthralled by what we experience. I have to give some massive kudos to Tom for how he handles Tora throughout all this as well as we get her definitive origin, her death and resurrection, to a degree. The dynamic that is created between these two characters under any other circumstances would be fantastic but here it feels like there’s a cover-up or manipulation happening instead.
I am completely under the spell of the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information are presented exceptionally well. The character development that we see through the narration, the dialogue, the character interaction as well as how we see them act and react to the situations and circumstances which they encounter really does wonders in expanding Chance’s personality and establishing Tora’s. The pacing is amazing and as it takes us through the pages revealing more of the story we are treated to such a stellar experience that pulls us deeper and deeper into the mystery.
I am extremely impressed with the way that we see this being structured as well as how the layers within the story continue to emerge, grow, evolve and strengthen. I am also liking how we see these layers open up new avenues to be explored. Tora’s personality is a huge one for me as the shy innocent woman is replaced by someone sly and confident with a sensuality that’s unexpected. This adds so much delicious depth, dimension and complexity to the story. How we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow as well as how it moves the story forward is impeccably handled.
The interiors here are bloody brilliant. With the choice of colours being what they are they add this whole mystique to the work that honestly I wasn’t quite prepared for. They really show such a phenomenal understanding of how colour works and how to maximise their effects in such a manner to create a truly stunning visual. The linework is mindbogglingly brilliant and how the varying weights and techniques create this level of quality detail work throughout the issue is stupendous. There are moments throughout where Chance is absolutely the man of everyone’s dreams and Tora, a simply elegant beauty it’s impressive. The use of backgrounds and how they enhance and expand the moments as well as work within the composition of the panels to bring out the depth perception, sense of scale and the overall sense of size and scope to the story is magnificently rendered. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masters eye for storytelling. The various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is extraordinary.
As far as I’m concerned Tom needs full reign to do these stories until he’s got nothing left to tell. With this he continues to show he’s one of today's modern masters of storytelling through the writing and the characterisation while Greg reminds us what the power of visual storytelling is all about. Together they’ve created a nearly flawless line of books that are as much a magnificent obsession as you’ll ever have.



About the Creator
Steven Leitman
Just me talking about the comics I enjoy reading, ones that you might not know exist and spotlighting the indie creators that excite me.




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