Comic Review: The Silencer #7

The Silencer #7

DC Comics

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artist: Viktor Bogdanovic

The Silencer is my favorite of DC’s “New Age of Heroes” titles. I like most of the other titles, but The Silencer is my favorite. It’s mainly because I think her power is pretty cool. She can create a zone of silence in an area or on an object. It’s also because the story that’s currently unfolding is really fun and entertaining. She used that power to become an assassin but got out of that life to have a family.

Of course, even if you get out, they’ll try to pull you back in. Talia al Ghul pulled Honor Guest (The Silencer’s real name) out of her family life and back into a war in the underworld. Honor tries her best to stay out of it but is forced into conflict against other assassins. In the previous issue, during an ambush, Talia dies, but her body goes missing. Wanting to make sure that she remains dead, Honor takes her family on a surprise vacation. Using them to travel abroad, she’s followed by two other assassins.

That’s where this issue takes place, on a plane to their vacation. It’s a fun issue. Honor fights Cradle and Grave, assassins with cybernetic body mods. It’s a pretty cool fight. Because of her powers, there’s no onomatopoeia or spoken dialogue during the panels where they actually fight. Her inner thoughts provide context for what’s happening during the fight, but not in the cheesy way comics did in the 60s and 70s.

The art, by Viktor Bogdanovic really makes the fight scene work in this issue. Every action is nice and clear. Every panel is more like a snapshot rather than any kind of active motion, and I like it. The rest of the non-action looks good as well. Cradle and Grave look cool with their body mod weapons. I have to mention the colors in this issue done by Michael Spicer. There’s a good contrast between the white/blue of the plane’s interior and the characters. As well as the colors on Cradle and Grave against the blue aura of Honor’s field of silence.

The story itself is pretty alright. Dan Abnett knows how to tell a story, and I think, as a whole, The Silencer is a good one. But this issue doesn’t really move the plot forward much, if at all. We start on the plane, and we end as the plane lands. But the dialogue is good, especially between Cradle and Grave. Honor speaks like a mother does to a child, and Ben, her son, like a child. Her husband seems way too into a brochure for the theme park they’re going to to be realistic. I know the main focus is on Honor, but he seems way too oblivious. Besides that, this issue feels a little on the short side. It’s a regular, 20-ish page story, but it goes by quick.

Overall I enjoyed this issue. It’s not the best issue of The Silencer to come out, but it’s far from bad. I think The Silencer has a really cool power and a really cool suit. This issue didn’t do much for the story as a whole, but I’m looking forward to where it’s going. With the Silencer joining season seven of the CW’s Arrow, I think now is a good time for new readers to jump on board with this comic.