Post by jugglingman on Aug 2, 2008 8:59:14 GMT -4
Written by Ivory Madison
Art by Cliff Richards and Norm Rapmund
Covers by Matthew Clark
The re-visiting of The Huntress' origin story comes to a close with this issue and it's a loaded one that ties up some major threads and leaves others dangling purposefully. It being the closing of the series this issue of course, is not the place to start reading it and though I endeavored to write this review so that someone unfamiliar with the story can follow along, I advise you to avoid the spoilers below if you haven't read the other issues and hunt them down to enjoy this excellent story!
The opening scene is not only ocular ice cream but it also demonstrates Huntress' constantly churning mind as she begins to hypothesize why the Mayor of Gotham is in on the plan to flood the city. What were the motivations of everyone involved? Bruce Wayne and Nino Angelo for instance. While Helena is drawing conclusions that will lead her to deal with a very high-up Don we watch Batgirl and Batman at the Gotham levee discussing their own intel. The juxtaposition of the two methods of operation is technically well executed. The deliberately precise construction of the scene makes for a highly immersive reading experience. It's rhythmic flow however, would not exist were it not for Cliff Richards deceptively simple page layout and in-panel compositions. The captions on the other hand totter on the edge of exposition but Madison pulls it off by making the inner dialog reveal as much about the lead character as it does about the plot. A telephone conversation between Helena and "The Pope" - the Don responsible for Nino's murder - highlights how Nino's son Tony will inevitably carry out his father's plan. This is confirmed by Tony himself in the following sequence. Like so many others throughout the series, this passage evinces Madison's deep understanding of how Helena's mafia family background informs her actions. Ivory did her homework and it shows in how she directs Helena to use her shady roots to her advantage. It's clever and highly entertaining. The coloring is particularly brilliant at this specific point in the book. The transition from dark, sepia-and-grey Gotham to the Sicilian countryside is positively stunning!
The next page is where the real magic begins. From the Gotham floodgates the Huntress has a view of the boarded up house where she witnessed the murder of her family. "It all leads back home doesn't it? Doesn't everything?", the Huntress muses. She enters the house and ruminates, realizing this house would make for a great cover up: "How exactly do you cause a levee to break? Explosives. (...) You could blame it on an old secret cache of weapons that was in the basement of a former mob house right next to the levee", she ponders. The Huntress hears someone approaching. It is "Omerta", the assassin hired to kill her family. She jumps him and a thrilling fight ensues. The fisticuff is peppered with whip crack dialog: "I only kill for money", says Omerta. "I only kill for closure", retorts the Huntress. Meanwhile Batgirl who is hunched over the bat-cave's computers (a judicious nod to the character she will eventually become) informs Batman that an informant says a private airplane from Palermo has just landed in Gotham. Batman, perched on a skylight in some other part of town orders Batgirl to tail them and abandons his watch over Catwoman. But not without the cat-burglar noticing Gotham's guardian leaving his station above.
We then learn that "The Pope" has hired Omerta to stop Tony from carrying out the plan to flood Gotham but not kill him. Tony walks in on the fight between Omerta and Huntress and immediately attacks the woman. She tries to explain the misunderstanding. That she didn't kill his father but is interrupted by "The Pope" and his men holding Sal hostage. It becomes obvious that the Pope had Tony's father killed in order to mold the young and now impressionable Tony into an important yet obedient Gotham Don. Sal - the only person Huntress cares about - was brought as a bargaining chip to keep Helena quiet. She lies to save Sal's life and Tony leaves with "The Pope" and his crew. Back in the house Helena and Sal have a touching interchange but "The Pope" orders Omerta to go back in and kill them both. Presumably to keep the truth from leaking. Batman crashes in first though and Catwoman right behind him. In between punches Batman "councils" the Huntress. She sort of listens to him in her own headstrong way. But the tension between the two remains.
