Left: Grifter #10 Cover (no logo)
"COVER ME!"
Story: Rob Liefeld
Dialog: Frank Tieri
Pencils: Scott Clark
Inks: Dave Beaty
Colors: Andrew Dalhouse
Letters: Wes Abbott
Editor: Brian Smith
ART
Let me start off by saying that I can understand how this comic doesn't appeal to everyone. Some people don't like the simple shoot-em-up style, some people (old Wildstorm fans mostly) wish for a return to the corporate espionage deepness and low-snark version of Grifter depicted in Wildcats Version 3.0, and some people simply don't know how to have fun with their comics. But, regardless of everybody's feelings about the "Chosen One" storyline or the trajectory of Grifter (and his personality), I firmly believe that nobody can say anything bad about the art in this book right now. IT IS SIMPLY GORGEOUS AND STUNNING on every level (almost - I will nitpick just a little, later in this review), from the highly detailed and perfectly stylized renderings of Scott Clark, to the extremely tight and accurate inks of Dave Beaty, to the eye-popping colors of Andrew Dalhouse. These guys are ON FIRE, and in my opinion are creating the DEFINITIVE look of Grifter, right now as we speak. Also, let me say that I have a weird thing about how artists draw Grifter's mask (I generally don't like how a lot of artists draw it). I feel like a lot of guys draw it realistically (flopping and swinging all over the place and usually make it way too long as well), but that just doesn't look cool at all. At face value, a guy who runs around with a rag on his face doesn't sound very compelling, but Scott Clark has found away to make Grifter look awesome with the mask on in virtually every panel. I even like how Grifter's new combat outfit pays homage to his original green trench coat and red dish-washing gloves look -- just a much more modernized and functional take on that design. Keep up the good work, gentlemen!
My only nitpick relating to the art in this issue would be that it seems that Scott Clark is putting so much detail into a few 2-page spreads or action-heavy pages that some of the detail in the "talking head" scene panels gets put aside. I'm thinking that Mr. Clark just doesn't have enough hours in the day to make every panel as hyper-detailed as the larger spreads, which is really fine by me. I'm loving the large spreads and am willing to see less-detailed quiet scenes if it means we can get 2-3 almost "cover quality" spreads within the issue. I know there are a lot of other people out there who would disagree with me on this point, but I'm just being realistic in how I view the art with a knowledge of how long it takes to grind out the pages for these issues.
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Above: Single panel -- Grifter getting ready to kick some butt.
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STORY & DIRECTION
*** SPOILERS BELOW ***
Like I stated above, the story is not going to be for everyone...but I also think that everyone could find something to like about this issue if they just quit being so damn jaded about their comics!!!
The issue starts with Grifter getting ribbed by basically the entirety of his new group (the resistance fighters introduced last issue) while traveling from one "safe house" to the next in the Swiss Alps. Deathblow gets in on the shit-giving routine that the others are laying on Cole, and Cheshire tells him to just ignore them. Grifter holds his own and just reveals that he reads minds (I don't know if this was rhetorical or not, but based on what happens later in the issue, I'm inclined to say that he means his statement literally). This nugget is actually a pretty big deal, as this is a facet of this character's power set that we have not seen up until now (no mention of this in the previous 9 issues).
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| Above: A scene from early in the issue that shows the "Resistance" team ribbing Grifter for being the "Chosen One". |
A few seconds later, the Daemonites blast the hell out of the transport that our characters are traveling in and the action starts in earnest and doesn't quit until the end (and even then its only a brief respite...)
Grifter, Cheshire, and Deathblow escape the carnage and take the fight to the aliens with little luck. They get to a point where they are hopelessly outnumbered and outgunned with Deathblow preoccupied about getting his fellow soldier, Buck, out of some of the wreckage, which basically takes the big guns out of the fight for the time being. Grifter and Cheshire realize that unless they do something drastic, they are all going to die right there on that mountain road.
Chesire gives Grifter a pep talk that goes like this in a nutshell, "Step up and be the man that we know you can be -- save us or all this sacrifice was for naught! Something goes off in Grifter's noggin and he decides to FINALLY quit reacting and start taking the fight to the Daemonites. And boy does he do just that.
