Written by PAUL LEVITZ; Art by MARCUS TO and JOHN DELL; Cover by GUILLEM MARCH
Helena Bertinelli makes her DC Comics relaunch debut in style. The Huntress returns home to Italy, apparently to investigate the contents of a cargo container. Needless to say she finds more than she bargained for.
Paul Levitz returns to the character that he helped create (in a way) to write a very strong, competent and cool female lead. It says a lot about the skills of a writer when even the minor characters are well rounded. The unexpected, yet completely understandable, reaction of a young prostitute part way through sums this up perfectly; Helena's reaction to it adds both humour, sensitivity and an ounce of danger to her character in the space of four panels.
The art is let down by slightly (and only very slightly) misty colouring, but Marcus To's quality pencils can't be denied. His faces are expressive, his storytelling layouts flow wonderfully and the action - my goodness - the action is outstanding! Helena's fighting style reminds me of a bone-crunching Tony Jaa; I can't remember the last time that I actually recognised more subtle martial arts moves within comics. Huntress hooks her leg behind a thug's knee as part of her block before forcing him off balance and into the ground. Both as a fan of martial arts movies and as a kung fu black belt this type of attention to detail is highly appreciated.
This will be a classic mini-series. Whether you buy each issue or the collection YOU SHOULD OWN THIS BOOK!
My rating:
With this issue, Paul Levitz not only sets up the mini-series, but shows how and why Helena is an awesome character in one fell swoop. Marcus To impresses with his pencil lines, storytelling flow and fantastic action.
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