This concluding issue of The Brotherhood boasts what is probably Finch and Thirbert's strongest efforts of the entire series. Unfortunately, it also boasts Austen's weakest. The script is all over the place and offers no exposition to let the reader who all the characters are, let alone what's going on. Perhaps what's most disappointing about it, though, is that the vast potential that serves as the foundation blocks of the plot is lost.
The Knox Building is ablaze, and James MacDonald and his fellow firefighters are right in the middle of it. If the fire wasn't enough for them to contend with, the flaming zombies and a desperate man's tinkering with the timeline in the not-too distant future are making life -- and death -- even more complicated for them. Meanwhile, on the roof, EMT Jennifer Montez tries to eliminate the threat of a nerve toxin, bottled up in canisters on the burning structure.
Finch brings the fiery carnage of this final issue to life in gruesome yet impressive detail. He conveys the confusion of the situation, and the desperate but valiant efforts of the firefighters with seeming ease. Most impressive is the monstrous nature of the burning drug addicts in the Knox Building. Avalon's bright colors communicate the intensity of the heat and energy bursting forth from other figures and the walls around the main character as well.
Unfortunately, it's with the art that my enjoyment of this issue ends. Austen jumps around so much that the story is almost unintelligible. Just when I thought I had a handle on the plot, the writer throws me a curveball, and I was lost all over again. The story has also lost its grounded tone with the incorporation of outlandish plot elements, like blazing junkie zombies and canisters of toxins inexplicably turning up on the roof of a burning building.
It's my understanding that Marvel is considering future comics featuring everyday heroes like cops, firefighters and the like. Despite my disappointment in The Call of Duty, I hope they go ahead with those plans. Austen started off with plenty of strong potential and some great characters. I want to see the everyday lives and struggles of firefighters. And hell, even his sci-fi ideas were intriguing. They just didn't go hand in hand, and the result was a confusing jigsaw puzzle with pieces that didn't fit together to form one coherent picture.