Omerta enters the house and triggers the climax of the story. Huntress manages to get the first blow on him. It becomes evident to the witnesses that there is more to this fight than meets the eye. They hold back and let the fury take it's course. The next scene displays the writer's skill with symbolism. Before wrenching from Omerta's neck the crucifix he took from her as a little girl she cuts off his tongue to keep as a hunting trophy. Did you get that? One of the meanings for the italian word Omerta is "code of silence". Ouch.
Now it's time for Batgirl to come crashing in on a motorcycle. Kind of random but I can roll with it. Huntress clotheslines her off the bike and steals it. "Thanks" she says as she rides off with Sal. At least she's courteous about it. Arriving at a Church with Batman and Catwoman tailing her she enters the place of worship and makes a stand before the other crime-fighters. It's a very dramatic ending. Dipping two fingers in the church's font of holy water Helena declares: "I'm the first of something else. I baptize myself. I am... THE HUNTRESS."
It's is a satisfying and visually striking climax to an exciting story. As far as single issues go it's relevant in that it specifically accentuates an important facet of the Huntress character. The Huntress has always had an impetuous streak but Madison precisely lays out the "why" behind that distinguishing trait. In relation to her parent's murder the Huntress says: "What haunts me is not what happened, it's that moment when nothing happened, when I could have done something but did not. For most people there is a space between intention and action. I cannot afford that space". This point was made in other issues but that particular panel and caption dot the proverbial "i". It's a testimony of Ivory Madison's ability to educe her characters deepest motivations. The series should prove to be a rich idea mine if other writers need to pilot the character. The enormous fortune, The elusive "A Mano Iddio", a brand new villain in Omerta. It's all dense stuff with tons of story potential.
This mini-series has made an Ivory Madison fan of me. Despite her inexperience with the comics medium and sometimes suffering from too-many-ideas-itis Madison has proven to be brimming with skill. She does strong character work, knows when to and not to use tropes and builds a compelling world in her story. Fellow comics fans please welcome a powerful, enthusiastic and fresh voice in comics! I look forward to reading more!
Art by Cliff Richards and Norm Rapmund
Covers by Matthew Clark
The re-visiting of The Huntress' origin story comes to a close with this issue and it's a loaded one that ties up some major threads and leaves others dangling purposefully. It being the closing of the series this issue of course, is not the place to start reading it and though I endeavored to write this review so that someone unfamiliar with the story can follow along, I advise you to avoid the spoilers below if you haven't read the other issues and hunt them down to enjoy this excellent story!
The opening scene is not only ocular ice cream but it also demonstrates Huntress' constantly churning mind as she begins to hypothesize why the Mayor of Gotham is in on the plan to flood the city. What were the motivations of everyone involved? Bruce Wayne and Nino Angelo for instance. While Helena is drawing conclusions that will lead her to deal with a very high-up Don we watch Batgirl and Batman at the Gotham levee discussing their own intel. The juxtaposition of the two methods of operation is technically well executed. The deliberately precise construction of the scene makes for a highly immersive reading experience. It's rhythmic flow however, would not exist were it not for Cliff Richards deceptively simple page layout and in-panel compositions. The captions on the other hand totter on the edge of exposition but Madison pulls it off by making the inner dialog reveal as much about the lead character as it does about the plot. A telephone conversation between Helena and "The Pope" - the Don responsible for Nino's murder - highlights how Nino's son Tony will inevitably carry out his father's plan. This is confirmed by Tony himself in the following sequence. Like so many others throughout the series, this passage evinces Madison's deep understanding of how Helena's mafia family background informs her actions. Ivory did her homework and it shows in how she directs Helena to use her shady roots to her advantage. It's clever and highly entertaining. The coloring is particularly brilliant at this specific point in the book. The transition from dark, sepia-and-grey Gotham to the Sicilian countryside is positively stunning!
