The screenwriter Tom King and the artist Greg Smallwood They recover a mythical character from DC Comics’ past White humancomic now published in a volume of the Great DC Graphic Novels line by ECC Ediciones
The screenwriter Tom King He has achieved such a status that every comic that is published with his name on the cover is already an event. One of his most recent hits, now collected by Editions ETC in a compilation volume, it is White humana story that recovers a mythical character from DC Comics and where we meet the dear members of International Justice League.
The other side of DC Comics
What is Tom King good at? Obviously, writing comics. Yes, ok, correct. But more specifically, what he’s really good at is taking second-rate characters (even if that’s something he’s done with himself too). Superman) and deconstruct them to reassemble them in a limited series of a handful of issues. He did it with Visionagainst Mister Miracleagainst Supergirl and with Adam Strange to name a few. It could be the turn of Christopher Caso will come with this comic. And so it is. But this story goes further…
What we have here is a noir classic set in a current world of superheroes. It’s not the first time something like this has been done, of course, but it has rarely been done so successfully. We have a murder (even if it’s an early murder), we have a fatal woman (Icethe most beautiful and captivating woman in the world when she is in the hands of Greg Smallwood) and a parade of suspects whose secrets will keep the reader in suspense until the end.
And it is precisely in this last point that the series shines the most. King’s ability to take a low-key plot like the one he presents here, with Christopher and Ice’s relationship at the center of everything, and fill it with the inherent, inescapable humor that results from bringing characters like Guy Gardner, Booster Gold or Blue Beetle among other things.
The announced death of Christopher Chance
Christopher Chance works as bait for his clients. When they see their lives threatened, they hire Chance to impersonate them for a while so that the assassination attempts will be suffered by him. It’s a well-paid job, but obviously the risks are high. And here we are presented with the story of the one time our protagonist had an accident at work. A deadly one.
When Change is hired to impersonate Lex Luthor Things end up taking a turn for the worse, as the assassination attempt succeeds. The curious thing about the case is that it is not immediately successful, but rather gives Chance 12 days to live, time that should be enough to find out who irremediably ended his life. Another curious thing about this case is that the main suspects are members of the Justice League International…
Each of these twelve days is an episode of this series, which works perfectly in a compartmentalized way. In each of them a member of the Justice League International will come under the microscope, even if this dynamic will not be fixed. Everything will lead us to the resolution of a mystery that will gradually unfold and reveal the layers that this series has beneath the surface…
another masterpiece
Sometimes it seems repetitive to say this when talking about a new work by Mr. King, but the truth is that we are faced with another masterpiece. It’s not just that this author is as brilliant as he always is in his best works, it’s that the slight change of direction in his usual plots suits him very well and the graphics are truly exceptional.
With this work, Smallwood delivers what is arguably the best work of his career to date. Seemingly simple figures that have the necessary details to make them unique, a beautiful setting and an excellently chosen color palette to illuminate each panel accordingly are the weapons that this master wields to delight readers. Simply wonderful.
Editions ETC presents this tome in hardback format. The volume contains 416 color pages and includes the translation of the American edition of the twelve issues that make up the limited series The human target as well as the special Tales of the human targetas well as the covers of all issues included. The recommended retail price is €46.5 and went on sale in October 2024.
Human Target (major DC graphic novels)
Christopher Chance makes a living disguising clients whose lives are in danger. In other words, he is a human target. However, this time, impersonating Lex Luthor has cost him dearly, and he has 12 days to find out who will kill him… and the main suspects are members of Justice League International.
The screenwriter Tom King and the artist Greg Smallwood They recover a mythical character from DC Comics’ past White humana story that has fascinated readers all over the world for having been able to perfectly combine superheroes with espionage and the noir genre. The Black Label label has become a great asset of DC Comics today not only for the talent of its authors but also for the quality of the stories that do not necessarily have to fit into the usual continuity. human target It is one of the latest examples of the success of the combination of two factors.
Authors: Tom King, Raphael Albuquerque, Kevin Maguire, Greg Smallwood Yes Mikel Janin