The Silenced and the Avenged
Highly Recommended!
Back in one of the best times for stories of bravery, justice and adventure, All-Star Western is single-handedly defining the history of The New 52 universe. Now more than ever, as this series gets pulled into the first major crossover event for the New 52 - the Night of the Owls!
The current August 7 arc wraps up very quickly to accommodate this Night of the Owls tie-in. So much so that we are hardly left with a memory of what happened. This was a bit of a letdown given that this group was built up to be significant enough to leave Jonah with scars - all to end in the first six pages of this issue. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed how well architected and implemented Jonah's plan was - something Danny Ocean would be proud of - I guess I was just expecting a bit more given all the build-up. Nevertheless, it was six great action-packed pages, resulting in the fulfillment of Jonah's end of the deal with Nighthawk and Cinnamon. In turn, he received the information he was looking for - unfortunately it came a bit too late for him to personally take action...
The Silenced - Jonah's arrival on the other side of the city made for a nice segue to the Night of Owls story-line, setting up the next part in his ongoing adventure. While the reason for his trip to New Orleans was no longer relevant, the new arc starts to unravel quickly as links back to previous issues arise - secrets, assassinations, and...owls... The best news is that the master planner, Jonah himself, doesn't even have a theory yet - this makes for an exciting development, given that we may actually be on the same page, and not several issues behind in Jonah's off panel plans.
As expected, with his New Orleans business taken care of, we are back in Gotham - but we aren't back with Jonah, yet. The stage is being set for a new character - the introduction of Tallulah Black to the series! Quick, deadly, and almost as scarred as Jonah, what she carries as baggage, she makes up for in determination for vigilante justice. This time she has stepped into a bigger nest than expected, and is promptly given a warning and a free flying lesson... Enter Jonah, back in Gotham, witness to Tallulah's grand exit from Wayne Casino, and likely a helping hand in the issues to come.
The art of this book is once again consistent (Moritat) with the previous issues. While it took me a couple months to catch on, I can really appreciate it now for what it brings to the story - in fact, I wouldn't want to see Jonah and these stories drawn any other way.
The Avenged - The second story in this issue once again features the vigilante duo - Nighthawk and Cinnamon! In this, the conclusion to the three-part revenge arc, we see the loving outlaw hunters wading through the muck, gunning down the opposition and eventually finding their mark - the one that left them for dead three times over - King of the Carnival himself, Mister Robertson. Calm, cool and collected, these two know exactly what to do to pass the time, as they patiently wait for the right moment to strike...
And when that moment comes, it is everything you would expect it to be. Showing true mercy, no one was harmed unless absolutely necessary - and in the end, Cinnamon shows Robertson the ultimate form of mercy he was looking for...
This second story was expertly implemented. It was a great end to this arc. In fact, the pacing for the entire arc was perfect. We were shown the right amount of back-story for each of the two main characters, the reason for their quest and then a fitting end with satisfying results. All the while, the art was excellent - very visually appealing. It was consistent throughout, and had the right balance of "cartoon" and "western reality".
As always, whenever the second story's arc ends, I always wonder what the next story will bring... for this, we are left with only two words, the teaser, "Bat Lash!". What does this mean? Which characters will be highlighted? Until next time, with Issue #10, where we find what's next for Jonah, Tallulah and the second story of this very All-Star Western masterpiece!
