Review: The Silencer #18
[Editor’s Note: This review may contain spoilers]
Writer:Â V Ken Marion and Dan Abnett
Artist:Â Sandu Florea
Colors: Mike Spicer
Letters: Tom Napolitano
Reviewed by: Carl Bryan
Summary
Honor Guest was the greatest assassin you’ve never heard of—but now the secret is out. In the month since Smoke’s devastating attack, the Silencer is on the lam from Leviathan and trying to piece her family life back together, and this is a challenge unlike any Honor has faced before. Will Honor’s past continue to plague her, or has she at last earned a peaceful respite from her life of murder and mayhem?
Writers V Ken Marion and Dan Abnett provide Honor/Silencer the send off that she wanted and needed. They tie up all the loose ends, but she can never be too sure. A visit to some old informants provides her both the assurance she may be so far down the list of Leviathan matters that she may have a chance at a normal life.
Blake visits his therapist…the poor guy has been through a lot, but he’s assured by the doc that she came back and he needs to support her as she has been through purgatory!
All this and Deathstroke….it’s the final issue for the Silencer.
Positives
John Romita Jr’s cover for this issue is a perfect exclamation point on this comic. And V Ken Marion and Dan Abnett provide Honor/Silencer the “silence” she has been craving. Honor wants to make sure Leviathan is in the rear view mirror.
A new move away from their current home means she has to make sure Talia and Leviathan are not in their immediate future. The visit to Maul Mart provides information she needs to know she matters, but she is far down the pecking order. And Death Stroke’s appearance at a backyard conversation (Imagine taking out the trash and finding this going on!) provides her the closure she needs.
Silencer is one of those characters that DC will need in the future! Talia Al Ghul is part of the Batman storyline. Honor deserves a place at the table as well!
Negatives
I lost Smoke…. now I’ve lost Silencer. I was hoping the New Age of DC Heroes would work as they were anchored to some major DC characters such as Batman and Superman. But alas, there seems to only be so much deviation that comic fans will buy into! Silencer has been shelved, and I hope she will find her place in the Batman comics at some point. She’s a great balance to Talia Al Ghul!
Verdict
An 18 issue run is not bad, and any collector that wants to get in on this comic should gobble up this issue as well as issues 1-17. Silencer needs to return, and it is always great to see when and where a new character is introduced. Here’s hoping DC keeps trying to expand its universe! The New Age fell victim on a lot of fronts to reader apathy and sales, but Silencer is a keeper who deserves a sequel. Until then….. reread your issues!
