I’m almost positive that I didn’t buy any of these issues. I picked these out of a free pile because James Robinson’s the writer, and I loved the work he was doing on Starman.
Firearm, set in Malibu Comics’ Ultraverse stars a private eye who used to do black ops for a mysterious government organization. It gives Robinson the chance to write long, Chandler-esque monologues, filled with the same cityscape porn that he uses to describe Opal City in Starman. The man loves to wax poetic about urban areas and the appeal of old buildings. But where it’s charming in the DC title, it’s self-indulgent here. Robinson doesn’t know when to restrain himself, and goes on a little too much about Pasadena, CA whenever he talks about it. It gets tedious pretty quickly.
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| He goes on for another three pages. |
Alec, the lead, comes across as John Constantine, but with guns instead of magic. He’s got the same rogue with a heart of gold and a British accent vibe going. There’s really nothing that makes him stand apart from all the other PI stories out there - Sure, the adventures might be a little more wonky with superpowered people running around, but there’s nothing that Jessica Jones doesn’t do a million times better.
It also doesn’t help that the art barely hits replacement level at its best. Over nine issues, Robinson’s forced to endure six different pencillers. Not even Cully Hamner or Gary Erskine, whom I’ve at least heard of, come out of this unscathed.
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| Hamner. The action's awkward to say the least. |
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| It's okay. He finds his voice and uses it to great effect later on. |
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| Erskine. I've got nothing for that face in the middle panel. |
Things get really bad by the end of the run I own - Robinson delves into cyberspace and mind transfers, which does not age well at all. Plus, the Rafferty Saga that he’s been teasing in interludes for a year is extremely underwhelming.
Very cuttable, and not worth keeping when I’ve got Robinson’s magnum opus of Starman sitting proudly on my shelf.
Regret buying? No (Didn’t pay for it)
Would buy again? No
Would read again? No
Rating: Fine to Boring by the end (Cutting)
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