The Good

Oh yeah, Slade Wilson is back. Let me just get this out of the way: if you gave up on Deathstroke's series, now is the time to get back on-board. Truthfully, Scott Clark's cover alone should be more than enough of a reason to pick up the issue. That easily has to be the most badass image of Slade in years. I'll give you a moment to go ahead and stare at that masterpiece.

Back? Alright, good. Issue #15 introduces writer Justin Jordan to the title and so far the guy is absolutely a solid match for Deathstroke. Yeah, Slade's a terrific killer, but without his intellect he really wouldn't be anything special. Because of this, Jordan shifts gears to put a focus on Slade's tactical capabilities. This comes at the expense of his physical well being, but it makes sense. After all, his armor can take a beating and even under that durable attire he's still sporting a healing factor. I'll admit at first I groaned when I saw the mercenary essential dog-piled and defeated by complete fodder, but I was pleased to see there was a reason for the embarrassing "loss."

I'm a sucker for villains and Jordan does a praiseworthy job introducing us to Koschei. An arrogant and power hungry villain is something we see plenty of, but there's a nice twist to the foe and because of this he oozes a formidable personality. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one that started the "come at me, bro" meme.

One quick look at the art credits can be overwhelming There's 2 people working on pencils and 5 inkers. Despite this, the book has a fairly consistent look.

The Bad

Most of the art is fine but there's a few close ups of faces that just feel a bit off to me when it comes to the structure. Also, one panel would have looked much better without the cold air coming from their mouths. In some cases it looked like solids. Their posture and extra layers do a more than able job representing the bitter cold.

The Verdict

It's good to have you back, Deathstroke. So far Jordan seems to have a firm grasp on the character (and I'd hope so since he's also writing TEAM 7) and I'm really pumped to see what he has in store for DC's deadliest mercenary. I'm loving the hit on Koschei and I'm especially curious to see what conclusion Slade's reached. This title's violent and smart and that's exactly how a Deathstroke title should be.