The Silencer #10 – Dan Abnett, Writer; Patch Zircher, Artist; Mike Spicer, Colorist
Ratings:
Ray – 7.5/10
Corrina: Bye, Family!
Ray: Did you ever want to read a comic that was a cyberpunk take on Freaky Friday crossed with Jurassic Park? Congratulations! The Silencer #10 is the comic you’ve been waiting for. A completely insane action-packed absurdity of a comic, it’s also surprisingly entertaining. Picking up with a theme-park off-brand homage to one of the most iconic moments in comic book history, the story then dovetails into a giant monster attacking the theme park where Honor Guest and her family have been staying. Honor, of course, is currently in the body of cyber-assassin Quietus, and he’s in hers. That complicates things as they proceed to try to take down a rampaging genetically engineered monster with the mind of a Leviathan minion. The story is at its best when it manages to find moments of humanity buried in the craziness, such as the scene where Honor, in Quietus’ body, encounters her family and has to keep her cover while getting them to safety.
Too often, though, the issue is almost overwhelming in its action. Quietus and Honor spend most of the issue ping-ponging off the monster, with Honor eventually blowing up most of Quietus’ systems and them eventually switching back just in time for Quietus to get eaten. He’s actually a robot, though, so he winds up as a talking head who continues to assist her in her mission. As Wishbone fails to complete her mission and Talia Al Ghul rises from the Lazarus Pit ready to renew her war against her enemies, Honor Guest is back in her own body and ready to fight back. There’s just one problem – the hotel where she was supposed to be saying was totally destroyed, and her family’s just been told she’s dead. This title has a lot of potential, but I’m not sure the tone entirely works in all places and my overall opinion of this series will depend heavily on whether this story ends with Honor and her family’s civilian life intact. That’s what sets this series apart from the competition.
Corrina: I never, ever expected this title to end with Honor and her family intact. If that happens, I would be shocked. I have been expecting all along for Honor’s family to be killed instead.
The finale of this issue finds another way, allowing Honor’s family to believe she’s dead while keeping them alive and (relatively) safe, away from her, as no one but Talia seems to know about her family (okay, Deathstroke but he has issues of his own).
Yet their safety is probably contingent on Honor staying “dead,” which I expect will become the status quo for this title, at least until its’ ending. I wish that Mr. Honor had been given more personality the past ten issues, rather than a shallow portrayal of an always supportive husband, then I could have felt the emotional damage he and his son will suffer at believing Honor to be dead.
To me, that’s the real flaw of the book, that Honor’s family isn’t as three-dimensional as, say, Quietus. He has more personality as a talking head than Mr. Honor in the entire series.
Still, I like the series far more than Ray. I like Honor and I’ve got my fingers crossed she’ll get her happy ending, though I expect that hope to be in vain.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
