Point Blank takes another interesting turn this month, as Grifter's investigation of Lynch's shooting takes him into encounters with Wildstorm's most popular characters, as well as shedding plenty of light on what's actually going on. As with the other two issues, anyone not already familiar with Wildstorm may feel either a bit lost or, more importantly, not connected to these characters and the central point of the plot, but anyone who has even the slightest affinity for The Authority and the more popular Wildstorm characters will get a kick out of this 70s-style noir trip through the dark alleys of the Wildstorm covert ops universe. Keeping it dark is Colin Wilson, whose artwork continues to suffer a little bit from too-dark coloring but has a sense of atmosphere that compares with Eduardo Risso and Sean Phillips, perfect for the book.
The "Eye of the Storm" imprint seems to be Wildstorm's stab at resurrecting the interest in their line that the behind-the-scenes BS with The Authority just about killed. Brubaker is doing a surprisingly thorough tour of their universe in this story, connecting with characters from most of their titles and covering events of recent years. It's a treat for those who are fans of Wildstorm continuity, and who may be wondering what's up with some of their favorite old school characters. However, those who don't know what The Authority is, at least in broad strokes, may not quite get the same thrill. Brubaker could have established who they are in broad strokes, at least, although I suppose in fairness that the audience for this book that doesn't know The Authority probably falls somewhere in the slim-to-none category anyway.
At any rate, inaccessibility isn't really a problem with this issue, as the generalities of Cole's mission and who he's fighting against are made quite clear. Hawksmoor and Slayton provide a pretty clear picture of Tao and Carver, and finally clarify just what's going on that got Lynch shot, although I suspect there are a few more surprises relating to that story yet to come. Either way, the central idea becomes clear, that a super-intelligent and cunning villain has created a shadow syndicate that not even master shadow secret agents can find. It's a chilling proposition and a fantastic setup for the bad guys, and what makes it really interesting is that all guns, less brains Cole is so obviously the wrong guy to try and take them down.
In terms of artwork, this book required a dirty and gritty approach that could maintain the street level feel, but it also requires being able to do some of the super-hero stuff that fills the world Cole is investigating. Wilson delivers on both counts, and I was particularly impressed that he could so easily shift scenes from a New York leather bar to a San Francisco high-rise to a parking garage to the jungles of South America without a problem. His detail on San Francisco was particularly impressive. And though his versions of the characters sometimes bear little resemblance to their previous incarnations, the dirty out-of-sorts look he's given Grifter or the military crew-cut hardcase look for Slayton are both great for conveying the tone Brubaker has set. Basically, it looks like this creative team is clicking, and that's always nice to see.
I was beginning to lose interest in Point Blank a little in the previous issue, but this one really regained my attention. Brubaker and Wilson have created a juxtaposition of gritty noir crime in a classic 70s vein against a backdrop of pure 90s super-heroes, and the two work better than you would imagine.
