Deathstroke #2

By Tony S Daniel, Sanou Florea, Tomeu Morey

This new Deathstroke is such a weird book. It’s so bad in a very nineties way. There’s ridiculous gore for gore’s sake and the story is beyond insane. Even the art is reminiscent of a Rob Liefeldian fever dream. So why is this series so freakin’ awesome?

Well, it’s because Daniel has put everything together so well. It’s like Robocop in the sense that it’s so bad that it has actually become great. It’s a caricature within a caricature that’s played off as totally serious.

At the end of last issue, Deathstroke died (I think) and came back as a younger version of himself. Apparently, the League of Assassins and Odysseus want him dead and yeah… I’m really not sure what the heck is going on. All of these ninjas with cyclops masks show up and we’re treated with another insanely violent fight that ends in Deathstroke covered in ninja blood. This may sound like a mess, but it’s a beautiful mess that sucks you in and demands to be read. Plus, Jericho shows up. So there’s that.

As far as the art goes, despite its nineties sensibilities, there’s also a modern twist that makes even the bloodiest panels look incredible. There are way too many panels of Deathstroke in badass poses, which can be a bit too much to handle. However, if you look at it in the right light, there’s a brutally honest message to it. This series knows exactly what it is and it embraces it to the highest degree.

If you’re not reading Deathstroke, it is very possible that it’s not your cup of tea. On the flip side, this might be just the series you need. We all need some dumb fun. There’s Die Hard to make us think and Die Hard with a Vengeance to put a smile on our faces. Long live this preposterous Deathstroke.