Comics! Talon #1

Talon #1 

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

The Solicitation

• A new series spinning out of “Night of the Owls”!

• After many years on the run, Calvin Rose returns to Gotham City to investigate the fallout from “Night of the Owls”!

• Can the Court of Owls finally be defeated? Could Calvin have the one thing he’s been seeking his entire life: his freedom?


Preview

Why I Bought It
Like most new titles, I give it three issues to really sink my teeth into it and see if it has legs to stand on. Let's see how the second issue (which is strange to say about a book with  a big #1 on the cover) of this series goes.

What I Liked
This is a decent story. It does everything that it needs to as a first issue. And if you missed the last issue, no worries here, this one recaps almost everything. Name checks are given, motivation for characters are spot on. We even get a little bit of a taste of what the big bad enemy has in store for our main character and what kind of fights we could be having in the future.

Effective establishing. Decent art. Very well suited as a Batman book, but I'd be weary of bringing in Calvin Rose to the main books for team-ups.

What I Didn't Like
My big issue with this character and the whole Court of Owls centers around the fact that I have read this before, except it was called Azrael the first time I saw it. I think the similarities will just stick with me and make it hard for me to read the book without seeing it. A trained assassin breaking free of the programming that a secret cult bred him with. That's Jean Paul Valley's story in a nutshell, and that shell is shared by Calvin Rose as well.

There is potential here for the personality and character of Calvin to be very different from Valley. Calvin seems to be more certain of himself and his abilities, which is something that Jean Paul was lacking all those years ago. So again, there is potential, it is just hard for me to see it right now.

Panel to Remember
Pick any one of Sebastin Clark's panels. The man's face looks like an owl's face, and I don't think that is coincidental. Although, if he is simply using Calvin to gain power in the Court of Owls, then it will come across as entirely predictable.

Also, kudos to the "Zur En Arh" spray painted on the subway walls. Makes me wonder if that actually happened now in the new 52.

Quotable
"I'm done thinking, Clark." - Yea, me too. this book just didn't have anything that really struck out as me as Quote of the Book worthy.

Grades
Words: 7/10
Pictures: 7/10
Buy Next Issue: Eh. Yes, just to complete the three issue try, but the lifespan of the book beyond that doesn't look too good.