Silencer #9
Recap
Is there anything worse than a family vacation? Your spouse grouses, the kids complain, rest-stop food is gross—to make things worse, Silencer finds not one, but TWO deadly assassins on her tail! Talia al Ghul is in desperate need of a Lazarus Pit bath, and to get one she needs her top assassin Wishbone to throw Silencer off the trail! Problem is, Silencer isn’t the only one on the hunt. Her rival Quietus needs Talia out of the picture, and the whole thing devolves into a mind-bending shootout at the amusement park, where Silencer’s hubby and kiddie get caught in the crossfire. That’s it—next year it’s a “staycation”!
Review
Writer Dan Abnett and artist Patch Zircher have solidified the Silencer as one of the coolest superheroes to come out of the New Age of Heroes initiative. That much is clear. However, the latest issue turns into a body-swap story of “Freaky Friday” proportions that unfortunately detracts from this cool-factor. We are given a deeper insight into Honor Guest’s thinking and what it means to be the Silencer, but the story feels more inclined to explore the cooperation between Mr. Quietus and Honor Guest instead.
Luckily, as we get towards the end of the issue, the magic at play takes a darker turn and brings some much-needed genuine excitement to the story. A black cat turned monster by Wishbone’s magic begins its rampage through the very theme park where Honor Guest’s family is vacationing, providing just the twist needed for the story.
The artwork really picks up as well with the introduction of Wishbone’s giant monster. The sheer size and magnitude of its destruction shakes things up in a great way for bot the story and artistic direction. Wishbone, with her beautiful design and magnificent dark powers, stands out as the character of interest though. While I was truly hoping for a larger role for Wishbone moving forward, it looks as if she may have put too much effort in her last spell. Only time will tell if she managed to kill herself or not…
Although the issue diverges on a “Freaky Friday” story, Wishbone’s magic makes the issue a solid addition to the already strong Silencer series. It will be nice to get Honor Guest back in her body and see how they manage to take down the giant monster without breaking her cover, but until then, we will have to just mourn the destruction of Action Land!
Final Thoughts
The Silencer #9 doesn’t offer much new for readers in terms of its body-swap story, but it quickly finds its footing in Leviathan’s magic faction leader, Wishbone. It’s a fun issue that is worth the read for fans of the character.
Silencer #9: Freaky Friday
- Writing - 6/106/10
- Storyline - 6/106/10
- Art - 8/108/10
- Color - 6/106/10
- Cover Art - 9/109/10