REVIEW: ALL-STAR WESTERN #15

January 4, 2013 No Comments »

comics_review

You can sum up All Star Western #15 in a few short sentences. Mr. Hyde infects Dr. Arkham with the tainted Jeckyll formula. Arkham goes on a rampage, And Hex and Hyde fight a LOT. That’s the vast majority of the story. It’s a really brutal fight, taking up most of the issue, and it shows Hex’s amazing determination. By the end of the issue, he’s taken a few story fall, smashed his leg, and ended up leaving a huge blood trail behind him as he continues his dogged pursuit. ALLSW_Cv15

The end of the issue has a few surprises in rapid succession. Arkham is captured and locked up, hopefully until the potion wears off. Hex is told he needs to stay in a wheelchair or risk losing his leg. Hyde is concocting a new version of the potion, this time adding the power of the black diamond to it. Clearly, Hex isn’t likely to sit still and follow doctor’s orders. I’m not sure what he’s going to do next, but I’m sure Palmiotti and Gray have some tricks up their sleeve. Moritat’s art is very stylized and distinctive, but it’s really growing on me. There’s one somewhat odd panel where Hex looks like he has elfin ears, but overall, I’m really liking the art. I’d still like Hex to get the heck out of Dodge… err, Gotham… but it’s a great book.

The back up featuring Tomahawk I’m still not really enjoying. I can’t really put my finger on it. It’s vicious, but so is Hex, and I’m enjoying that one. It’s the same two writers, whose work I usually love. The art by Phil Winslade isn’t working for me, and I don’t know why. I’d like to offer some kind of usual critique on this, but all I can say is what I already have: I don’t like this and I’m not really sure why.

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