Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Deathstroke #2

By Dan Horn
October 12, 2011 - 15:59

Slade Wilson, aka Deathstroke, has a meeting in a super-villain speakeasy with the man, Mikel, who contracted him with the assassination job that put Slade in possession of a mysterious briefcase. But, when Mikel attempts to have Deathstroke killed, he realizes a little too late that he's fallen right into Slade's trap.

Unrelentingly demented, Deathstroke #2 finally puts the pedal to the floor as Slade enters "the Carpocalypse." Even the title is benignly absurd. The story inside is anything but benign, however. Higgins and company hit readers with enough mayhem and stylized, over-the-top violence to put even the biggest gore-hound on a week-long Lifetime movie bender. A bit unlike the series' debut, Deathstroke #2 delivers on the sublime action that the Bisley cover implies. Higgins seems to be inferring that Deathstroke is no-holds-barred from here on out, and I'm absolutely fine with that.

I'm still ambivalent toward the art in this book. It still seems incredibly polished for a story that's Deathstroke a la 2000 A.D., but perhaps it's the color palette that's throwing this book off kilter. Most panels seem pretty earthy or mainly consist of one primary color. There's nothing incredibly vibrant, besides the gallons of blood of course, about any of the panels, per se.

Still, this issue was an interesting change of pace from the otherwise plodding premiere episode. It's barely a character study, but it's bizarrely cognizant of that fact, replacing literary value and subtlety with disturbingly casual acrimony. What it lacks in humanity it makes up for in strangeness and vigor. This is graphical exploitation at its most ridiculous and obscene. I'm looking forward to much more of this.

Rating: 8.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12