Human Target (2nd Series)

    (Vertigo, 2003-2005)
™ and © DC Comics, Inc.

If Moore, Gaiman, and Morrison are The Beatles, Stones, and Who of the British comics invasion, then Peter Milligan is The Kinks: prolific, crafty, intelligent, and rewarding deeper exploration, even as he flies lower on the radar than his more flamboyant colleagues. His latest gem is the new Human Target series, picking up from his earlier 1998 revival of the back-page DC character from the mid-’70s. With #2, he serves notice that this will be as edgy and controversial a series as the American comics market has seen, with only the thinnest veneer of fantasy as a safety net.

The Human Target is Christopher Chance, a freelance adventurer who makes his money impersonating people in danger and using his skills to turn the tables on the menace. Here, Chance finds himself drawn into a web of corporate intrigue, blackmail, and murder, centered on a survivor of the World Trade Center disaster who faked his own death. Milligan’s treatment of Sept. 11 and the perspective he infuses into his amoral cast of characters are certain to raise eyebrows, but this tough-minded approach is critical to the impact of the story.

If not for Milligan’s literary excellence, the presence of Javier Pulido’s art would alone be a good reason to collect Human Target. Pulido, recently seen in the pages of Catwoman, is a master of the new DC house style of clean, simple storytelling, well-spotted blacks, and expressionist backgrounds. The spirit of Alex Toth hangs heavy over these pages, and that’s never a bad thing.

The political context of Human Target is bound to leave some people howling with rage. But the quality of the product ensures no one will find fault with this book as an example of outstanding, intelligent, and mature graphic fiction.

— Rob Salkowitz
Jump to issue:
  • 1
    #1
    Oct 2003
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    11 copies from $0.99
  • 2
    #2
    Nov 2003
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    13 copies from $0.99
  • 3
    #3
    Dec 2003
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    7 copies from $0.99
  • 4
    #4
    Jan 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    5 copies from $0.99
  • 5
    #5
    Feb 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    5 copies from $0.99
  • 6
    #6
    Mar 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    1 copy for $0.99
  • 7
    #7
    Apr 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    2 copies from $1.75
  • 8
    #8
    May 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    2 copies from $0.99
  • 9
    #9
    Jun 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    6 copies from $1.75
  • 10
    #10
    Jul 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    6 copies from $1.75
  • 11
    #11
    Aug 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    1 copy for $1.99
  • 12
    #12
    Sep 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    6 copies from $0.99
  • 13
    #13
    Oct 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    4 copies from $0.99
  • 14
    #14
    Nov 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    3 copies from $1.75
  • 15
    #15
    Dec 2004
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    4 copies from $1.75
  • 16
    #16
    Jan 2005
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    6 copies from $1.75
  • 17
    #17
    Feb 2005
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cameron Stewart
    6 copies from $0.99
  • 18
    #18
    Mar 2005
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    7 copies from $0.99
  • 19
    #19
    Apr 2005
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    3 copies from $0.96
  • 20
    #20
    May 2005
    Cover: $2.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    2 copies from $0.99
  • 21
    #21
    Jun 2005
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    Final issue
    2 copies from $2.98
  • Bk 1
    Book #1
    Jun 2004
    Cover: $9.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Javier Pulido
    Collects #1-4
    1 copy for $9.98
  • Bk 2
    Book #2
    Cover: $14.95
    W: Peter Milligan  ·  A: Cliff Chiang
    Collects #6-10; ca. 2004
    2 copies from $9.98