Over the course of the next few pages, it is revealed that he has some super-badass telekinetic powers that he apparently likes to keep under wraps, for reasons unknown to us at this time. Let me just say that for Grifter fans, this short fight scene is one of the most awesome things I've ever seen this character do. I won't go completely into detail here, because this fight sequence really needs to be seen to be fully appreciated, but suffice to say that this New 52 version of Grifter could give some of the most powerful telepaths a run for their money. He single-handedly dispatches about two dozen Warrior-class Daemonites with his mind!
The battle is won and our heroes have doggedly made it to another supposed Resistance "safe house". There, they have a few quiet moments to reflect on what happened earlier that day, finally give Grifter the respect he deserves, and start to realize that they are fighting for someone worth saving. It seems like they (as a group) have started to turn the corner and allow themselves to have hope that Grifter maybe can get them through this and truly beat down the Daemonite invasion.
The quiet moment is shattered by the explosive arrival of another new character, Synge. I have to say that I think the character design is a little ridiculous, but hopefully he ends up presenting a good challenge to our heroes next issues.
DIALOG
Cole Cash's snarky dialog continues this issue and I continue to love it. This is how I truly believe the foundations of the character's personality should be, while still allowing some room to grow into a more confident and reliable (anti) hero. It seems that in this setting, with what we know if Grifter's story so far, he is a scared individual who has been hounded at every turn by these bastard aliens, intent on taking everything from him, which they basically have (brother, girlfriend, etc.). Grifter doesn't know how to cope with this, so he hides behind the banter to keep himself from going over the edge and losing control and/or just shutting down from all the traumatizing experiences he's recently endured.
Cole Cash's snarky dialog continues this issue and I continue to love it. This is how I truly believe the foundations of the character's personality should be, while still allowing some room to grow into a more confident and reliable (anti) hero. It seems that in this setting, with what we know if Grifter's story so far, he is a scared individual who has been hounded at every turn by these bastard aliens, intent on taking everything from him, which they basically have (brother, girlfriend, etc.). Grifter doesn't know how to cope with this, so he hides behind the banter to keep himself from going over the edge and losing control and/or just shutting down from all the traumatizing experiences he's recently endured.
I think Tieri's take on the character is 1000x more endearing that Edmondson's, and I always look forward to hearing what Grifter has to say and how he says it.
IN CONCLUSION
This entry into the Grifter story was another solid and extremely fun comic. We really learned a lot about the main character's power set and what he is truly capable of. The artwork was mind-blowingly amazing! The over-arching story is moving pretty slow at this point, with both of the (Liefeld/Tieri/Clark) issues essentially just showing a single fight scene each, with some dialog and exposition on the bookends of the issue, but I can't wait to see the larger aspects of this story and how Grifter and company are going to take down the Daemonites, which seem pretty damn tough at this point.
Bottom line is this: The new direction that Liefeld is taking the book in is FAR superior to it's previous storyline and each issue has been better than the last, so I have some extremely high hopes for this book going forward. Let's keep this title going...BUY THIS BOOK PEOPLE, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
IN CONCLUSION
This entry into the Grifter story was another solid and extremely fun comic. We really learned a lot about the main character's power set and what he is truly capable of. The artwork was mind-blowingly amazing! The over-arching story is moving pretty slow at this point, with both of the (Liefeld/Tieri/Clark) issues essentially just showing a single fight scene each, with some dialog and exposition on the bookends of the issue, but I can't wait to see the larger aspects of this story and how Grifter and company are going to take down the Daemonites, which seem pretty damn tough at this point.
Bottom line is this: The new direction that Liefeld is taking the book in is FAR superior to it's previous storyline and each issue has been better than the last, so I have some extremely high hopes for this book going forward. Let's keep this title going...BUY THIS BOOK PEOPLE, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.
Art = 9 / 10
Story/Dialog = 9 / 10
Overall = 90% --> doesn't get much better (or more fun) than this !!!
