Two-in-One Review: Valentine Randy and Don are invited into the life of a reformed assassin in Daniel Cooney's small-press book, Valentine. Don: Ever since Frank Miller shifted from super-hero books to his Sin City books, more and more crime comics seem to have popped up, the most prominent of which these days is probably 100 Bullets. Well, Daniel Cooney's made his own contribution to the genre in Valentine. Randy: While Valentine does fit the criteria of a crime book, it's a little different from the gritty hard-luck P.I. and second-rate crook stories that make up a lot of the genre offerings. This black and white book is about a female professional assassin, but in the issue that Cooney sent us for review, a new story has started where the lead character has decided to break away from that profession. Valentine #7 published by Red Eye Press written & pencilled by Daniel Cooney inks by Peter Palmiotti & Daniel Cooney Don: Dana Valentine was a mob assassin who decided a while ago to leave a life of crime and murder behind. She now works as a waitress in a restaurant owned by a former made man, Angelo, who lost his wife and child soon after he decided to go legit. Complicating their lives are Angelo's corrupt sister-in-law and a Kingpin-esque Russian mobster named Sabonis. The first thing that strikes me about this book is that Cooney has a solid premise on his hand, but the execution would benefit immensely if an editor was brought into the process. There are a couple of sloppy, jarring typos ("surviving" is misspelled twice as "surving"), and the tone of the dialogue for a couple of characters shifts a little, making for some inconsistencies. Randy: I'm afraid I have to agree with you here, particularly when it comes to the typos. I'm not terribly picky about these things, and some of the best writers (*cough* Bendis *cough*) have work that is hardly typo-free... but some of the dialogue here had some particularly noticeable errors. I thought the characterization in the book was pretty solid, though. I'm a fan of first-person narration, and Dana Valentine's somewhat self-indulgent and understandably traumatized viewpoint makes for some intriguing reading. I do think that, as you note, an editor might have cut down on the amount of her narration, as she sometimes got a little overly dramatic about her circumstances. Don: Cooney injects the book with some strong characterization, but instead of Dana Valentine, it was Angelo that I found to be the more interesting character. He comes off as a genuinely kind soul, but a little naive, especially for a one-time mobster. That's not a criticism, though; I rather enjoyed his flawed but trusting nature. It's as though he's overcompensating for sins from the past to the point that he's going to get hurt, as are those around him. Randy: Angelo did seem a little soft for someone who was supposed to be a connected mob boss, but he wasn't my favorite character of the bunch either. In fact, the characters who most intrigued me were the duplicitous but not wholly villainous sister-in-law and nephew of Angelo. They clearly have their own interests and stories, but we see only glimpses of them, and they come across as fascinating complications for the lead character. Speaking of whom, I thought Dana Valentine was an interesting lead, not unlike one of the stronger females in Greg Rucka's novels. She engaged in a morally questionable profession, but she isn't presented as inhuman. Instead, like Tony Soprano or Leon in The Professional, she's a human with emotions and thoughts who is stuck in a job that most of us mentally ascribe to inhuman personalities. The dichotomy makes for an interesting hook. Don: There's some strong art to be found in this book. Cooney and Palmiotti make the most of the black-and-white format, establishing some palpable, dark moods. There's a cinematic quality to several pages. Instead of static images, some look as though they're moving, but in slow motion. The lettering is also clean and visually appealing; it boasts a professional quality. Unfortunately, for all those strengths, there are corresponding weaknesses as well. While some pages boast depth and strong atmosphere, others are flat. The characters are rendered inconsistently at times as well. The two key action sequences are not choreographed all that well; it's difficult to follow the movements of the characters in those scenes. Randy: The artwork does have some inconsistency to it, perhaps due to a number of assistants and inkers. However, when the art is strong, it's really impressive. I thought the portrayal of the city and the rain early on, in fact all of the first three or four pages, was really strong. And the sort of gray-washed look of page 10 was very impressive. Valentine offers up an unusual premise, looking at the life of a female assassin not from the angle of the guns, explosions and assignments, but the after-effects on the psyche and the down-time persona. It has its inconsistencies, as do many self-published books, but it's a promising offering from talented creators. For more information about Valentine, visit www.valentine4hire.com. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.