A step in the right direction
I've been reading the new Azrael volume since day one, when Michael Lane got his own miniseries during Battle for the Cowl as Azrael II, but I've never been truly gripped by the character or the stories until now. With Azrael #10, David Hine takes, in my opinion, a step in the right direction. I will try not include spoilers for any major plot point in this issue, in case you haven't read this issue yet.
Two of my main problems with this volume had been, until now, the art and the storytelling. First of all, and I mean no disrespect for Ramon Bachs, the art had always been "dirty", if you know what I mean. Very heavy inks, dark colors, gloomy atmosphere. It suited the tone of the series, yes, but I always felt it made the reading a bit more difficult than it should be. Now Guillem March takes the reins of the art department for the book and the difference is huge. Anyone who knows March's art is able to recognize it immediately, thanks to a unique mix of "cartoony" features with realistic character designs. The art in this book is amazing, trust me. Tomeu Morey's bright and deep colors blend perfectly with March's art. Just looking that the art without reading the dialog is a bliss. The Killer of Saint's face is at the same time beatiful and terrifying.
In terms of narrative, the storyline picks up after the conclusion of Let He Who Is Without Sin, the previous story arc, when Azrael was made the host for the Eighth Sin of Mankind. After the defeat of La Saligia, the Order of Purity is targeted once again by an agent of a higher power, now in the form of the eponymous Killer of Saints (whose actual "codename" is revealed in this issue, but which I won't spoil). He is killing each of the five members of the Order of Purity who are keepers of an ancient and dangerous secret, among which is Father Garrett Day, Azrael's friend and guide. The fact that the killer has some kind of "paranormal powers", as Father Day calls them, makes you wonder whether he is truly acting on God's behalf and Azrael is the real "bad guy" or if it's just the other way round.
What I really liked about this issue is that Hine makes the mimic of the martyrdom of a Christian Saint the MO of the Killer of Saints. Christian mythology (understanding "mythology" as the corpus of stories and characters of a system of believes) is as rich as the Greek, Roman, Norse or Egyptian ones, yet is not as frequently used in comic books as these. Maybe it is because Christianity is understood as "religion", while Greek mythology is that, "mythology", but from a literary point of view, they both can be perfectly adapted into a comic book narrative, and this issue is a proof of that.
Overall, the writing doesn't feel as convulted and fragmented as in previous issues. What I didn't like is that the plot of some issues was created to parallel Lane's life. Once or twice, that's good. It gives you a better knowledge of a character that, to be honest, hasn't been well developed at all. His transition from replacement/psychotic Batman to the zealous Azrael was rough and sketchy, at best. For the first 7 issues, each one was a (mostly) self-contained story that contributed to the overall plot, but they were too short to flesh out a good story that didn't end abruptly. Azrael #10, The Killer of Saints, Part One: The Hand that Burns, was an introductory issue and it felt like one. The action itself was very slow-paced until the last pages, with the bulk of the issue being an account of the incidents that led to the current state of affairs in the Order of Purity, but at least it was a good introduction. As I said, it's nice seeing that Hine can now expand a story throughout many issues, not being forced to rush everything into a single one.
To sum up, I give this issue a 4.5/5: solid writing and beatiful art for the introduction to a story that has the potential to be highly interesting, with all the gruesome martyrdom deaths and the mysterious and supposedly-earth-shattering secret the Order of Purity is keeping.