The Good
Man, I feel like I'm on loop when discussing why I love FIVE WEAPONS and that's due to writer and artist Jimmie Robinson offering what's essentially more of the same issue after issue. While it is indeed a blast and a super joyous read, this method does give me some concerns, too (see "The Bad").
Look, going into this issue we all knew "Tyler" was going to outsmart Rick the Stick. There's no surprise there, but that's not the point. All of the amusement is in attempting to figure out how he'll put the club's President in his place. It's safe to say we all know the moment which leads to the stick fighter's downfall, yet still, it left my mind racing to discover what exactly Tyler did in that instant. As usual, the revelation was pleasantly fun.
The dilemma with Joon is an interesting shift in the spotlight, even if having her talk to herself is a bit awkward at one point. Although, to be fair, I'm sure we can just chalk that up to her chatting with her pet snake. Additionally, having her think to herself about the conflict after it was clearly presented to us felt unnecessary -- the expressions on her face after the bonding experience was certainly more than enough to illustrate her struggle. It's nice to see things didn't go as expected in the end, but could this all be part of Tyler's plan? It's a far-fetched idea, yet it's certainly possible they had an off-panel chat about this, too.
Robinson's art continues to fit the very joyous tone of the book. The use of perspective in what could be stagnant scenes remains fresh and almost every page is undeniably animated. I have a minor minor gripe or two, but overall this book continues to look solid and the visuals are every bit as friendly as the tale.
The Bad
Like I said above, I had a few really small complaints with the visuals in this issue. In one instance, Darryl the Arrow (sadly, no relation to the one in The Walking Dead), aims his bow at Tyler and the next panel has a different set of coloring around the arrow. Given the fact we can't see Darryl, it looks like the arrow is in motion. I expected a reaction from Tyler to dodge or catch it, but it turns out the weapon was still stationary. So, the change in color around it was a bit misleading, at least for me. Additionally, a muzzle flash was behind a gun's barrel and that stood out to me.
As for the festival, isn't there a rule about interference or something? There's so many rules with everything else, so it's hard to believe this big competition isn't laced with them, too. To me, it's kind of like if a person watching a basketball game ran onto the court and slapped the ball out of a player's hands.
The Verdict
I don't know about you, but this cliffhanger has me absolutely baffled. Sure, the conclusion felt rather abrupt, but at the same rate, it just makes me even more curious to see how it'll all unfold with Darryl. No matter how it turns out, Robinson has more than proved I should have confidence in how he'll wrap up this competition.
Unfortunately, time isn't exactly on Robinson's side with this one. I'm slightly concerned he's bit off more than he can chew because there's only two issues left and there's still a lot of really cool things to explore (Principal O's need for revenge, the nurse, Tyler's back story, etc). I'm optimistic for the most part, but at the same rate, there is some worry that intriguing aspects can potentially be squished into a much shorter segment. Regardless, I continue to love this series and I'm thrilled to see this chapter continues to deliver the goods.