Reviewer: Tim Stevens
Story Title: Slow Burn
Written by: Dan Jolley
Pencilled by: Leonard Kirk
Inked by: Robin Riggs
Colored by: Moose Baumann
Lettered by: Nick J. Nap
Editor: Ivan Cohen
Publisher: DC Comics
That’s right, ladies and gents, Ed Brubaker’s creation from when he was writing Batman is back and bedeviling our good friend Travis Clevenger, the Bloodhound of the title, in small town Georgia. Zeiss, for those of you who don’t know, is a bodyguard/villain in the Prometheus/Taskmaster mold. Actually, since Gotham Knights has sort of neutered Prometheus, I guess Zeiss is more Prometheus than Prometheus these days. Anyway, I dig the guy, but he has a bit of a history of being disliked/written differently, then he is under Brubaker’s pen. It’s too early to tell and Zeiss has too little panel time for me to tell if Jolley nailed him (a la Brubaker) or botched him (a la War Games). Artwise, however, I find myself disappointed in Kirk’s rendering of him. First, his new attire is very Neo in Matrix Revolutions. Second, his robot hands…well, I just don’t plain remember Zeiss having those. That’s a minor complaint though. Third, his goggles. They look too much like a pair of glasses and too little like the source of all Zeiss’s abilities. On their own, none of these issues would be a big deal, but together they hurt.
Zeiss’s appearance is one of the reasons I am grading this issue the way I am. I have been very vocal of my enjoyment of this series, with particular emphasis on the previous issue. That’s why it hurts to say that I think this is one of the weakest issues of Bloodhound. That’s not to say it is out and out bad. It’s just coming off the quality of the rest of the series (last issue in particular) I can’t help but be a little disappointed with this effort.
As I said, there is good. Clevenger is a great character. His joy over the return of a favorite item of his and his melancholy look at the moon are two of the best moments in the issue and speak nicely to his layered personality. His interactions with the women in his life, Trish, his former lover, and Saffron Bell, his partner/handler are similarly top notch. Trish also gets her own solo moment to shine with a great bit with a neighbor who is concerned with Clevenger’s appearance and his previous crimes. Kirk’s art (with the exception of Zeiss) remains a considerable highlight of reading this book.
That said, the rest of the issue seems to just sort of meander between these strong character bits. People are being burned alive in their homes, but there is no shot of adrenaline, no feeling of a need to rush, instilled from reading the book. It is no doubt unintentional but there is still a feeling of emotional detachment that hurts the story.
On another note, not one of complaint or praise, there is an issue of the blue arm. You see, there is a scene in a grocery store were, in two panels, a worker’s arm is visible (and only his arm) and it appears to be blue. Interesting, right? Well, looking back a page or two, you see Tammy’s (dubbed “Jailbait” by Bell) arm become a blue color as she is walking out of frame, indicating a change in light/distance from the “camera”. So is the checker at Stop and Shop actually blue or is the light different. If he’s not blue, it is odd because the entire supermarket is lit up with fluorescents and thus that shadow would seem unlikely. Plus, the way his (or her, I guess) arm is framed is much different than Tammy’s. However, if this guy’s arm is actually blue (and thus, presumably, the rest of him), why does no one else seem to notice it? Wouldn’t he get at least one weird look? And if he is truly blue, what is the significance? Like I said, no complaint or compliment there, just something I spent a bit of time contemplating. Probably too much time, truth be told.
