Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, DC Comics, Review | Tagged: Christopher Chance, comic book reviews, human target, ICE, justice league international

Human Target #2 Review: No Mean Feat

Published Sun, 26 Dec 2021 13:32:12 -0600

by Hannibal Tabu

Comments

With a breezy, noirish feel that's a delicate balancing act between style and substance, Human Target #2 twists the concept of the femme fatale while trying to maintain a respectful look at one of DC's most beloved runs. It is no mean feat to depict this all under the warm California coastal sun and still make it feel like something Gregory Peck could have considered a starring vehicle.

Human Target #2 Review: No Mean Feat — Human Target #2 Cover. Credit: Black Label/DC Comics

Christopher Chance's job is to impersonate people who are in danger and protect them from would-be assailants. While standing in for Lex Luthor, he was irrevocably poisoned and had eleven days to solve his own murder by staying afloat with a medicinal concoction in a silver flask. It's not booze.

The only clues lead him to believe that someone from the "bwa-ha-ha" era of the Justice League International is involved, and that's a messy bit of business itself. Enter Tora Olafsdotter, the hero known as Ice (and former JLI member), who has her own motivations for reaching out to Chance. What follows is part manipulation, part doomed romance, part Hitchcock film.

The greatest praise has to go to Tom King, whose script here creates a "tailor"-made mood that's patient and layered. There's no spectacle, no splashy shocks, but the tension and the gasp-worthy moments ("some women you can say no to," "forty degrees," "Jesus," "something cool and easy") are gripping nonetheless.

Then, let's talk about the sequentials from Greg Smallwood and Clayton Cowles. In the best possible way, this work has the intimacy and atmosphere of the works of Darwyn Cooke. Without specifically setting this in the halcyon days of the sixties, this captures the vibe without sacrificing any of the modern trappings or realities. That's very hard to do. Likewise, there's something clever Clayton Cowles does with rectangular captions, sometimes using them right up at the border of the panel that forces the reader to absorb the artwork in a different way.

With what's on the page, this issue is a winner all by itself. It sweeps you off your feet and punches all the right buttons down to its wonderfully characteristic closing. Lots to like here, and this issue works. RATING: BUY.

Human Target #2
By Tom King, Greg Smallwood
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.

Human Target #2