Reviewer: Mathan “How am I supposed to fear ‘Floyd’?” Erhardt
Story Title: Urban Renewal Part Two: Neighborhood Watch
Written by: Christos N. Gage
Penciled by: Steven Cummings
Inked by: Jimmy Palmiotti
Lettered by: Comicraft
Colored by: James Sinclair
Editor: Joey Cavalieri
Publisher: DC Comics
So, apparently, Deadshot had a one-night stand in Star City a few years back and it produced a child. He found out about her and decided to take care of her. Well not “take care of her” more like support her. He offered the mother some money to help her relocate from her gang-infested neighborhood, but she refused. Thus Deadshot has decided to clean up the neighborhood himself.
This issue begins with a couple of cops at the scene of one Deadshot’s shootouts getting the assignment to take care of Deadshot, from a crime lord. Yup the cops are dirty. They try to track down where he’s living, but meet up with some reluctance from people who actually appreciate the effect of Deadshot’s effort.
Later, Floyd goes for a walk and he meets his baby’s mother. She begins to rag on him and they have an argument. He warns her not to talk to him in public. Afterward the cops accost Floyd. He negates the situation by shooting the guns out of their hands and then warns them to stay out of his way.
After a cruel landlord poisons a dog, Floyd goes to teach him a lesson, though intimidation. By now the cops have been tailing Floyd’s baby’s mother, and have realized the connection. They try to attack Floyd by attacking her and her daughter. Floyd saves the day, but he’s wounded in the process.
Floyd then goes to have a chat with the Russian boss who ordered the hit. In front of witnesses Floyd gives a chilling example of how many times a person can be shot before they die, as he warns everyone not to mess with the two women in his life.
The criminals get the lesson, but the killing has gotten the attention of the police, who call in Star City’s own Green Arrow. To be continued.
Gage has an ear for voices. Every character sounds distinct. He also manages to draw a distinction between corrupt cops; one is willing to attack Floyd’s family, the other isn’t. It’s a subtle yet nice distinction. The pop culture references are nice, as both Kill Bill and Scarface pop up. I am curious what the drive of the series is. I thought that Floyd was trying to cleanup the neighborhood, but he’s already managed to take out a threat. Where do we go from here?
Cummings art is good. His backgrounds are detailed and often littered with people, adding the believability of the scene. He also does a great job of capturing the roller coaster ride of emotions that Michelle Torres (Floyd’s baby’s mother) goes through. And Floyd’s new outfit is kind of growing on me, so that’s cool. Palmiotti’s inks are always great and never overpowering. It’s a solid looking issue.
