Comics! Talon #0

Talon #0

Plot by James Tynion IV and Scott Snyder
Written by James Tynion IV
Art by Guillem March

The Solicitation
• A new series featuring the Court of Owls’ unstoppable killing machine! • Meet Calvin Rose, the only Talon ever to escape the grasp of the Court of Owls. This former assassin just wants to live a normal life...but that’s impossible, since he’s being hunted by his former masters!

Preview

Why I Bought It
Well, this seems like an interesting concept. Or at least one that I've seen before with Azrael, the Jean Paul Valley version. Let's see where this one takes us.

What I Liked
This is a true Zero issue as it tells us the entire back story for our Talon turned anti-Talon, Calvin Rose. Well, maybe not anti-Talon yet, but we know it will happen.

Interestingly, this story takes place in the past. Five years ago to be exact. Will it be brought up to speed with the rest of the DCU? I don't know. But it makes it a little interesting because then our main title character has the ability to be in a DC universe where there aren't any heroes, save for Batman rumbling around someplace. (At least, that's the idea that DC is tossing around). That will be interesting to see where it goes.

What I Didn't Like
There was something familiar about this book. The setup, the story. I knew the Court of Owls was familiar to be with the whole Azrael connection, but there was something else about this story that just tickled the back of my head. Where have I seen this before?

Calvin Rose is Jason Bourne. Trained killer who volunteered for the job who then loses track of their programming when a child's face enters the picture. Add in the escape artist thing and then you have a match.

And with that established, I just can't read the comic the same way again. It is Jason Bourne's intro to the DC universe.

Panel to Remember
I'm going with the one where the old man from the Court of Owls came by for a visit. He had very owl-like qualities that just set the tone for him. But that was really the only standout moment for me.

Quotable
"Yes." - and thus Calvin decides that killing is going to be OK, but don't worry, he overcomes that emotion later on.

Grades
Words: 5/10 - Overall this is a good character intro, but you are essentially putting Jason Bourne into the Batman universe.
Pictures: 5/10 - The art just wasn't working for me.
Buy Next Issue: I'm half tempted to see where it goes, but if I can't afford it then I won't go out of my way to make room for it on the pull list.