Peacemaker Tries Hard! #1 – Kyle Starks, Writer; Steve Pugh, Artist; Jordie Bellaire, Colorist
Ray – 9/10
Ray: When Kyle Starks has a new comic, you know you’re in for something gleefully ridiculous. He’s been behind some of the strangest creator-owned books on the market, and brought his unique sensibility to licensed properties like Mars Attacks. Now he’s making his Black Label debut with his take on the character who starred in one of the most acclaimed DC TV series in recent years—the ultra-violent, jingoistic super-soldier Peacemaker. The thing is, Peacemaker is a deathly serious character, not all that suited to Starks’ sardonic writing style—but the line between comedy and tragedy is always thin, and Starks leans hard on that. Peacemaker has earned his freedom from Task Force X, but has found he doesn’t have much outside of that. Most people see him as a joke, his only friend is his parole officer, and he’s dealing with a lot of unresolved trauma from his childhood. So when Waller gives him a new mission to hunt down terrorists, he jumps at it.
And it just so happens that the one survivor of that mission, where Peacemaker brutalizes a hapless bunch of terrorist goons who mock him as he crushes them, is a cute little bulldog pup. A stray hanging around the terror base, it’s quickly adopted by Peacemaker and given a very DC name. Naturally, it’s no surprise that his attachment to the dog doesn’t go unnoticed—and it’s soon kidnapped by a mystery villain who wants leverage over Peacemaker. The reveal of the villains’ identity, as well as what they actually want out of Peacemaker, is suitably absurd and perfectly fit for Starks’ writing style. The funniest moments in this issue, though, come from Peacemaker attempting to interact with average people and utterly failing. There’s some genuine pathos in his desperation to fit into normal society, and when it goes wrong, I have no doubt that a kaleidoscope of violence will follow.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
