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DECOY: STORM OF THE CENTURY #3
Mildly Recommended (6/10)
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Penny-Farthing Press
"Part 3 of 4: Don't Go Changin'"
Writer: Buddy Scalera
Pencils: Courtney Huddleston
Inks: Mostafa Moussa
Colors: Mike Garcia
Letters: Comicraft
Editor: Michelle Harman
"Origin, Part III"
Writer: Michelle Harman
Pencils: Pablo Villalobos
Inks: Victor Llamas
Colors: Mike Garcia
Price: $2.95 US/$4.60 CAN |
I remain impressed and entertained with Huddleston's core concepts here, but somehow, this issue didn't click for me as well as previous chapters. I found some of the scripting -- in both stories -- a little awkward, but I think what really put me off was that the lighter and darker elements of the main story didn't come together well. Instead of a complementary contrast, they clash instead, making for a divisive read.
Officer Bobby Luck's partner Tessa is duped into siding with the corrupt and cruel police chief and his mysterious ally, Dr. Alloy, and she sets out to arrest her pseudo-paramour. Meanwhile, Decoy's two sides -- the friendly green one and the emerging violence of the red -- continue to war with one another, and he and Bobby meet a group of creatures who explain Decoy's current metamorphosis. Meanwhile, looking back, we learn of Decoy's society and its color-caste structure.
Huddleston's art on the main feature captures the title character's cute, playful and curious nature wonderfully. But when it comes to anger, betrayal and cruelty, it lacks the edge the story calls for at times. Villalobos's artwork on the backup feature is consistent with the visuals in the main piece, but there's a far different tone as well. He emphasizes the alien nature of the title character's origins nicely, and hints at the intellect of Decoy's people and the structure of his society with just the looks on the characters' faces.
Though I enjoyed how Scalera temporarily resolved the conflict with the Kranch, I thought some of the pacing and dialogue didn't quite work. The threat posed to Bobby in the opening pages didn't hold all that much suspense (and he dismisses it far too quickly), and the exchange between Tessa and the chief seemed off as well. The dialogue comes off as too blunt rather than devious, and the tone of the scene shifts to a harsh one so suddenly so as to be jarring.
The book isn't without its strengths, though. Decoy's shapeshifting is always a treat, and the backup story hints at a social complexity that intrigued me. Actually, it intrigued me so much that I wondered why Harman was beating around the bush in terms of details with only one issue left to go.
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