COMIC BOOK REVIEW: The Owl #4
This is it! Here’s the last issue of Dynamite Entertainment‘s The Owl, featuring our hero who has come back from ethereal limbo, facing the challenges of the new world in his fight for justice. After this mini-series, will the Owl, as a comic, be able to establish it’s comeback? Or will it shy away and go back to it’s sleep?
The comic opens with where #3 left off, welcoming readers into the battle between The Owl and the new Owl Girl, the hero’s previous partner’s granddaughter. This issue sheds more light unto the burden that The Owl carries, as we find out that confronting Owl Girl and correcting her ways isn’t only about saving the girl from taking a path where she couldn’t go back, but also about repaying a deed from the past, saving her just as her predecessor has done for The Owl when the hero almost lost his way.
This issue reminded me of Batman’s confrontation versus Red Hood and Gotham’s gangs. Well, The Owl himself reminds me of Batman as the character sprouted from a time when people are looking for their own taste of the Caped Crusader. I’d say it’s about ideal versus reality, what’s right and moral versus what actually works and delivers results. It talks a lot about how our comic heroes have changed through the decades as the constantly changing challenges of today need solutions that adapt. In all honesty, I get how minds like Todd’s and the new Owl Girl’s work, since it takes more than ideal and naive morality to set things right in a world that dumps on you truckloads of lemons. However, I could also sympathize with The Owl and his burdens, as he has practically come back from the dead only to find out that his ways might be past its expiry date and it would cost him a lot more to save the soul of his old friend’s granddaughter.
J.T. Krul has written an explosive revival for The Owl. He went straight into the action, gave him tons of problems to deal with and by the end of the mini-series, the hero has more or less come into a decision on what to do with his revival in a modern world. Looking at it, the hero’s story reflects that of the comic, asking what would happen to a comic character that has come from a time of vibrant spandex and cheesy mid-battle lines when it gets revived in a modern world with an abundance of grit and darkness. The way Krul has written the story, there are a few loose ends and everything seems like a set-up as to whether The Owl as a comic would continue to hit the shelves or will the character retire once again.
The art’s stunning as usual and for me, Heubert Khan Michael‘s good to go for more adventures of The Owl. The art’s solid and the movements were just slick, albeit there were less acrobatics here and more of gunfights and aerial combat. Vinicius Andrade‘s colors were strong and The Owl just pops out especially when he uses that disco lights trick of his. I also love the definitive contrast between the flashback whose art looked like it’s ripped off from a 70s comic book. What made this issue’s art steps far from being perfect though is that there were pages that seem like they haven’t gotten enough attention, like the line work losing its touch and the colors looking dull o out of focus in some parts. I’m not sure which of the two should be at fault but I expected that they’d make every page of this issue seamless at the very least.
It’s a great series-ender as far as I’m concerned. The Owl has somewhat settled what he has to do in his new world while at the same time, not everything is done yet, allowing room for more stories and issues. There were a few bumps along the way but this issue covers all of that up, making the series worth the pick. Like I’ve been asking, I wonder what would happen to The Owl after this, whether the title would continue or not. But in case it does, then that’s another title added to my list of comics I’d regularly get.
REVIEW SCORE:
8/10
