Reviewer: Tim Sheridan
Story Title: (Un)leashed
Written by: Dan Jolley
Penciled by Leonard Kirk
Inked by Robin Riggs
Colored by: Moose Baumann
Lettered by Pat Brosseau
Editor: Ivan Cohen
So where the heck did this book come from? Really. Basically nowhere. After little to no promotion from DC, this book dropped in stores last month. It’s sort of sad really. I mean, this book is not changing the medium, nor does it really want to. It just wants to tell a really good story. And it does that.
The story thus far is a former cop (named Travis Clevenger) is serving out a prison sentence. Seems as though Trav killed his parter (though we really don’t know at this point.) Thing about him is that he has a knack for tracking down meta-humans. Which, let’s face it folks, is a pretty useful skill if you live in the DCU. So he is let out for a bit of time to work with the FBI to help them with a case involving said partner’s family.
When he visits the family, there is something a little odd about it. Not just what you would expect either. There is a daughter, and it’s sort of hinted at that Travis and her have more of a relationship than they should.
Speaking of which, what I like so much about this book already is the way it is unfolding. Little bits about the plot and different character just pop up. It’s a very interesting way it’s written.
Being issue #2, a lot has already happened, with lots of verbal and physical scuffles, and one heck of a prison riot in the previous issue. But I’ll stick with issue #2.
There is a lot of comedy in this issue, because the FBI wants to put a location collar on Travis sort of like a lojack for a human. He is not thrilled with this. He has one of those affable tough guy personalities. You really like him, but know he could rip your spine out if you ticked him off. His handler, the very sexy (yes, for a comic book character) Agent Bell, is a great counter to his over the top personality.
The art by Leonard Kirk and Robin Riggs (who worked on Supergirl together) lends itself to very clean storytelling. I wouldn’t expect them to be working on a gritty story like this, but they make it fit perfectly. The fact that the art is so clean and straigtforward makes some of the action scenes that much more harsh and shocking. The final scene of Travis jumping out of a hotel window and onto a car is a perfect example.
I hope this book gets more press. Give this a shot, I think you’ll all enjoy it.
