In which Casey Washington’s life is more unfortunate than a Lemony Snicket book; Calvin brings Bane back to his roots; and Evil comes knocking.
The Positive
Despite the highs and lows of Talon, I’ve always enjoyed James Tynion’s writing and this issue was no exception. Calvin Rose, Anya, Joey, and Edgar are confronted by Bane and his Lieutenants in the Prison Pena Dura. There’s a lot of action here, which is fairly well written and informative. Talon has been building up a nice cast of supporting characters but we have never learned much about them. This issue though, shed more of a light on Anya, a deadly but beautiful Russian badass, as we learned more about her connection to Ra’s Al Ghul. I really like Anya so far and I hope they continue to shine a light on her and the rest of the team.
Throughout his appearances in Talon it always felt like Bane had some sort of deep seated grudge against Calvin, but there really wasn’t much explanation given as to why. Bane however puts it all on the table here as Calvin brings him down to the Dungeon in which Bane grew up. Both Bane and Calvin had been locked away as children, but Calvin was able to escape and ran away and never really stopped running since. Bane on the other hand found strength and power in his isolation and can only see Calvin as a coward and weak for running away from what made Bane strong. Calvin though sees his running as strength, he wins by running, and it’s only fitting that he proved his point in the place Bane had been imprisoned.
A second story that runs through this issue follows Casey Washington, who faked her death years ago to escape the Court of Owls, back in Gotham City. Casey’s story has been one of struggle and determination, she’s thrown away everything she had to keep her daughter safe and nothing will stop her from saving her. A beaten and severely injured Casey is put through even more here as she escapes custody and heads to the roof of the station to turn on the Bat Signal. But before Batman can arrive the Gotham Butcher finds her first. I won’t say more here because Casey’s story in this issue was incredibly compelling and the last thing I want to do is spoil it for anyone.
The Negative
The art was so poor that several times throughout the issue I found myself wanting to just put it down. It was awfully inconsistent and made an issue that I would have otherwise enjoyed nearly unreadable. In some panels the perspective was off, in others the bodies were severely disproportionate, and in still others there was a severe lack of detail. It made it hard to get a sense of location, as often there was no actual background drawn and everything was draped or covered in blackness.. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Guillem March’s art but this really has me missing him.
Verdict: 
3/5
While I’ve always felt that a good story is the most important thing in a book, this shows how much bad art can drag down good writing. Tynion gave us another great chapter in Calvin and Casey’s Saga, throwing in a few special guest appearances and a great ending that definitely makes this issue worth checking out.
