Graphic Novel Reviews: Talon 0

The Story

As a child, Calvin Rose escapes from his abusive home and joins Haley's Circus. While there he learns to become an escape artist, and is recruited by the Court of Owls to become their Talon. On his first mission he is sent to murder a woman and her daughter. Unable to go through with it he kidnaps the two and leads them to safety.

In present day he is attacked and left to die by the current Talon of the court. Calvin manages to break out and escapes from the Talon.

The Review
I bought this because I figured it was worth a look to see what Scott Snyder and James Tynion could do with a story centered around one of the Talon's as the protagonist. What I found was a series I  hope will go on for a long, long time. I absolutely loved this story. Snyder and Tynion tie past and present together in a way that flows perfectly and introduces us to everything we need to know about the character.

I particularly love the fact that Calvin is an escape artist. It seems like a somewhat untapped well thathas only been dredge from once or twice. I look forward to see where exactly Snyder goes with this concept.

What makes this different from the other Zero Issues is that it isn't the backstory of an established character. It's the introduction to a brand new character, who has just started his own series. It works perfectly to start off the new series and I'm definitely down to continue reading the rest.

Artistically Guillem March manages to tie the Owl motif throught the story in his character designs and the facial expressions he has them make. The art is solid, supplementing the story excellently. Overall I find this a solid read and look forward to future issues.

The Grade

5/5