Assassin

    (Archangel, 2003)
™ and ©2003 Bradley J. Kayl & Christian Gossett

It doesn’t start out pretty, folks. Right from the splash page, Kayl’s heavy-handed and overly long narrative voices over the scene of an apparently recent gunfight, dropping not even the subtlest of hints as to just what might be going on. And, although the art reproduces nicely directly from Henderson’s pencils, the first look is a little too rough, as the art’s preliminary construction lines remain visible. It’s as though the inks had been forgotten rather than deliberately omitted.

But, like an old car on a cold morning, things get up to speed once warmed up. An early twist shakes the cobwebs loose, and from there Kayl and Gossett waste no more time introducing the assassin Samuel and how he comes to find himself with the president’s image in his rifle scope. And, through a flashback sequence with a beautifully written dialogue between Samuel and his victim-to-be, Kayl reveals just how hellish this assassin’s fascist world has become.

Snakebite and Schrier’s enhancements to Henderson’s art dominate some pages and are barely evident in others. The result? Some pages are gorgeously rendered, while others look unfinished. Artistically, none of the pages look bad, by any means, but consistency would have been welcome.

It shimmies at the start, but it’s a smooth-running machine by issue’s end. Get it and read it, albeit with a little early patience.

— Jim Johnson
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  • 0
    #0
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Bradley James Kayl  ·  A: Jet Henderson, Aaron Horvath, Chris Gossett
    ca. 2003
    3 copies from $2.98
  • 1
    #1
    Regular Cover
    Jul 2003
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Bradley James Kayl, Chris Gossett  ·  A: Jet Henderson, Snakebite, Paul Schrier
    3 copies from $2.54
  • 1/A
    #1 Variation A
    Cover A: gun in bloody hand
    Jul 2003
    Cover: $2.99
    W: Bradley James Kayl, Chris Gossett  ·  A: Jet Henderson, Snakebite, Paul Schrier
    2 copies from $1.99