THE ESTABLISHMENT #1
"Man in a Suitcase"
Recommended (7/10)
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DC Comics/Wildstorm Productions
Writer: Ian Edginton
Artist: Charlie Adlard
Colors: Wildstorm FX
Letters: GH
Editor: Jeff Mariotte
Price: $2.50 US/$4.25 CAN |
Those who didn't care for The Monarchy probably won't dig on this newest Authority spinoff title. Edginton has piqued my interest, though, with some strong characterization in the latter half of the book. Though the plot remains a bit vague (but only a little), good characters, strong art and some intense action make for a good read.
A middle-aged Charlie Arrows, former soldier and gangster, returns to his hometown of Hobb's Bay, England, to make amends for the past and put some demons to rest, but things don't work out as he'd hoped. Meanwhile, a hijacked fishing vessel makes its way to the English coastline, manned by an inhuman crew intent on the invasion of a small community, and the only one who can stop them is a little guy who has an interdimensional gateway in his valise.
The art in The Authority -- by artists like Bryan Hitch and Frank Quitely -- has been highly detailed, so I was surprised to see artists with looser or sketchier styles handling the visuals on spinoff titles, like this one and The Monarchy. Fortunately, it works. Adlard manages to convey the intensity and brutality of the action quite well, but he also captures the vulnerable humanity of characters like Charlie and Ian.
Edginton has tied this opening story arc into earlier issues of Jim Lee's original WildCATS series, in that the villains seem to be the lizard-like alien Daemonites. Edginton has a far more alien and horrific take on these aliens to offer than Lee did, though. Exactly why they're intent on invading a quiet coastal town has yet to be revealed, though, and I find I am a bit curious.
To be honest, it's not super-heroics or alien invasions that really draw one into the title. It's Charlie Arrows. We still know little of the character, but he's a tragic figure with which the reader can't help but sympathize. I hope he remains the title's central character (as the cover would suggest), as I really do want to learn a lot more about him.
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