The next page is where the real magic begins. From the Gotham floodgates the Huntress has a view of the boarded up house where she witnessed the murder of her family. "It all leads back home doesn't it? Doesn't everything?", the Huntress muses. She enters the house and ruminates, realizing this house would make for a great cover up: "How exactly do you cause a levee to break? Explosives. (...) You could blame it on an old secret cache of weapons that was in the basement of a former mob house right next to the levee", she ponders. The Huntress hears someone approaching. It is "Omerta", the assassin hired to kill her family. She jumps him and a thrilling fight ensues. The fisticuff is peppered with whip crack dialog: "I only kill for money", says Omerta. "I only kill for closure", retorts the Huntress. Meanwhile Batgirl who is hunched over the bat-cave's computers (a judicious nod to the character she will eventually become) informs Batman that an informant says a private airplane from Palermo has just landed in Gotham. Batman, perched on a skylight in some other part of town orders Batgirl to tail them and abandons his watch over Catwoman. But not without the cat-burglar noticing Gotham's guardian leaving his station above.
We then learn that "The Pope" has hired Omerta to stop Tony from carrying out the plan to flood Gotham but not kill him. Tony walks in on the fight between Omerta and Huntress and immediately attacks the woman. She tries to explain the misunderstanding. That she didn't kill his father but is interrupted by "The Pope" and his men holding Sal hostage. It becomes obvious that the Pope had Tony's father killed in order to mold the young and now impressionable Tony into an important yet obedient Gotham Don. Sal - the only person Huntress cares about - was brought as a bargaining chip to keep Helena quiet. She lies to save Sal's life and Tony leaves with "The Pope" and his crew. Back in the house Helena and Sal have a touching interchange but "The Pope" orders Omerta to go back in and kill them both. Presumably to keep the truth from leaking. Batman crashes in first though and Catwoman right behind him. In between punches Batman "councils" the Huntress. She sort of listens to him in her own headstrong way. But the tension between the two remains.
Omerta enters the house and triggers the climax of the story. Huntress manages to get the first blow on him. It becomes evident to the witnesses that there is more to this fight than meets the eye. They hold back and let the fury take it's course. The next scene displays the writer's skill with symbolism. Before wrenching from Omerta's neck the crucifix he took from her as a little girl she cuts off his tongue to keep as a hunting trophy. Did you get that? One of the meanings for the italian word Omerta is "code of silence". Ouch.
Now it's time for Batgirl to come crashing in on a motorcycle. Kind of random but I can roll with it. Huntress clotheslines her off the bike and steals it. "Thanks" she says as she rides off with Sal. At least she's courteous about it. Arriving at a Church with Batman and Catwoman tailing her she enters the place of worship and makes a stand before the other crime-fighters. It's a very dramatic ending. Dipping two fingers in the church's font of holy water Helena declares: "I'm the first of something else. I baptize myself. I am... THE HUNTRESS."
It's is a satisfying and visually striking climax to an exciting story. As far as single issues go it's relevant in that it specifically accentuates an important facet of the Huntress character. The Huntress has always had an impetuous streak but Madison precisely lays out the "why" behind that distinguishing trait. In relation to her parent's murder the Huntress says: "What haunts me is not what happened, it's that moment when nothing happened, when I could have done something but did not. For most people there is a space between intention and action. I cannot afford that space". This point was made in other issues but that particular panel and caption dot the proverbial "i". It's a testimony of Ivory Madison's ability to educe her characters deepest motivations. The series should prove to be a rich idea mine if other writers need to pilot the character. The enormous fortune, The elusive "A Mano Iddio", a brand new villain in Omerta. It's all dense stuff with tons of story potential.
This mini-series has made an Ivory Madison fan of me. Despite her inexperience with the comics medium and sometimes suffering from too-many-ideas-itis Madison has proven to be brimming with skill. She does strong character work, knows when to and not to use tropes and builds a compelling world in her story. Fellow comics fans please welcome a powerful, enthusiastic and fresh voice in comics! I look forward to reading more!