Graphic Novel Reviews: Talon 008

The Story

Casey and Sarah are captured by the Court. When Calvin is brought back to life they are used to force him to do the Court's bidding. The first task they send him on is taking out the Talon currently allied with the Birds of Prey.

The Review
There's a strange realm where plot events are predictable but still satisfying. This issue falls into that realm. I think the main reason I'm not pulling out the, "Psha! I called that months ago!" card is because I'm genuinely interested to see what happens next. It's a big shift from the status quo of the book, and where we go from here will be very intersting. I'm not a fan that I'll have to buy Birds of Prey to get the next part, but I will do it just so I can see Calvin playing the role of the villain. That last page has me really excited to see what happens next. I don't usually put much importance in the whole "I want to see these characters fight" mentality. But I really, really want to see him fight the Birds of Prey.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Talon 007

The Story
Calvin manages to escape from the court, while at the same time Casey traps Sebastian and escapes with her daughter. While Calvin is trying to make it back to their safe house, he is intercepted by Batman. He manages to escape, but when he confronts Sebastian, the old man not only confirms that he was the one who selected Calvin to be the Talon, he is also working together with Bane. Bane grabs Calvin by the neck and snaps it with one hand.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Talon 006

The Story

Calvin escapes from the O'Malley Talons, but is recaptured. While Casey digs deeper into Sebastian's secrets, Calvin confronts the Grand Master of the Court of Owls. Both discover that Sebastian was the former Grand Master of the Court, and the one that recruited Calvin.

The Review
I actually called the twist last month, though since I don't think I documented that anywhere I can't claim credit. Then again, I don't really feel like claiming credit. After all, there's always a traitor, so the simple act of calling it isn't that impressive. If someone other than Sebastian had been the traitor, then I would have been surprised.

My powers of plot aside, what does this mean for the book? Well, as a reader I tend to be quite forgiving. And my calling a plot twist ahead of time is hardly an indication that the book itself is no good. Granted it would be better had the reveal been more surprising, but what we got was good enough for me.

Graphic Novel Reviews: Talon 001-005

The Story

Calvin Rose is an escape artist turned assassin, former Talon, who has turned against the Court. After they sent him to murder an innocent woman and her daughter he escaped the influence of the court. The events of the Night of the Owls pulled him back to Gotham, where he meets Sebastian Clark, an enemy of the court, whose father was murdered for digging too deep into Gotham's secret history. Together the two fight against the court, and eventually team up with Calvin's girlfriend, Casey, who has been fighting the court on her own terms.

The Review

It's so rare that a brand new, original character, gets his own series. And even though Talon ties in somewhat to the Court of Owls storyline from Batman, the great majority of this series is an original story with original characters. This is quite possibly one of the few books where I'm not sitting around waiting to see which characters will make a guest appearance (read: when the hell is Batman showing up?). Even though Batman made an appearance in issue five, I actually want the cast of this series to remain contained.

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.