Deathstroke #16 Review
***SPOILER FREE REVIEW***
In my review for Deathstroke #15, I gave high praise for the new team of Justin Jordan, Edgar Salazar and Scott Hanna for salvaging Deathstroke into a once again enjoyable title. Luckily for us, we get another strong issue from the creative team this time as well!
Justino Jordan has a strong handle on how to write Deathstroke. The panel with Deathstroke smirking about the message he received on his phone sums up Deathstroke quite well: Slade Wilson is a badass! Jordan's writing on this title is a no-frills, straightforward affair. While some might find it dull, for an action-oriented comic like Deathstroke is very solid writing.
While I don't have Issue #15 in front of me to compare, it seems from memory that the art is highly improved this issue. Edgar Salazar is good at purveying action and energy, which is great for such a action and combat heavy narrative as Deathstroke. Scott Hanna's inks are nice and light, allowing Salazar's art to really shine. The art still feels a little dated to me, but more as Ithrowback to older action comics. I especially like that the art is very clean looking in this book, compared to other action titles which rely too much on excessive shading and cross hatching to make characters look intimidating and badass. Rather, Salazar and Hanna let Deathstroke's actions show how awesome he is!
I have to say that I am very pleased with the new direction for Deathstroke. While it's not a cerebral comic with deep character study, Deathstroke does a great job fulfilling its role as a fun action comic with a take no prisoners protagonist who lets his actions speak for himself. Hopefully, sales of this series improve to reflect the change in quality!
